AIKEN --- The Aiken City Council has passed on first reading an ordinance banning smoking in indoor public places, including bars and restaurants.
Not everyone who attended the meeting Monday night was in favor of the ordinance.
"I think we have a fair ordinance," said Sam Erb, the owner of The West Side Bowery. "But my concern is if this is passed today, we now have a stronger ordinance than the county."
Last June, the Aiken County Council passed a smoking ban ordinance that did not ban smoking in bars and is enforceable only in the unincorporated areas of the county.
Mr. Erb told the council there was a concern that banning smoking in bars would drive customers away.
"I feel that at least in the downtown we have very responsible business owners," said Mr. Erb, whose business has been smoke-free for 16 years and features an outdoor area where smokers can light up.
The smoking ban excludes enclosed areas that are at least 50 percent exposed to the outdoors.
But others felt the ban didn't go far enough.
Don Swindler, who suffers from asthma, told the council that the smoking ban ought to be expanded to include outdoor public areas, such as at the O'Dell Weeks Center and Citizen's Park.
"We know how important it is to get the smoking out of the buildings," Mayor Fred Cavanaugh responded. "But when you talk about the outside, people have to have the right to smoke outdoors."
Jane Page Thompson, a local realtor, argued that because Aiken's bar culture is growing, banning smoking in those establishments would be fiscally irresponsible.
"I don't want to see us lose that youthful vitality we have by eliminating this from bars," Ms. Thompson said, urging the council to give businesses a choice. "People can choose not to smoke. I think it's fiscally irresponsible not to do a feasibility study on how it will impact businesses."
Councilman Don Wells said he would vote for the ordinance, but he didn't like the thought that "they were hammering away at people's rights."
The council will hold a second reading and public hearing on July 14.
Reach Michelle Guffey at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or michelle.guffey@augustachronicle.com
IN NORTH AUGUSTA
A second hearing on a proposed ordinance banning smoking in indoor and outdoor public facilities in North Augusta drew a crowd of bingo patrons seeking an exception.
About 45 players from Shamrock Bingo filled North Augusta City Council chambers for an amendment for a smoking room with separate HVAC.
Motions were made by council member Ken McDowell that would have accommodated the facility but ultimately failed on a 5-2 vote.
Mayor Lark Jones said he didn't want to make amend-ments for just one facility.
An amendment defining an outdoor area for smokers passed 6-1. Arthur Shealy was the dissenting vote.
Council will take up the third reading of the ordinance at the July 7 meeting. It would allow smoking within 10-feet of the entrance of a public facility.
-- Julia Sellers, staff writer
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