Ansonia Aldermen are considering two new ordinances that would ban tobacco use and pets on certain city-owned parks and fields.
An Aldermen subcommittee talked about the issue last week and it will be on the agenda for the Feb. 9 Aldermen meeting.
SmokingThe subcommittee’s chairman, Sixth Ward Alderman Matthew Edo, who is also a member of the Ansonia Little League’s Board of Directors, said that the smoking ban idea was prompted by complaints — lots of them — he’s received about inconsiderate smokers at events letting smoke from their cigarettes waft onto fields where children are playing.
“Numerous complaints. Numerous complaints,” Edo said after a Jan. 20 meeting. “On both soccer and baseball (games) that I’ve been at. And other parents have called me up and talked to me directly.”
Smoking, obviously, is gross, and illnesses rooted in tobacco use kill nearly half a million Americans each year.
In addition, the health dangers of secondhand cigarette smoke have been known for decades. The federal Centers For Disease Control and Prevention estimate 42,000 people are killed in the U.S. each year from exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke.
But Edo said the message hasn’t gotten through to some.
“We’ve asked people who do smoke to go to certain areas (away from where kids are playing sports),” Edo said. “There have been a few combatant parents who have actually gotten into verbal altercations. Enough’s enough.”
During the Jan. 20 meeting John Marini, the city’s corporation counsel, passed out an ordinance enacted by the City of New London banning smoking at its recreational properties, except inside designated smoking areas.
Joan Radin, who represents the Fifth Ward, said vapor cigarettes should be added to any ban, in addition to cigarettes and cigars.
Joseph Jeanette, a Fourth Ward Alderman, suggested adding chewing tobacco, too.
A draft of the ordinance is below.
If passed, it would ban tobacco use on “any public park property owned by the City and used for the purpose of public recreation.”
The draft says there will be “designated smoking areas” at the recreational properties.
It lists possible fines of $50 or $100.
Article continues after document.
PetsAt the Jan. 20 subcommittee meeting, Aldermen also discussed banning people from walking their pets on the playing surfaces of city athletic fields.
Radin, the owner of a Wakelee Avenue pharmacy, said she brought up the idea at an earlier Aldermen’s meeting because customers of hers have complained about the problem.
Marini told Aldermen there are signs posted banning pets from being on playing surfaces, but no ordinance actually on the books that would allow police to fine offenders.
“Essentially there’s a bark but no bite,” he said.
Edo said it’s a problem when volunteers show up for a baseball or football game and discover they have to spend time cleaning dog poop from fields before games can begin.
A draft of the ordinance is posted below.
It would ban “dogs or other domestic animals,” either “leashed or unleashed,” from being on the playing surface of athletic fields owned by the city.
The ordinance would not apply to areas other than the playing surface of athletic fields, such as playgrounds or spectator areas, and also exempts service or guide dogs.
Violations would result in a $50 fine.
