Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Smoking Regulation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wylie council broadens smoking ban to enclosed public facilities, approves ordinance with amendment
Summary
The Wylie City Council on June 24 approved Ordinance 2025-27 expanding smoking prohibitions to enclosed publicly available facilities, clarified restroom access from smoking rooms, set patio distance rules and struck a redundant clause; the vote was 5-0.
The Wylie City Council on June 24, 2025, approved Ordinance No. 2025-27 to revise the city’s smoking regulations to prohibit smoking in enclosed publicly available facilities and to clarify several compliance provisions.
City staff said the ordinance reorganizes and updates Chapter 74 (Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Article 11 (Smoking Regulations) of the Wylie Code of Ordinances and adds updated definitions and compliance language. Council also voted to remove a redundant provision, identified in the draft as section G8, before passing the ordinance.
The ordinance expands an existing prohibition (previously focused on city facilities and parks) to cover enclosed spaces that are publicly available within the city. Staff told council the changes were intended to reduce unnecessary public exposure to cigarette and cigar smoke while keeping clear exemptions for existing businesses in some cases.
Key provisions discussed by council and staff include: - Patrons should not be required to enter or pass through smoking rooms to access required public sanitary facilities; the ordinance clarifies that public restrooms must be reachable without forcing non-smoking patrons to traverse smoking rooms. - Existing smoking establishments are not being forced to remodel immediately; staff said an existing business would only face new layout requirements if it undertakes major remodeling or seeks new permitting that triggers code review. - Outdoor patios associated with smoking areas must be adjacent to those smoking sections and must be at least 10 feet from a public right-of-way.
Council members asked how the rules would apply to businesses such as cigar lounges and breweries with patios, whether ‘‘public’’ restroom rules apply only to businesses that advertise restrooms to the public, and how enforcement would affect building/fire code. Staff said a restroom designated “customers only” would not trigger the same public-restroom requirement, and that fire-code and permitting issues would be addressed during building or remodeling review rather than through retroactive enforcement.
Councilman Dave Strang moved to approve the ordinance as presented with the amendment removing section G8; Councilman David R. Duke seconded. The motion carried 5-0.
The ordinance is captioned in the minutes as: Ordinance No. 2025-27, amending Ordinance No. 2021-17 as amended, Chapter 74, Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions, to establish updated smoking regulations, definitions, compliance, penalties, and effective date provisions.
