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Indio student group urges council to pursue smoke‑free outdoor rules; council asks staff to return with options
Summary
A Shadow Hills High School student and American Cancer Society representatives urged the Indio City Council to consider smoke‑free outdoor areas and stronger multi‑unit housing rules; council members asked staff to return with options including signage and expanded prohibitions covering vaping and marijuana.
Savannah Bella, a senior at Shadow Hills High School and president of the school’s Interact Club, asked the Indio City Council on Tuesday to consider measures to limit outdoor smoking and make multi‑unit housing smoke‑free.
"Everyone has the right to breathe smoke free air," Bella told council members, saying the Interact Club and the American Cancer society had surveyed local residents and found widespread concern about secondhand smoke and tobacco litter.
The request followed a presentation by Melissa Kuril of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. Kuril said the society has worked with local partners, including the Indio Teen Center and Desert Health, and provided a model multi‑unit housing ordinance to the council.
Why it matters: Council members said smoke drifting through crowded downtown events and parks is a growing concern as Indio expands festival programming and downtown activity. Council direction would lead staff to return with possible regulatory or signage options and an implementation plan.
Council response and next steps
Council member Ortiz said the city’s increasing downtown crowds made the issue urgent. "The other day, we had about 7,000 people right there in downtown, and that smoke would linger around to those families," he said, and asked staff to bring an agenda item for further study.
Mayor Pro Tem Holmes backed stronger measures, saying she would support extending protections beyond parks: "I don't even wanna extend it to multifamily," Holmes said, arguing that secondhand smoke can travel between units and harm children and seniors.
Council members asked staff to explore options including: signage for family‑oriented event spaces; protections for parks and the downtown center stage; and whether multi‑family housing or outdoor event rules could be expanded to explicitly cover vaping and marijuana use. City staff accepted the request to return with proposed language and locations.
What the presenters said
Bella described local observations by volunteers and students of tobacco litter and outdoor smoking at parks, bus stops and the county fair. Kuril said the American Cancer Society has tracked local observations and described outreach the group has done with Indio residents and community partners.
Council and staff did not adopt a new law at the meeting; instead, members directed staff to develop options and return with a formal agenda item for council consideration.
Ending
Council members thanked the student presenters and the American Cancer Society for the information and pledged to consider the proposals when staff brings back ordinance or signage options.
