Ankeny City Council members recently voted down a proposed vaping ban but new limitations that would apply to city parks and facilities are still in the works.
The four City Council members present Aug. 18 unanimously voted down a proposed amendment to Ankeny’s ordinances that would have banned e-cigarettes and other vape products where smoking already is banned in any bus or building, or other places in the city where an owner or manager has been required to display a “No Smoking Municipal Ordinance” sign.
But it was not intended that the change ban vaping across the entire city, Interim City Manager Mike Schrock said in a statement.
The proposed ordinance had not mentioned Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act, passed in 2008, which prohibits smoking in places including restaurants, bars, outdoor entertainment events, amphitheaters, office buildings, health care facilities and child care facilities. But city documents describing the suggested change and the reasons for it called for “aligning e-cigarettes and vaping restrictions with existing smoking bans” and for city policy to “explicitly prohibit the use of e-cigarettes and vaping products in all areas where smoking is currently banned.”
The Smokefree Air Act does not apply to electronic smoking devices.
Schrock said the proposal was only meant to regulate vaping on city-owned property and facilities, and that’s why he recommended the City Council take no action on the proposed amendment or vote it down on Aug. 18.
“The ordinance that was presented at that time had some shortcomings and room for improvement,” Schrock said.
However, city staff are working on a new amendment that would prohibit vaping at city parks and facilities — but not anywhere else.
“City staff have been having ongoing issues with vaping at some of our facilities, leagues and special events,” previous documents noted.
Schrock said the new amendment is expected to be before City Council in the next 30 to 60 days.
Phillip Sitter covers the suburbs for the Des Moines Register. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. Find out more about him online in the Register’s staff directory.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ankeny doesn’t want citywide vape ban but wants to clear air at parks, city facilities
Reporting by Phillip Sitter, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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