Lighting — or blazing — up in public could get a smoker a $250 ticket in Southampton Town, thanks to an ordinance proposed by the Southampton Town Board at its June 14 meeting.
The proposal is not punitive, Assistant Town Attorney Sean Cambridge said — it’s meant to be a guideline for how to smoke respectfully.
“We’re not prohibiting a behavior, we’re allowing a behavior,” he said. “This is a balance of personal liberty versus public safety.”
New York State’s passage of a measure legalizing the recreational use of marijuana last year prompted the move. “It’s perfectly legal for someone to smoke a cannabis product anywhere where they can smoke a cigarette,” Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said, opening the public hearing.
Since the town can’t say marijuana smoking is prohibited in certain public places, the board will instead say “all smoking” is prohibited, the supervisor said.
The law was constructed to focus on parks and places where families congregate. In some cases, the entirety of a park is captured by the measure.
“We really focused on places where we have events that are open to the public,” the attorney explained. It doesn’t apply, Schneiderman pointed out, if a person uses nicotine gum or a patch, or even “a marijuana gummy bear.”
Ray D’Angelo of Hampton Bays offered comment on the proposal, stating he was against the town’s decision not to opt out of allowing the sale or on-site consumption of cannabis products.
He recalled being at Ponquogue Beach in Hampton Bays and seeing young people using pot. “How is this going to be enforced?” he queried. By the time the police come, the users would be gone. Allowing it to be sold in town makes it easier to use, D’Angelo maintained.
He was the only person to provide commentary on the “No Smoking” proposal, which will be up for adoption during the Town Board’s July 9 meeting.
If adopted, the law would prohibit smoking — of any kind — in designated non-smoking areas. They include within 500 feet of a “No Smoking” sign, within 500 feet of a lifeguard stand or roped off protection area at town beaches during times when lifeguards are on duty, on boardwalks or walkways leading to town beaches, within 500 feet of any playground, athletic field, including bleachers, or sports court. The same prohibition distance is designated near pavilions and comfort stations at town beaches.
The Tiana Bayside Recreational Facility, North Sea, Good Ground, Red Creek and Hampton West parks will all be designated “No Smoking” areas in their entirety, as would the East Quogue Village Green, Ludlam Avenue, Iron Point, Wildwood Lake and the Shinnecock Canal Maritime parks.
“This is really just smoking sensibly,” Cambridge offered.
After the passage of the state law, municipalities were given the chance to say they wouldn’t allow retail or on-site consumption establishments within their bounds by “opting out.” Neighboring Riverhead Town officials declined to opt out, but in East Hampton Town, the Town Board voted to disallow the sale. Municipalities couldn’t say the use can’t occur, but they can use their zoning powers to say where retail and on-site consumption sites may be located.
On July 9, the Town Board will hear opinions on an array of zoning regulations and proposed special exception standards for the retail establishments. Those offering on-site consumption must follow existing strictures for nightclubs and similar entertainment establishments, if the proposal is ratified.
