Berkeley bans tobacco, cannabis, and vape smoking in nearly all public outdoor spaces, including commercial districts, parks, transit stops, dining patios, multi-unit housing balconies, and shared corridors of apartment buildings.
BMC Chapters 12.70 and 12.72 establish one of the broadest smoke-free perimeters in California. Smoking is prohibited in commercial areas including the Telegraph and Shattuck corridors, all city parks, recreation facilities, transit stops, dining patios, service-line queues, and within twenty-five feet of building entries. Multi-unit housing rules also forbid smoking inside any unit, on balconies, and in common areas of buildings with two or more units. Enforcement is complaint-driven, but BPD and code enforcement may issue citations, and landlords may use violations as just cause for eviction.
First-time infractions usually draw a citation; repeat offenses escalate fines, and tenants who smoke in violation of smoke-free housing rules can face lease enforcement up to eviction.
Berkeley, CA
Berkeley has one of the oldest just-cause eviction ordinances in the US. Landlords must cite a specific legal reason from BMC Chapter 13.76 to terminate a te...
Berkeley, CA
Although recreational cannabis is legal under California Proposition 64, Berkeley prohibits smoking or consuming cannabis in public places, and infractions c...
See how other cities in Alameda County handle outdoor smoking restrictions.
See how Berkeley's outdoor smoking restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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