Decatur, GA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer from entrances
- 20 feet from doors, windows, vents
- Restaurant patio buffer
- 20 feet from outdoor seating/service area
- Covered parks
- MARTA Plaza, Decatur Cemetery, Old Courthouse lawn
- Hotel exception cap
- smoking rooms limited to 25% of rooms
- Governing law
- Code of Ordinances §§ 54-31 through 54-37
Summary
Decatur, Georgia's Clean Air Ordinance bars smoking in all public places, places of employment and public parks, and extends the ban outdoors to within 20 feet of any entrance or ventilation intake and within 20 feet of a restaurant's exterior seating or service area, under Code § 54-32.
(a)Except as otherwise provided in this article, smoking is prohibited in all public places within the city, all places of employment within the city, and all public parks. All ashtrays and similar smoking paraphernalia shall be removed from any place where smoking is prohibited.(b)Except as otherwise provided in this article, smoking is prohibited:(1)Within 20 feet of any outside entrance, operable window or ventilation system of any public place within the city and of any place of employment within the city;(2)Within 20 feet of any exterior seating or service area of any restaurant within the city.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 28).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 54, Article II of Decatur's code, the Clean Air Ordinance adopted by Ordinance O-04-13 in 2004 and amended by O-16-09 in 2016, prohibits smoking in every "public place," "place of employment" and "public park" within the city, defined broadly in section 54-31 to include restaurants, stores, offices, health care and child care facilities, and the city's own parks, the MARTA Plaza, Decatur Cemetery and the Old Courthouse lawn. Section 54-32(a) requires that ashtrays and similar paraphernalia be removed from any place where smoking is barred.
Section 54-32(b) pushes the ban outdoors in two specific ways: smoking is prohibited within 20 feet of any outside entrance, operable window or ventilation system of a covered public place or workplace, and within 20 feet of any exterior seating or service area of a restaurant. Section 54-33 carves out narrow exceptions: hotel and motel smoking rooms capped at 25 percent of rentable rooms, retail tobacco stores, certain private clubs tied to an apartment or office development, and private residences not used as a childcare, day care or health care facility, while also letting any owner voluntarily declare an entire establishment non-smoking.
"No Smoking" signs must be posted at every entrance under section 54-34, and section 54-37 lets police officers, the fire marshal, code enforcement officers, building inspectors or fire inspectors issue citations.
Violations & Fines
Anyone who smokes in violation of Chapter 54, Article II, or an owner or manager who knowingly allows a violation after notice, is punished under the general penalty, Code § 1-12, per section 54-36. Police officers, the fire marshal, codes enforcement officers, building inspectors and fire inspectors are all authorized under section 54-37 to write citations, and failing to post the required "No Smoking" signage under section 54-34 is itself a separate compliance failure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke on a restaurant patio in Decatur, Georgia?
Are Decatur's public parks smoke-free?
Who enforces the smoking ban in Decatur?
Can a business owner allow smoking anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Decatur
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