Sarasota County, FL Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Section 90-32(15) of the Sarasota County Code defines Smoking as inhaling, exhaling, burning, carrying, or possessing any lighted tobacco product, including cigarettes and pipe tobacco, but the definition specifically excludes unfiltered cigars. Section 90-33(a)(21) then lists smoking within all County Parks among the conditions, uses, and activities prohibited on County-owned Public Beach Parks, Public Natural Areas, and Public Recreation Areas, plus any beach or foreshore area named in the article, including Siesta Key Beaches out to the Sarasota city limits. The ban carves out one exception: where a municipality has adopted its own ordinance governing smoking in its parks, the County prohibition does not reach a Designated City Park located within that municipality or a School Board Facility inside it, leaving those local rules to control instead.

The Sarasota County Sheriff, municipal police, and any authorized code enforcement officer may issue a citation for a violation, and the County can also post signs at parks and beaches under § 90-36 giving notice of the prohibition. The article was most recently amended by Ordinance No. 2023-021 on July 11, 2023, and by Ordinance No. 2024-065 on October 22, 2024.