Fountain Valley, CA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered activity
- Smoking, chewing and sniffing tobacco products
- Where
- All city parks and recreation facilities
- Trigger
- Appropriate warning signs must be posted
- Permit exception
- None in this section
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor: fine up to $500, jail up to 6 months, or both
- Adopted
- Ordinance 1398, 2007
Summary
In the City of Fountain Valley, California, using tobacco products in any city park or recreation facility is unlawful once signs warning of the prohibition are posted. The rule names smoking, chewing and sniffing. The City Council adopted it in 2007, and violations are misdemeanors under Chapter 12.08.
The use of tobacco products, including, but not limited to, smoking, chewing and sniffing such products, is prohibited and unlawful in all city parks and recreation facilities when appropriate signs have been posted warning of the prohibition.
Full Breakdown
Fountain Valley Municipal Code § 12.08.085 bans the use of tobacco products in all city parks and recreation facilities. The text is broad on the activity and conditional on signage: the use of tobacco products, including, but not limited to, smoking, chewing and sniffing such products, is prohibited and unlawful when appropriate signs have been posted warning of the prohibition. The ban therefore takes effect at each location where the city has put up warning signs.
Scope comes from § 12.08.030, which defines "park" for the chapter as all recreational and other public land owned, operated, managed or controlled by the City of Fountain Valley, and includes all buildings, parking lots and improvements on that land. Section 12.08.085 also reaches "recreation facilities," so it is not limited to open lawn areas. The section lists smoking, chewing and sniffing by name and adds "including, but not limited to," so the list is not exhaustive. The section does not spell out electronic cigarettes or vaping devices, and a reader should treat only the printed words as the rule.
The City Council adopted the section as Ordinance 1398 in 2007. It sits alongside other park conduct rules in the same chapter, including the ban on alcohol in § 12.08.080 (with a community center and social hall permit exception issued by the community services director), the ban on glass beverage containers in § 12.08.070, and the ban on littering in § 12.08.040. Those neighboring rules matter for anyone who smokes and drops a butt on park grounds, because § 12.08.040 prohibits depositing ashes, trash, litter or any substance in a park except in proper receptacles.
Unlike the alcohol section, § 12.08.085 carries no permit exception. The chapter's approval provision, § 12.08.170, applies only where a section requires community services director approval, and this one does not.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 12.08 has one penalty clause, § 12.08.180. Any person, firm, partnership or corporation violating the chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, is punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, imprisonment in the County Jail for up to six months, or both. That applies to a tobacco violation in a posted city park, and littering ashes or butts adds a second violation under § 12.08.040.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the smoking ban in Fountain Valley parks apply if there is no sign?
What tobacco activities does the ordinance name?
Does the ban cover parking lots and buildings in city parks?
What happens to someone who breaks the rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fountain Valley
California rules heatmap·Compare Fountain Valley to another location·View the California public conduct overview
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