Gardena, CA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited area
- In and around every city park
- Covered products
- Cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookahs, e-cigarettes
- Litter ban
- Throwing or depositing cigar/cigarette waste banned
- Enacted
- Ordinance 1652 (2004); amended Ord. 1753 (2014)
- Default penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine or 6 months jail
- Citation
- Gardena Municipal Code § 11.04.380
Summary
In the City of Gardena, smoking is unlawful in and around every city park, covering cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookahs, and e-cigarettes under the city's tobacco definitions. Throwing or dropping cigarette or cigar waste on park grounds is separately banned, and violators face the citywide misdemeanor penalty after park staff or police intervene.
§ 11.04.380. Smoking prohibited in and around parks. It shall be unlawful for any person to smoke, as that term is defined in Section 5.52.010(G), or to throw or deposit any cigar, cigarette, or other tobacco product as defined in Section 5.52.010(I).
Full Breakdown
Gardena Municipal Code Section 11.04.380 makes it unlawful to smoke in and around any city park, and it separately bars throwing or depositing a cigar, cigarette, or other tobacco product on park grounds. The section borrows its definitions from the tobacco retailer permit chapter at Section 5.52.010, which defines smoking to include possessing a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, or hookah pipe, lighting any of those items, or using an electronic cigarette, and defines tobacco product broadly enough to reach cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, chewing tobacco, and e-cigarette cartridges.
Because the ban covers being "in and around" parks, it reaches adjacent sidewalks and parking areas, not only the fenced recreation area itself. The prohibition was added by Ordinance 1652 in 2004 and amended by Ordinance 1753 in 2014 to bring its language in line with the tobacco retailer chapter's e-cigarette definitions. Enforcement follows the same chapter-wide structure as the rest of Chapter 11.04: park supervisors and recreation leaders may order a smoker to stop or leave under Section 11.04.350, and the Gardena Police Department is called under Section 11.04.360 if the person will not comply.
Chapter 11.04 sets no dedicated fine for this section, so a violation defaults to the citywide misdemeanor penalty at Section 1.16.010 unless the city attorney files it as an infraction instead.
Violations & Fines
Smoking or littering tobacco waste in or around a Gardena park violates Section 11.04.380 and, absent a specific fine in Chapter 11.04, defaults to the misdemeanor penalty at Section 1.16.010: up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail, or both, unless the city attorney charges it as a lower-fine infraction. Park staff can order compliance before police involvement under Sections 11.04.350 and 11.04.360.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the park smoking ban cover cigars and hookahs, not just cigarettes?
Are e-cigarettes and vapes included in the park smoking ban?
What is the penalty for smoking in a Gardena park?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Gardena
California rules heatmap·Compare Gardena to another location·View the California public conduct overview
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Outdoor Smoking Restrictions in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle outdoor smoking restrictions.