Glendale, CA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer distance
- 20 feet from covered public areas
- School buffer
- 20 feet from property line, all hours
- First offense fine
- Up to $100
- Third offense fine
- Up to $500
- Repeat offense
- Misdemeanor after 3 in one year
- Enforced by
- Neighborhood services inspectors
Summary
Glendale bars smoking within 20 feet of nonenclosed public places, outdoor dining and seating areas, outdoor events, and transit stops under Municipal Code Section 8.52.070, and within 20 feet of any school property line at all times. A first violation carries up to a $100 fine, rising to $500, then becoming a misdemeanor after three offenses in a year.
Except as this chapter, federal law, or state law provides, no person shall smoke in, or within a 20 foot distance from: A nonenclosed public place. An outdoor dining area. An outdoor event. An outdoor seating area. A public transit station or stop. A service line at an area or a location listed in subsection (A)(1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of this section. ... Except as this chapter, federal law, or state law provides, no person shall smoke within a 20 foot distance from the property line of a school.
Full Breakdown
52 was adopted after the city council found that secondhand smoke is a proven carcinogen tied to lung cancer, heart disease, and childhood respiratory illness, and that discarded cigarette butts pollute Glendale's storm drains. 070(A) prohibits smoking in, or within 20 feet of, a nonenclosed public place, an outdoor dining area, an outdoor event, an outdoor seating area, a public transit station or stop, or a service line at any of those locations. 070(B) separately bans smoking within 20 feet of any school property line, with no time-of-day exception.
090 makes it a separate violation to discard smoking waste on a street, storm drain, planter strip, or sidewalk, or to maintain a smoker's waste receptacle in a banned area. 52 sections. 070 controls the entire premises. Enforcement authority sits with neighborhood services supervisors, inspectors, and building inspectors who complete California's POST-certified course under Penal Code Section 832, giving them peace-officer-level authority to issue infraction citations, though they cannot make custodial arrests or carry firearms.
Violations & Fines
Section 1.20.010(D) lists Section 8.52.070 among the code sections punished as an infraction: a fine of up to $100 for a first violation, up to $200 for a second within a year, and up to $500 for each additional violation in that year. A fourth or later conviction within the same 12 months becomes a misdemeanor under Section 1.20.010(A), punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. Placing or maintaining a smoker's waste receptacle in a banned zone, or discarding cigarette waste on a street or into a storm drain, is a separate violation under Section 8.52.090.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
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