Madera, CA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Madera Municipal Code § 5-7.02 defines SMOKING broadly: lighting, inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, pipe, or other tobacco or plant product, expressly naming cannabis, plus the use of any electronic smoking device that produces an aerosol or vapor. Section 5-7.03(B) then bans that smoking in all unenclosed public places within the city, listing outdoor dining areas and recreational areas by name; RECREATIONAL AREA is defined under § 5-7.02 to include parks, picnic areas, playgrounds, sports fields, walking paths, gardens, bike paths, riding trails, swimming pools, and skateboard parks, whether publicly or privately owned, as long as the public uses them for recreation.

Section 5-7.04 carves out a short list of exceptions: private residences (including attached garages, unless run as a day care), hotel and motel rooms rented to guests, tobacco stores, private club events closed to the public, city streets and sidewalks except where state law bars smoking there anyway, golf courses, and other city property the City Manager designates. Outside those carve-outs, an owner, operator, or manager can also voluntarily declare an entire establishment smoke-free under § 5-7.03(C). The Code Enforcement Division enforces the chapter under § 5-7.06, any resident can file a complaint with that division, and § 5-7.08 bars an employer from firing or retaliating against anyone for invoking rights under the chapter.