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

Section 12.24.270 of the Montebello Municipal Code prohibits smoking inside any public park, recreational area or city-sponsored event, and extends the ban to any outdoor area within 40 feet of a park, recreational area or city-sponsored event, unless the city has designated that area for smoking. The section defines 'smoking' broadly as engaging in an act that generates smoke, expressly including tobacco smoke, electronic cigarette vapors, marijuana smoke, or smoke from any other weed, herb, flower or plant, so vaping and cannabis smoking are covered exactly like a lit cigarette.

Because Section 12.24.020 defines 'public park' to include athletic fields, playgrounds, pools, recreation centers, pavilions and park parking lots, the 40-foot buffer follows the boundary of any of those recreation department properties, and it also travels with a city-sponsored event held somewhere else in the city, such as a street festival or concert in a plaza. The section was added to the park conduct chapter by Ordinance No. 2471 on January 24, 2024, as part of the city's rewrite of Chapter 12.24. Enforcement sits with the same officials who police the rest of the park conduct chapter under Section 12.24.290: Montebello police officers, the code enforcement division, and parks and recreation department staff, who can issue citations for a violation.

Available responses range from a verbal warning through immediate eviction from the park for the remainder of the operating day to a multi-day suspension of park privileges set by the director according to the severity of the conduct, on top of any citation issued under the smoking prohibition itself.