Novato, CA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered unenclosed places
- Recreational areas, service areas, public places, dining areas, bars, multi-unit common areas
- Buffer distance
- 20 feet from doorways, windows, vents and smoke-free areas
- Civil fine
- Not less than $250 and not more than $1,000 per violation
- Multi-unit smoking area cap
- No more than ten percent of total unenclosed area
- Products covered
- Cigarettes, cigars, hookahs, electronic smoking devices, marijuana smoke
- Required sign lettering
- At least one inch high with the international No Smoking symbol
- Enacted by
- Ordinance No. 1616, January 24, 2017
Summary
In the City of Novato, California, smoking and tobacco product use, including vaping and marijuana smoke, are prohibited in the unenclosed areas of recreational areas, service areas, public places, dining areas, bars and the common areas of multi-unit residences. Section 7-3.2 sets a 20-foot buffer, and violations carry civil fines of $250 to $1,000 each.
a.Smoking and the use of tobacco products are prohibited in the unenclosed areas of the following places within the city:1.Recreational areas;2.Service areas;3.Public places;4.Dining areas;5.Bars;6.Common areas of multi-unit residences, provided, however, that a person with legal control over a common area may designate a portion of the unenclosed area of the common area as a designated smoking area if the area meets all of the following criteria: ... (c)The area must be no more than ten percent of the total unenclosed area of the multi-unit residence for which it is designated;(d)The area must have a clearly marked perimeter;(e)The area must be identified by conspicuous signs; ... 7.Other public places.b.Nothing in this section prohibits any person or nonprofit entity with legal control over any property from prohibiting smoking and tobacco product use on any part of such property, even if smoking or the use of tobacco products is not otherwise prohibited in that area.
Full Breakdown
Section 7-3.4 of the Novato Municipal Code, part of the Novato Smoke-Free Air and Health Protection Ordinance adopted by the City Council as Ordinance No. 1616 on January 24, 2017, bans smoking and the use of tobacco products in the unenclosed areas of recreational areas, service areas, public places, dining areas, bars, the common areas of multi-unit residences, and other public places. The definitions in section 7-3.2 give those terms real reach. A recreational area covers parks, picnic areas, playgrounds, sports fields, walking paths, hiking trails, bike paths and swimming pools. A public place includes sidewalks, streets, bus shelters and farmers' markets. Dining areas and service areas expressly include streets and sidewalks, so an outdoor eating area, a bus stop or an ATM line is covered. Smoking includes electronic smoking devices, hookahs and any plant product intended for human inhalation, and smoke includes marijuana smoke.
Section 7-3.7 adds a buffer. Smoking in any unenclosed area is prohibited within a reasonable distance of a doorway, window, opening, crack or vent into an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited, and section 7-3.2 defines reasonable distance as 20 feet in any direction. The same distance applies to the edge of any unenclosed area where smoking is already prohibited. Unenclosed areas of private residential properties that are not multi-unit residences are carved out of that buffer.
Multi-unit residences get one outlet. A person with legal control over a common area can designate a smoking area that takes up no more than ten percent of the total unenclosed area, has a clearly marked perimeter and conspicuous signs, and sits a reasonable distance from units and from playgrounds, pools and other areas built for children or physical activity. Under section 7-3.4 b, a person or nonprofit entity with legal control can ban smoking on its property even where the city does not.
Whoever controls a regulated area must post a clear No Smoking or Smokefree sign with letters of at least one inch at each point of ingress (section 7-3.8 d), and no ash receptacles can be knowingly permitted inside a smoke-free area. Section 7-3.11 leaves alone any conduct the State of California has preempted.
Violations & Fines
Each instance of smoking or tobacco product use is a separate violation under section 7-3.8 f. Section 7-3.9 makes each incident punishable under section 1-5 of the Code, lets any peace officer or code enforcement official enforce it, and authorizes a civil action by the City of Novato carrying a fine of not less than $250 and not exceeding $1,000 per violation. Every violation is declared a nuisance, and a private enforcer can sue anyone who has violated the section two or more times. Causing, permitting, aiding, abetting or concealing a violation is itself a violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I vape or smoke on a Novato sidewalk or in a park?
How far from a building entrance do I have to stand in Novato?
Can an apartment complex in Novato create a smoking area?
Does the ordinance reach my own home?
What does a violation cost and who enforces it?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Novato
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