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

Chapter 8.28 of the Placentia Municipal Code, adopted by Ordinance O-2017-12, prohibits smoking in and around public facilities owned or operated by the city. The ban applies only inside areas the city has posted as no smoking with signs of sufficient number and placement to be readily seen. Section 8.28.030 names four posted-area categories: Civic Center Plaza at 401-411 E. Chapman Avenue, including its parking lot, open areas, and enclosed fenced areas; any civic center; parks; and public facilities, with the same parking lot and open area coverage.

The park rule reaches past the park boundary. It covers smoking "within 50 feet of any park perimeter," but where that 50 foot ring runs onto private property, the prohibition does not apply to the private property. The ban also does not apply to persons and vehicles in route on public streets and sidewalks. Section 8.28.020 defines a public facility as a city-owned, leased, or operated building or room enclosed by a roof and four walls, or an enclosed motor vehicle, and excludes multifamily residential buildings. Private restaurant patios and bars are not reached by this chapter.

The definition of smoke is broad. Section 8.28.020 covers inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, pipe, or other tobacco or plant product intended for inhalation, and expressly includes electronic smoking devices that create an aerosol or vapor. The ban covers tobacco products and marijuana products alike. Section 8.28.040 separately bars discarding any part of a tobacco product, marijuana, or marijuana product in a place where smoking is prohibited. Under § 8.28.050 any city employee authorized to enforce the municipal code or state law can enforce the chapter, so a code enforcement officer or a police officer can act.