Rochester, MN Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Medical zone location
- 2nd Ave SW right-of-way to Annenberg Plaza
- Transit shelter buffer
- 25 feet from shelter entrance
- Parking ramp rule
- No smoking anywhere in ramp
- Covers e-cigarettes
- Yes, vapes and vaporizers included
- Governing sections
- City Code §§ 8-7-14 to 8-7-17
Summary
Rochester bans smoking outdoors in four specific public zones: the Second Avenue SW medical-district right-of-way, transit shelters, municipal parking ramps, and the streets around the public library. City Code Sec. 8-7-14 covers the medical zone, making it unlawful to smoke, including e-cigarettes and vapes, anywhere within its mapped right-of-way.
(b)It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in smoking within the Second Avenue S.W., public right-of-way from the south line of the Center Street right-of-way to the to the termination of the Second Avenue S.W., right-of-way at the north line of the Annenberg Plaza; and also that part of the West Center Street right-of-way from the centerline of First Avenue S.W., extending westerly to the centerline of Third Avenue S.W. The term "smoking" means the inhaling or exhaling of smoke from any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, or any other lighted tobacco or plant product. The term "smoking" also includes carrying a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, electronic cigarette, personal vaporizer, electronic nicotine delivery system, or any other lighted tobacco or plant product intended for inhalation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 8 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Under Sec. 8-7-14, the common council relied on Minnesota's 2007 Freedom to Breathe Act, which lets home-rule cities like Rochester adopt smoking rules stricter than state law, to designate a smoke-free medical zone downtown near the Mayo Clinic campus. W. 'Smoking' is defined broadly: inhaling or exhaling smoke from any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or other lighted tobacco or plant product, and even just carrying a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, electronic cigarette, personal vaporizer or other electronic nicotine delivery device counts. The city layered on three companion smoke-free zones in the same chapter.
Sec. 8-7-15 bars smoking inside a public transit passenger shelter or within 25 feet of its entrance. Sec. 8-7-16 bars smoking anywhere in a municipal parking ramp, including lobbies, stairways and elevators. Sec. 8-7-17 designates a smoke-free zone around the public library, covering the north right-of-way of 2nd Street SE, part of 1st Avenue SE, and part of Civic Center Drive near the civic center parking ramp. None of these four sections is limited to combustible tobacco; each expressly reaches e-cigarettes, vaporizers and other nicotine-delivery devices carried in a lit or activated state. on event days, showing the same zone-by-zone approach applied elsewhere in the code.
Violations & Fines
None of Sections 8-7-14 through 8-7-17 sets its own fine, so a violation defaults to the city's general penalty clause, Sec. 1-1-11: a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail unless declared a petty misdemeanor, which caps the fine at $300. Each instance of smoking within a mapped zone is a separate offense that a law enforcement officer can cite on the spot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rochester's smoking ban cover vapes and e-cigarettes?
Is smoking banned in all of downtown Rochester?
What is the legal basis for these smoking zones?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rochester
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