Taunton, MA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Section 325-3 of the Taunton Code, added in 2015 and amended in 2019, prohibits smoking on any portion of City-owned property, including all enclosed spaces and outdoor areas, that contains a park, playground, athletic field, swimming pool or splash pad; that is conservation land or otherwise under the control of the Conservation Commission; or that is the park known as Taunton Green, including its adjacent sidewalks, or the park known as Church Green. The prohibition also reaches within 25 feet of the property line of any of those covered properties, so a smoker cannot simply step to the sidewalk edge of Taunton Green to comply.

Subsection B borrows the definitions of "smoke" and "tobacco product" from Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 270, §§ 22(a) and 6(a), which sweep in cigarettes, cigars, pipes and vapor and e-cigarette devices. The department that runs each covered property, whether the Park and Recreation Department or the Conservation Commission, must post conspicuous signs and may adopt additional rules to implement the ban. Enforcement runs through noncriminal disposition under MGL c. 40, § 21D, or by criminal complaint, giving police and code officers a ticket option instead of requiring a full court case for most violations.

The rule sits inside Chapter 325, Parks and Recreation, alongside the City's swimming and bathing rules at § 325-1 and free admission for children under 12 at City athletic events under § 325-2.