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

Chapter 5.36, Article 2 of the Tracy Municipal Code (Smoking Pollution Control) lists the public places where lighting or holding a burning cigarette, cigar, pipe, or other smoking equipment is unlawful. Most of the list covers enclosed spaces such as retail stores, banks, elevators, restrooms, transit vehicles, theaters, libraries, health-facility hallways, and common areas of apartment buildings. Subsection (u) extends the ban outdoors: entrances and exits to enclosed public areas, workplaces, restaurants and bars, or within outdoor entryways of any enclosed public area, workplace, restaurant and bar. That is the only outdoor component in the section; the ordinance does not reach open-air city parks, trails, or restaurant patios that are not entryways to an enclosed building.

Every building or place regulated under the chapter must post "Smoking" or "No Smoking" signs, or the international no-smoking symbol, with letters at least one inch tall. Section 5.36.140(b) specifically requires outdoor sign requirements at or near the entry of every regulated building and in every outdoor area, and any sign that is removed must be replaced within five working days. Hotels and motels carry an added duty under section 5.36.150 to post signs in the registration and lobby areas confirming whether non-smoking rooms are available.

Enforcement runs through the City Manager or a designee under section 5.36.050, who may act on a citizen complaint, and the code separately authorizes a private citizen to bring a civil action to enforce the chapter regardless of City action. Owners, operators, and employers may adopt smoking rules stricter than the chapter under section 5.36.120, but cannot permit smoking anywhere the ordinance forbids it.