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Councilmember Balch expressed hope they could work together to get to step one and continue to <br /> evaluate the ordinance in the future. He stated they do not need to specify focusing on education in <br /> enforcement because it is a common concept. The lease violation being a cause for eviction is where <br /> he has the biggest challenge. He would like including the ordinance in the lease agreement to be at the <br /> option of the property owner. <br /> In response to Councilmember Balch, Assistant City Attorney Seto stated the addition of a cessation <br /> program would be difficult to edit from the dais. If the City Council wishes to go in this direction, staff <br /> would bring the item back for introduction with the new language. <br /> In response to Assistant City Attorney Seto, Councilmember Balch confirmed he does not want the <br /> ordinance to be included in the lease unless the property owner wanted it to be in there. He confirmed <br /> the stricter rule would apply if a property owner wanted to restrict smoking further than the ordinance. <br /> Councilmember Balch stated the financial penalty for a first offense should be at least mitigated if not <br /> waived through an educational program. He advised the first offense could also be just a warning. <br /> In response to Mayor Brown, Interim City Manager Dolan confirmed code enforcement often starts with <br /> a warning and may depend on the situation and how egregious the violation is. He advised it would be <br /> easier to codify a warning for the first violation. <br /> Councilmember Balch clarified focusing on education and not enforcement is still his overtone. He has <br /> a problem with a private party being the basis for a personal lawsuit. He stated if the City is putting an <br /> ordinance in place, the City should be the one to enforce it. The basis of the suit would be a violation of <br /> the City's ordinance. <br /> Assistant City Attorney Seto clarified instead of a general nuisance action someone would have to <br /> prove differently based on the impact to themselves because in this situation they would be using the <br /> violation of the City's ordinance as the basis for a lawsuit. <br /> In response to Mayor Brown, Councilmember Balch agreed a landlord can sue for damage to their <br /> rented unit from smoke, but noted this can be done already without citing the ordinance as the basis for <br /> the lawsuit. Assistant City Attorney Seto advised in Mayor Brown's example the civil suit would be for a <br /> general lease violation whereas the language being discussed gives a third party the basis to bring a <br /> lawsuit due to second-hand smoke exposure. <br /> Mayor Brown clarified in her example the damage would be from a neighbor's smoke penetrating the <br /> unit she hypothetically owns and rents. Assistant City Attorney Seto stated the owner could still bring a <br /> private lawsuit for the property damage and the current proposal would be a further basis to support it. <br /> Councilmember Balch stated having the language makes sense when the second-hand smoke health <br /> risk is in addition to the physical smoke damage in Mayor Brown's clarified example. His challenge is <br /> when the ordinance is the only basis for a lawsuit. <br /> In response to Councilmember Balch, Assistant City Attorney Seto clarified someone could bring a <br /> private lawsuit saying second-hand smoke has caused them harm, using a neighbor's documented <br /> violations as proof. She advised she is not sure how the court would react to this argument, but noted <br /> the ordinance provides people with this legal avenue. This gives people the option to legally pursue <br /> their neighbor themselves if they feel as if the City is reluctant to do so. <br /> In response to Councilmember Narum, Assistant City Attorney Seto stated this provision is not in <br /> Pleasanton's multi-family rental ordinance because they had the management companies take <br /> enforcement responsibility. <br /> City Council Minutes Page 11 of 18 December 7, 2021 <br />