Williamstown, Massachusetts Passes First Legislation Outdoors of California
The small Massachusetts city of Williamstown has earned the numerous distinction of turning into the first neighborhood outdoors of California to enact an area legislation that expands smokefree protections to multi-unit housing. Due to the advocacy of a person neighborhood member, everybody dwelling in Williamstown’s flats, condominiums, and different multi-unit residences with 4 or extra items will have the ability to breathe smokefree air at house.
On the annual City Assembly in Could, Williamstown residents gathered to vote on quite a lot of municipal coverage modifications, together with the citizen’s petition to undertake the smokefree multi-unit housing legislation, which was accepted on a vote of 148-56. Because of the coverage being enacted on the City Assembly slightly than by the everyday means of tobacco prevention insurance policies being enacted by the Board of Well being, it wants an extra step of state approval earlier than it’s formally native legislation, however Williamstown is properly on the best way to offering more healthy dwelling environments for its multi-unit residents.
Williamstown’s determination brings to thoughts the adoption of the primary smokefree multi-unit housing legislation within the nation, the place a number of residents of Belmont, CA requested the Metropolis Council to make their senior dwelling property smokefree after years of secondhand smoke publicity and a fireplace within the constructing, and the Council determined to increase the smokefree protections to all multi-unit properties. By no means underestimate the facility of motivated neighborhood members to enact revolutionary change!
ANRF has a brand new tipsheet obtainable, Implementation of Native Smokefree Multi-Unit Housing Legal guidelines, to offer steering to communities primarily based on what different cities and counties have discovered to be helpful as they implement their new smokefree multi-unit housing legal guidelines.
You possibly can Encourage your Group or Constructing to go Smokefree
Greater than 100 cities and counties in California have adopted native legal guidelines requiring all multi-unit housing locally to be smokefree (quickly we’ll add Williamstown, MA to our listing).
Whereas most communities don’t but have legal guidelines to handle this case, you’ll be able to nonetheless take motion. Write to your neighborhood officers, county or metropolis supervisors, and allow them to know you need smokefree multi-unit housing in your neighborhood. You will need to know that condo buildings house owners, condominium boards, and proprietor/managers of different kinds of multi-unit housing do have the appropriate to undertake a coverage to not enable smoking within the constructing(s).
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