City proposes expansion to smoking ordinance

The City of Irving’s Planning and Development committee held a public meeting on June 27 to receive feedback from the citizens on proposed changes to the smoking ordinance.
A large portion of the seven page document clarified and expanded the current ordinance. For example, it removed exceptions pertaining to Texas Stadium, which was torn down in 2011. Under the current ordinance, smoking is only restricted in hospitals, but the proposed amendments would make it illegal to smoke in any healthcare facility.
The part of the ordinance on the forefront of everybody’s minds, however, pertained to smoking in restaurants. The changes to the ordinance would not allow smoking restaurants at all, but would give establishments six months to transition from smoking to non-smoking.