(a) Smoking is prohibited in buildings and enclosed structures, throughout the building or structure and in the common areas, such as the elevators, hallways, stairways, restrooms, conference and meeting rooms, and eating and break rooms, and certain unenclosed areas that contain any of the facilities or uses set forth below.
(1) Facilities owned or leased by the City and County of San Francisco; every commission, department, or agency with jurisdiction over such property shall adopt regulations or policies implementing the provisions of this Article 19F; provided, however, with respect to facilities located outside the City and County of San Francisco, the regulations or policies shall prohibit smoking in enclosed areas during all times;
(2) Facilities in which the business of any governmental body or agency is conducted, including hearing rooms, courtrooms, or places of public assembly;
(3) Polling places;
(4) Health facilities, including, but not limited to, hospitals, long term care facilities, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, inpatient rooms, and outpatient examination and treatment rooms;
(5) Educational facilities;
(6) Business establishments, except that the smoking of medicinal cannabis and adult use cannabis may occur on the premises of a Medicinal Cannabis Retailer, a Cannabis Retailer, or a Cannabis Microbusiness, subject to the limitations set forth in Section 1009.23 of this Article 19F;
(7) Nonprofit establishments, except that persons qualifying under California Health and Safety Code Section 11362.7 et seq. to use medical marijuana may smoke medical marijuana on the premises of a Medical Cannabis Dispensary with a valid permit issued by the Department of Public Health under Article 33 of the Health Code prior to September 26, 2017, provided that the medical cannabis dispensary was not prohibited by the Planning Department, the Planning Commission, or the Director of Health from allowing smoking on the premises;
(8) Aquariums, galleries, libraries, and museums;
(9) Child care facilities, except when located in private homes;
(10) Facilities used for exhibiting motion pictures, drama, dance, musical performance, lec-tures, or other entertainment;
(11) Sports arenas; provided, however, that subsection (b) shall govern sports stadiums as defined in that subsection;
(12) Convention facilities;
(13) Restaurants;
(15) Tourist Lodging Facilities;
(16) Homeless Shelters, including, but not limited to, the sleeping areas of those buildings;
(17) Tobacco Shops, except as specified in Section 1009.23(e);
(18) Facilities used to conduct charity bingo games pursuant to California Penal Code Section 326.5, during such times that persons are assembled in the facility in connection with such games; and,
(19) Farmers Markets, whether on public or private property.
(b) No owner, manager, or operator of a sports stadium shall knowingly or intentionally permit, and no person on the premises shall engage in, the smoking of tobacco products in any enclosed or open space at a sports stadium.
(c) Smoking is prohibited at all times in taxicabs and other motor vehicles for hire as defined in the Police Code, whether owned or leased by the driver, whether or not occupied by one or more passengers, and whether or not in operation.
(d) Smoking is prohibited in service waiting areas, which are defined as any area designed to be or regularly used by one or more persons to receive or wait to receive a service, enter a public place, or make a transaction, whether or not such service includes the exchange of money, such as ATMs, bank teller windows, telephones, ticket lines, movie theater lines, concert lines, athletic event lines, performance event lines and cab stands, and including the ticketing, boarding and waiting areas of public transit systems, including bus, train, trolley and cable car stops and shelters.
(e) Notwithstanding Police Code Section 121(d) or any other provision of law, smoking outside entrances, exits and operable windows and vents of all buildings is only permitted at the curb of the nearest street, sidewalk or alley. If there is no curb within fifteen feet of the building, smoking is prohibited within fifteen feet of entrances, exits, and operable windows and vents of any building.
(f) Smoking is prohibited in enclosed common areas of multi-unit housing complexes, as defined in Section 1009.21(k), including, but not limited to, private apartment buildings, residential hotels, including Single Resident Occupancy hotels, SF Housing Authority buildings, HUD housing, senior housing, and condominiums. Enclosed common areas are those areas accessible to and usable by residents of different units and include but are not limited to common halls, elevators, covered parking areas, lobbies, waiting areas, interior stairwells and bathrooms, cooking, dining, lounge, laundry facilities, recreation and lobby areas, except that smoking is permitted ten feet or more away from a door or window in an outdoor common area within the perimeter, a common hall open to the outdoors on at least one side, or courtyard of any multi-unit housing complex. Except for purposes of ingress and egress, the entry doors of private residential units shall be closed at any time that smoking is occurring within an individual dwelling unit of either a multi-unit housing complex or a mixed-use building where the door opens into an area where smoking is prohibited under this Section.
(g) Smoking is prohibited in all vehicles owned by the City and County of San Francisco.
(h) It is unlawful for any person to smoke in any area where this Article prohibits smoking. It is unlawful for the owner of any property, facility or establishment subject to this Article or if a different person has the right to possession or management of such property, facility or establishment, for that person to permit any person to smoke in any area where smoking is prohibited by this Article, and the owner or manager had or should have had actual or constructive knowledge acquired by due diligence of the smoking. This subsection does not require a property owner or manager of a business to enforce a smoking prohibition outside the business against persons who are not patrons of the business, or a property owner or manager of a multi-unit housing complex to enforce a smoking prohibition outside the building against persons who are not tenants of the building.
(i) Any person who owns, operates or manages property is required to take the following steps to prevent smoking on that property where it is prohibited under this Code:
(1) Post clear and prominent signs at each entrance to the premises no higher than 8 feet and no lower than 5 feet, and within 10 feet of the door or the most appropriate place for visibility from outside, that read "Smoking only 1) at the curb, or 2) if no curb, at least 15 ft. from entrances, exits, operable windows, and vents" in letters no less than one half inch in height and include 1) the international "No Smoking" symbol, consisting of a pictorial representation of a burning cigarette enclosed in a circle, with a diameter of at least three inches, with a bar across it, and 2) a statement at the bottom of the sign that reads "SF Health Code Article 19F" in font no less than inch in height. Persons that own, manage, or operate property that is LEED ("Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design") certified that has a smoking distance requirement greater than that specified in this ordinance shall post signs conforming to all the requirements in this Section that state that smoking only is allowed at that greater distance from the exists, entrances, and operable windows.
(2) Post clear and prominent "no smoking" signs in any area on the premises where smoking is prohibited. For multi-unit housing complexes, the signs need only be posted in the common building lobby, common mailbox area, or common elevator.
(3) Request that any person smoking in areas where smoking is prohibited under this Article refrain from smoking. But this subsection does not require a property owner or manager of a multi-unit housing complex of less than 16 units to make the request that a person refrain from smoking unless the owner or manager observes the person smoking in areas where smoking is prohibited under this Article, nor does this subsection require a property owner or manager of a business to enforce the smoking prohibition in Section 1009.22(d) outside a business by persons who are not patrons of the business, or a property owner or manager of a multi-unit housing complex to enforce a smoking prohibition outside the building by persons who are not tenants of the building.
Upon receipt of a written complaint from a tenant or the Department of Public Health or when any person is observed smoking where smoking is prohibited, an owner or manager of a multi-unit housing complex must post a notice in the building lobby, common mailbox area, or common elevator for a period of not less than ten days, advising that a tenant has been observed smoking is a portion of the building where smoking is prohibited under San Francisco Health Code Article 19F, and requesting that all tenants refrain from smoking in those areas. If there is no common building lobby, common mailbox area or common elevator, then the owner may provide notice to tenants in another reasonable manner. If the owner knows the identity of the tenant who was smoking in a prohibited area, the owner must additionally make the request to the tenant in writing, and keep a record of the request for a reasonable period of time. For purposes of this subsection, a request that someone refrain from smoking does not require the physical ejectment of a person from the premises.
(4) Notify existing tenants of a multi-unit housing complex, within 90 days of the effective date of this legislation, of the smoking prohibitions contained in this Article.
(5) Remove any ashtrays from inside the premises. No persons, employer, business or non profit entity shall knowingly or intentionally permit the presence or placement of ash receptacles within an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited.
The duties described in Sections (1)-(5) of this Section are baseline requirements and are not the only responsibilities of owners or managers to prevent smoking in multi-unit housing complexes.
(j) Violation of any part of this Article is not grounds for eviction of residential tenants.
(k) If the owner or manager has complied with all the requirements in this Article, smoking in a multi-unit housing complex where prohibited under this Article shall not be considered a substantial reduction in housing services that would qualify a tenant for a reduction in rent under San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 37.
(Added by Ord. 249-94, App. 7/7/94; amended by Ord. 266-99, File No. 991462, App. 10/22/99; Ord. 68-06, File No. 051669, App. 4/20/2006; Ord. 312-08, File No. 081009, App. 12/19/2008; Ord. 58-10, File No. 091443, App. 3/25/2010; Ord. 192-10, File No. 100671, App. 7/29/2010; Ord. 59-15
, File No. 150242, App. 5/8/2015, Eff. 6/7/2015, Oper. 1/1/2016; Ord. 230-17, File No. 171042, App. 12/6/2017, Eff. 1/5/2018)