Smoking banned at Long Beach Island beaches, parks

Gov. Chris Christie recently agreed to extend the provisions of the “New Jersey Smoke Free Air Act,” adopted in 2005 to ban smoking at indoor public places and workplaces, to also prohibit smoking at state-owned parks and beaches. He did not, however, agree to extend the law to include parks and beaches within the jurisdiction of local governments.

Photo via Brigantine Now
Lighting up on LBI's beaches may result
in fines and a required court appearance.

New Jersey has 39 state parks and forests, including Barnegat Lighthouse State Park in Barnegat Light and Island Beach State Park, across the bay from the Barnegat Lighthouse.

While Christie said he “abhors” smoking, he believes banning the act at county- and community-run parks and beaches should be decided upon at the local level “in their own ways,” the governor stated in his conditional veto message.

Christie’s agreement, though, is a marked compromise. Two years ago he entirely vetoed a similar bill. At that time, the governor noted that a dozen of the state’s counties and more than 200 of the state’s 565 municipalities had banned smoking at their parks and beaches. Since then, nearly 100 more towns have adopted related laws.

Surf City Councilman Peter Hartney said the borough supports Christie’s conditional veto since the bill would have implemented additional costs to the town, from requiring signs at all park and beach entrances to delineating 15 percent of the beach as a smoking area as well as facing fines if the provisions of the law were not enforced.

“In terms of a bill, it doesn’t have an internal logic to it. There’s lots of problems with it,” Hartney stated.

Smoking is prohibited in Surf City at the bay bathing beach as well as at the children’s playground at South First Street and Barnegat Avenue. The no-smoking ordinance was adopted by the town council in 2012. Fines for infractions average $100 with a required court appearance, including a $33 court fee.

Long Beach Island’s other five municipalities also have smoking bans at their parks and/or beaches.

Beach Haven adopted an ordinance in May to ban smoking on all borough beaches, including within 15 feet of the beach access pathways, as well as in any recreational or park area or borough-owned property. First offense violations include a fine of up to $50 or no more than two days of community service; a second offense is punishable by a fine of not more than $100 or community service of not less than five days; and a third offense within the same calendar year includes a fine of not less than $200 or community service of not less than 10 days, or any combination of fine and community service as determined by the municipal court judge.

Smoking is prohibited on any beach or resort area in Barnegat Light during the summer, from May 1 through Sept. 30 of each year. The ban was implemented last summer after the town received complaints from the public regarding secondhand smoke and cigarette butt litter. Violators issued a police summons are required to make a court appearance, where the judge would set the fine.

Smoking on any of Long Beach Township’s beaches, as well as at Bayview Park in Brant Beach, is prohibited from May 20 to Oct. 1 of every year, though smoking within the park’s playground area is barred at all times. Anyone in violation of the smoking ban, adopted in 2014, is liable to receive a fine of up to $1,000.

In Harvey Cedars, smoking is prohibited on all beaches between the swimming flags during hours when lifeguards are on duty. Smoking is banned year ’round at Sunset Park, excluding designated parking areas. Anyone caught lighting up in these prohibited areas may receive a minimum fine of $50.

Smoking is banned on all of Ship Bottom’s beaches between the surfside flags during on-duty lifeguard hours. Smoking is banned at all times at the playground areas of Waterfront Park, located at 10th Street and Shore Avenue, and the bay bathing beach between 15th and 16th streets. Any infractions may result in a fine of up to $100.

Both Harvey Cedars’ and Ship Bottom’s no-smoking laws went into effect in 2013.

If the bill had been approved as introduced, the Democratic-controlled state Legislature would have banned cigarette, cigar, pipe and electronic device smoking in any state park or forest, county or municipal park, or state or municipal beach. Anyone caught breaking the law would be required to pay a fine of not less than $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.

To implement the ban as amended by Christie, both houses of the Legislature would have to consent to the changes and vote on a revised version of the bill.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.