Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br /> STAFF REPORT <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />TO: Mayor Fischer and Members of the City Council <br /> <br /> <br />FROM: Bryce Shearen, CPRE, Parks & Recreation/Community Services Director <br />Brian Reimers, Administration Fellow <br /> DATE: September 27, 2023 <br /> RE: Park Ordinance Amendment – Tobacco and Cannabis Use in Parks and Park <br />Facilities; Possible Establishment of New Chapter within City Code <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br />Acting in the health interests of the citizens of the City of Little Canada, staff seeks to reduce <br />commercial tobacco, cannabis, and cannabis-related product use with the City of Little Canada <br />parks, park facilities, public places, and public property. <br />Commercial tobacco is the single most preventable cause of death and disease. Long-term <br />commercial tobacco use is directly related to many illnesses, including lung, oral, and pharyngeal <br />cancer and heart and lung diseases. For example, in Ramsey County, one in eight deaths is <br />commercial tobacco-related, and commercial tobacco creates $262.7 million in excess medical <br />costs and a $753 tax burden per household. <br />Commercial tobacco-free policies help ensure all community members have a healthy <br />environment in which to live. These policies help people who are trying to quit by eliminating <br />the sight and smell of commercial tobacco, cannabis, and cannabis-related products. This <br />ordinance update will prohibit persons from using tobacco and or cannabis products while in a <br />park(s), park facilities, public places, and public property. <br />Additionally, according to the 2016 Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation’s Guide to Tobacco-Free <br />Policies for Community Parks Systems, there are eight cities within Ramsey County that have <br />adopted a Tobacco-Free Park policy. Those include Shoreview, New Brighton, Maplewood, St. <br />Paul, Arden Hills, North St. Paul, Mounds View, and Falcon Heights. All of these surrounding <br />cities adopted this policy in the early 2000s, with the one exception of Falcon Heights which <br />adopted the policy in 2012. The fact that Little Canada has not adopted this Tobacco-Free policy <br />indicates that it is well behind the curve in operating on par with surrounding municipalities. <br />Staff completed extensive research regarding the ‘best practices’ of surrounding communities to <br />see what language other cities’ parks and recreation ordinances were using and how they are <br />addressing the newly established cannabis legislature. After a thorough review by multiple staff