A bylaw before council would see stiff penalties for those who smoke outside on municipal properties.
On Monday, council gave first two readings to the bylaw.
The bylaw would prohibit smoking at municipal parks, beaches and along municipal trails and walkways. However, the outdoor smoking ban does not apply to highways and municipal sidewalks, or to designated smoking areas.
Similar bylaws are already in place elsewhere. Kelowna, West Kelowna and the Regional District of Central Okanagan all have smoke-free parks and beaches in place.
Linda Tynan, chief administrative officer for the municipality, said the bylaw could be extended in the future.
“We feel this is a first step,” she said. “We could do further amendments at a later date.”
Coun. Erin Trainer proposed the bylaw in July, after noticing the number of cigarette butts littering the community.
“It concerns me because of the hot, dry weather we’ve been having,” she said when she suggested the outdoor smoking bylaw.
Healthy living, care for the environment and fire safety concerns were all listed as reasons for the bylaw.
The penalties for violating the smoke bylaw will be determined later.
The bylaw readings received unanimous support from council.
