Richmond votes to ban smoking in city parks

RICHMOND, Utah (AP) — The Richmond City Council has unanimously voted to ban smoking in its public parks and at community gatherings.

That makes Richmond the fourth Cache County city to place restrictions on outdoor smoking.

Under Richmond's ordinance, smoking is banned within 25 feet of bus stops and within 50 feet of any "mass gathering." A gathering is defined as an event that draws 100 or more people that is expected to last two or more hours.

Smoking ordinance violators can be fined up to $25.

City leaders say the smoking ban is part of a push to earn gold-medal status in Utah's healthy communities program.

About 50 city and county governments statewide have smoking bans, including the Cache County cities of Hyde Park, Logan and Smithfield.