A proposal to install three designated smoking areas in downtown Carpinteria — as part of the city’s outdoor smoking ban — was not killed outright, but indefinitely put on ice by the City Council on 9/10. Councilmembers were troubled by the high cost of installing the designated areas, the loss of parking spaces, and the fact that there were only three. Now that designated areas have been abandoned, the new rule is, according to Councilmember Al Clark: “Anyone can still smoke anywhere in downtown Carpinteria, as long as they stay at least five feet away from anyone approaching them.”
