A federal ban on smoking inside homes governed by public housing authorities will send some East Texas smokers on a 25-foot hike anytime they want to light up.
The new prohibition, announced this past week by Housing Secretary Julian Castro, was touted as a public health measure for residents in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development houses and apartments across the country.
Issued in the closing weeks of the Obama administration, it bans cigarette, pipe, cigar, hookah and other combustible tobacco use within 25 feet of affected buildings. Housing authorities have 18 months to comply.
"That's going to impact us a lot," Gilmer Housing Authority Executive Director Steve Sansom said. "I don't like to infringe on others."
Sansom said his board discussed a smoking ban several years ago when it saw HUD moving in that direction. The Gilmer Housing Authority, like similar organizations across the country, is a nonprofit group under the leadership of a board of directors, in Gilmer's case a panel appointed by the mayor.
The Gilmer authority runs 140 apartments on two campuses — Sorrell's Park on the city's west side and Ervin Hill at the city entrance as Texas 300 approaches U.S. 271.
"They are tiny apartments with tiny apartment balconies, and if you're going to get 25 feet away, you're under the stars," Sansom said. "There's no covered area, but I want to do something for (smokers). ... We would certainly try to accommodate folks."
Patricia Campbell, a HUD spokeswoman in its Fort Worth office which oversees this area, said there is nothing in the new rule that compels housing authorities to accommodate smokers with, say, a covered area outside the 25-foot perimeter.
Nothing bars housing authorities from doing that, either.
"They can create a smoking area 25 feet away," she said, adding that the rule does not include funding for such facilities. That will depend on each housing authority, she said.
Sansom in Gilmer said it would be a kind move.
"Smokers are going to smoke somewhere," he said. "There are a lot of public housing authorities that are smoke-free already."
Residents in the 90 public housing authority units in Pittsburg have been allowed to smoke in their homes. Executive Director Med Daniels said she will comply with the new rule.
"We will try to accommodate for our residents as well," she added. "I do think this infringes on people's rights, but I don't make the rules and regulations."
Castro said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters that electronic cigarettes are not included in the rule.
"This rule may well encompass electronic cigarettes in the coming time," he said. "We see this as a first step."
The ban does not apply at any Longview subsidized housing programs because they are under HUD's Section 8 housing protocol. Section 8 is a program that provides rental vouchers to qualified residents.
"This rule only applies to public housing units," Campbell said. "So it does not apply to an apartment building owned by a private individual."
That means it also does not apply at Longview's Hillside Village Apartments, a 100-unit complex on West Whaley Street that is subsidized by HUD through a contract between its owners and the government.
Smoking in rooms, hallways and common areas in Hillside Village has been prohibited for several years. Residents there smoke in designated sitting areas outside two doors. Those residents will not be required to light up 25 feet from the doors, Campbell said.
"This rule that was published (Wednesday) only applies to public housing units that are owned by public housing authorities," she said.
The new prohibition, announced this past week by Housing Secretary Julian Castro, was touted as a public health measure for residents in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development houses and apartments across the country.
Issued in the closing weeks of the Obama administration, it bans cigarette, pipe, cigar, hookah and other combustible tobacco use within 25 feet of affected buildings. Housing authorities have 18 months to comply.
"That's going to impact us a lot," Gilmer Housing Authority Executive Director Steve Sansom said. "I don't like to infringe on others."
Sansom said his board discussed a smoking ban several years ago when it saw HUD moving in that direction. The Gilmer Housing Authority, like similar organizations across the country, is a nonprofit group under the leadership of a board of directors, in Gilmer's case a panel appointed by the mayor.
The Gilmer authority runs 140 apartments on two campuses — Sorrell's Park on the city's west side and Ervin Hill at the city entrance as Texas 300 approaches U.S. 271.
"They are tiny apartments with tiny apartment balconies, and if you're going to get 25 feet away, you're under the stars," Sansom said. "There's no covered area, but I want to do something for (smokers). ... We would certainly try to accommodate folks."
Patricia Campbell, a HUD spokeswoman in its Fort Worth office which oversees this area, said there is nothing in the new rule that compels housing authorities to accommodate smokers with, say, a covered area outside the 25-foot perimeter.
Nothing bars housing authorities from doing that, either.
"They can create a smoking area 25 feet away," she said, adding that the rule does not include funding for such facilities. That will depend on each housing authority, she said.
Sansom in Gilmer said it would be a kind move.
"Smokers are going to smoke somewhere," he said. "There are a lot of public housing authorities that are smoke-free already."
Residents in the 90 public housing authority units in Pittsburg have been allowed to smoke in their homes. Executive Director Med Daniels said she will comply with the new rule.
"We will try to accommodate for our residents as well," she added. "I do think this infringes on people's rights, but I don't make the rules and regulations."
Castro said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters that electronic cigarettes are not included in the rule.
"This rule may well encompass electronic cigarettes in the coming time," he said. "We see this as a first step."
The ban does not apply at any Longview subsidized housing programs because they are under HUD's Section 8 housing protocol. Section 8 is a program that provides rental vouchers to qualified residents.
"This rule only applies to public housing units," Campbell said. "So it does not apply to an apartment building owned by a private individual."
That means it also does not apply at Longview's Hillside Village Apartments, a 100-unit complex on West Whaley Street that is subsidized by HUD through a contract between its owners and the government.
Smoking in rooms, hallways and common areas in Hillside Village has been prohibited for several years. Residents there smoke in designated sitting areas outside two doors. Those residents will not be required to light up 25 feet from the doors, Campbell said.
"This rule that was published (Wednesday) only applies to public housing units that are owned by public housing authorities," she said.
Resource: https://www.news-journal.com/news/2016/dec/04/longview-not-affected-in-federal-ban-on-smoking-in/
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