By Tony Hartzel
Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News
The prodial smokers are showing signs of returning to Plano.
Public smokers, allowed in Plano
again after a judge temporarily halted
enforcement of the cities no-smoking
ordinance last week, reportedly have
begun to thicken the once thinning
crowds at Plano restaurants and cafes
and a bowling center.
"We've had customers come in, even
nonsmokers, asking if we had a
smoking section again." said
Milagros Flores, assistant manager of
Shoney's restaurant on Plano
Parkway. "We had a waiting list 15
minutes long on Sunday. If we had
one during the smoking ban, it was
only for five minutes."
Shoney's, one of six businesses suing the city to
overturn the ordinance, has taken in $750 more
in daily business since a state district judge
halted enforcement of the law Friday, Ms. Flores said.
The plaintiffs met with the city last week and
agreed to a tentative settlement that will allow
public smoking. The businesses sued Plano last
month, saying the public smoking ban
discriminated against them because they could
not allow smoking in their private clubs but country
clubs could.
The council discussed the mediated
agreement for three hours Monday but
asked for more input from city staff
members before approving any ordinance
changes. The council will receive
information from the city staff and could
approve a compromise at it's Aug. 14
meeting. An agreement must be in place
by Sept 15 or both sides will return to
court for a trial.
Details of the agreement have not been
made public because the council has not
approved it, but Frank Finn, an attorney
for the complaintants said it includes
provisions for seperate ventilation
systems that remove air every 15 minutes.
In addition, minimum distances of 10
feet could be required between smoking
and nonsmoking sections.
Another item mentioned in the
settlement would allow exemptions for
smaller businesses. The settlement also
calls for air walls, jets of air to surround
and contain an otherwise open smoking
section, Mr Finn said.
Others business owners said they
have not had such brisk numbers as
Shoney's but have seen a difference.
This will make a big difference in our business," said Don Gano,
owner of Plano Super Bowl. "A leauge session is four hours
long. You can't ask a smoker to go outside when it is 105 degrees
or it's raining. That's too much when we've got two other bowling
alleys five minutes away."
Mr.Gano wants the council to approve a mediated agreement quickly
because he has laid off 18 of his 63 employees and may lay off three
or four more soon, he said. In addition, Mr. Gano said he has been
forced to cut expenses by halting lawn maintenance, cutting operating
hours and cleaning the facility himself each morning at 3 am.
"People are yo-yos" he said. "Either do something or don't do it.
If the council decides it made a mistake, don't wait till Sept. 15
to do somthing. Lets get something in writing today. Every week that
goes by I'm loosing $15,000."
Don Crowder, owner of the Game Day Sports Cafe, has the judge and
Troy Aikman to thank for a little better business last weekend.
Business was down 50% from the same weekend last year, but
football season - the peek sports bar season - has started.
" It was better than it had been on previous Saturday nights,"
Mr. Crowder said. The real test will be in a couple of weeks.
But the word is getting out."
College alumni groups that had been reluctant to hold football
watching parties at Game Day have committed because of the truce
in the smoking ordinance battle, Mr. Crowder said. Game Day is
one of the five restaurants suing the city.
Business at Game Day was down $22,000 last month and $15,000 in
June from the equivalent two months last year, Mr. Crowder said.
The no-smoking ordinance went into effect June 15.
In east Plano, even the small businesses have noticed a change.
Dorothy Rodriguez, recently cited for smoking in her own DJ"s
Cafe, said more people have stopped by for breakfast, and she has
seen a few of them light up in public.
Mrs. Rodriguez said she might install seperate ventilation systems
- with the help of her sons, who are air contitioning experts. But
she doesn't know what to expect of the new ordinance.
"I've got a feeling this is going to be up and down," she said.
"I just want to crawl into a hole and hide somewhere until its over."
The proposed changes are similar to Arlington's public smoking
ordinance, where restaurants are required to have a seperate
air filtration system or a system that exhusts smoky air every 15
minutes.
If businesses can't afford the estimated $10,000 cost for the
filtration systems or the $3,000 cost for the exhust systems,
they must be non-smoking, said Tommy Uzee, a field inspector
supervisor for the Arlington Building Inspection Department.
The ordinance exempts adult-oriented clubs and other places
where people younger then 18 are not allowed.
In the year since the ordinance was adopted, 56 businesses have
received permits for an air filtration system, Mr. Uzee said.
At least 5 of those permits were issued to new or remolded
restaurants, but the majority were given to existing eatries
that paid for exhust systems. Arlington has more than 725
food establishments, compared with an estimated 550 in Plano.
Mr. Uzee's routine as an inspector is relatively simple. He
fills an area with smoke, and if the area is smoke-free in 15
minutes the restaurant recieves a permit. Arlington does not
conduct air quality checks to test for carcinogens. The city
has responded to two complaints in the past year from citizenswho say the restaurants they visited were too smoky, Mr. Uzee
said. Neither was in violation of the ordinance.
Whatever decision is reached, striking a balance will not be easy,
council member John Van Maele said earlier this week.
"Certainly we may need the wisdom of Solomon to come up with an answer
here," he said.