Cape Girardeau smoking ban could be on Cape Girardeau ballot

A group looking to place a citywide smoking ban on the April ballot in Cape Girardeau has cleared a significant hurdle, with city clerk Gayle Conrad confirming Tuesday the petition initiative has more than enough legitimate signatures to do so.

The Cape Girardeau County Clerk's office verified 2,571 of the 2,678 signatures collected by Breathe Easy Cape Girardeau, which wants to ban smoking in all city bars, restaurants and other indoor public places. Conrad said 2,441 is the number of signatures required to put the issue on the ballot, which is about 10 percent of voters registered for the April election.

"The members of the coalition and our supporters are thrilled we got the number of people we needed," said Jeremy Barnes, a professor of health promotion at Southeast Missouri State University and a member of the group. "We want to do more community education. But, ultimately, it's the voters who have to decide."

Now the Cape Girardeau City Council has 60 days to enact the ordinance exactly as proposed, which would also specifically ban smoking in casinos, bingo halls and private clubs. While some restaurant and bar owners said they were hoping the council could make exceptions before the vote, city attorney Eric Cunningham said the council's hands are tied.

"The council can either adopt it without any change in substance within 60 days or otherwise it ends up being on the ballot," Cunningham said. "The council can adopt one that's different. But if they do that, the one that's proposed would still go on the ballot."

If the ban passes at the ballot box, Cunningham said it would be the first time an ordinance was put on the books as the direct result of an initiative petition since the city charter was adopted in 1980.

Restaurant owner Doc Cain of Port Cape Girardeau was hoping the council would have some wiggle room to make exemptions. His downtown restaurant, for example, has a 75-seat dining room for non-smokers. In another section, separated by walls and 25 feet in distance, there is a 60-seat section for smokers in a bar area. That area also has an air filtration system, Cain said.

"I think the ban is too strict," Cain said. "I'm not one to fight against a non-smoker's rights. But don't limit my rights as a business owner, especially if I truly have separate smoking sections. This ban is not something that is reasonable, in my opinion."

But not all restaurant and bar owners are opposed. Mark Dirnberger owns the downtown restaurant Bella Italia and is part-owner of the D'Ladium bar on Broadway. He's also the president of the local chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association.

Dirnberger is not opposed to a smoking ban, as long as it is applied unilaterally.

"Exemptions make the law unfair," he said. "There may be some places that may see a drop in business if some are still allowed to smoke. But if everybody's nonsmoking, you don't cut anybody's throat."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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