San Francisco could ban smoking on bar patios and parklets, as supervisors weigh an ordinance that has public health advocates celebrating and neighborhood bar owners on edge. The proposal would close a decades-old exception that still allows smoking in many outdoor bar spaces and semi-enclosed patios. Bar owners argue the move would simply push smokers onto the sidewalks and pile on yet another pressure point for venues still clawing back from the pandemic.
What's in the proposal
The measure, filed as File No. 260361, would amend the city Health Code to bar smoking on outdoor patios of bars and taverns and remove several long-standing exemptions, according to the City and County of San Francisco. Sponsors on the legislation include Supervisors Myrna Melgar, Danny Sauter, Alan Wong and Connie Chan, and the file is currently parked with the Board’s Land Use and Transportation Committee. The ordinance text would also update definitions and exceptions laid out in Article 19F of the Health Code.
Research backing the change
Supporters are leaning on air-quality data and public-health guidance that suggest outdoor patios can still expose workers and customers to unhealthy levels of secondhand smoke. In 2022, UCSF researchers took air measurements at nine bar patios and found peak readings in the EPA “unhealthy” range at six of the locations, a finding advocates have used to press the city to act, as reported by SFist. Melgar has framed the proposal as both a workers’ rights and public-health measure that would bring San Francisco’s rules in line with state standards.
Small-business commission raises alarms
City small-business officials are not sold. The mayor’s Office of Small Business sent a formal letter to the Board stating that the Small Business Commission voted 6-0 on April 27 to take a motion of no support, warning that the ordinance could drive smokers onto sidewalks, inflame neighborhood disputes and place extra strain on nightlife venues, according to the commission’s response letter. The commission also called for more local data on patio-related complaints and urged supervisors to tread carefully, given the industry’s ongoing post-pandemic recovery.
What owners and patrons are saying
Bar owners and nightlife workers have lined up in public comment and local coverage to argue that a patio smoking ban could gut businesses that rely on outdoor smoking areas to keep customers on-site. Reporting has highlighted spots from the Castro to the Mission, raising red flags about sidewalk spillover and a loss of long-standing bar culture, and a campaign opposing the ordinance has started gathering signatures, as reported by Mission Local. Opponents say any change needs to come with a clear enforcement plan and funding for signage so bars are not left to referee the shift on their own.
Supporters call it overdue
Public-health groups and LGBTQ advocacy organizations that helped push through similar laws in other cities argue San Francisco is playing catch-up by keeping its current carveout. LGBTQ Minus Tobacco, which partnered with UCSF on local testing, contends that smoke-free bar patios can encourage cessation and make nightlife more accessible to people with respiratory conditions, and its materials cite dozens of California cities that already prohibit smoking on bar patios. Supporters say a citywide rule would finally set consistent expectations for workers and patrons across neighborhoods, particularly in nightlife-heavy districts.
What happens next
The ordinance remains under review in committee and must clear the Land Use and Transportation Committee before heading to the full Board for votes, according to the City and County of San Francisco. Under Board rules, most ordinances need support from six of the 11 supervisors to pass, as outlined by the Board of Supervisors. Expect more public comment and at least one committee hearing before any final decision is made.
Local TV news spotlighted the proposal this week, airing both the health arguments and the backlash from bar owners as San Francisco weighs whether to move forward, and the fight is likely to keep playing out in hearings and public comment in the weeks ahead, according to coverage by KTVU.
