Seattle Parks and Recreation is holding a public hearing this Thursday to give the public a chance to respond to their proposed Code of Conduct, which would ban using tobacco in public parks, among other behaviors.

The Code of Conduct, drafted by the Board of Park Commissioners (an appointed advisory citizen board) is receiving complaints for its vague and ambitious language, such as a ban on spitting in public parks, use of opposite sex restrooms, and other “conduct that unreasonably deprives others of their use or enjoyment of the park or park facilities” (consequently, the spitting and bathroom provisions were struck). Much of the behavior highlighted in the proposed code is already prohibited by state or local laws—acts like camping, littering, vandalizing, playing with explosives, gambling, and defecating in a public park, which prompts the question: why ban in if it's already illegal? The kind of people who are already playing with explosives or defecating wherever they please aren't going to be scared straight by a threat of banishment from a park.

Department spokeswoman Dewey Potter explained that the main purpose of the code is to give police a tool to use when on patrol. "We're trying to consolidate into a single document all of the behaviors that could get you kicked out of a park so that police and citizens better know how to handle themselves."

In addition to already illegal behaviors is a proposed smoking ban, which prohibits smoking, chewing, or other tobacco use anywhere on Parks and Recreation system property. The proposed smoking ban is cited as being a response to City Council members Tom Rasmussen, Nick Licata and Sally Clark, who called on the parks department to develop a tobacco policy last December.

However, Licata stated that he favors a restriction on smoking, not a total ban, and Rasmussen said his primary concern was to ban tobacco use around children and in crowded areas.

Our state indoor smoking ban already prohibits smoking within 25 feet of a door, window, or ventilation, which in a dense urban neighborhood basically restricts public smokers to parks, a few seedy alleys, and the middle of the street. If you take parks off the list, smokers are seriously screwed (single tear).

Which is assuming that tobacco users comply with the code of conduct—and let's be realistic here, most won't. Smoking is a legal, acceptable use of one's time. Playing with explosives while defecating in a public park is not. It's ridiculous to lump the these behaviors together and assign the same consequences to both.

Potter adds that the department has received over 100 emails commenting on various aspects of the code. "We're getting responses that are passionate about wanting parks to be smoke free and others who think it's overkill." So far, the board has not explored alternatives to a full smoking ban.

One alternative would be to regulate smoking, say, within 25 feet of a beach, playground, or athletic field (for the sake of continuity). Or 50 or 100 feet if necessary. Personally, I'd like to propose an amendment to ban individuals from offering tattoos to children in exchange for sexual favors, you know, just to cover all our bases. That, too, is unacceptable conduct for our city's parks, and I think a 24-hour park ban would give these people time to see the error of their ways.

The public meeting to discuss the proposed Code of Conduct will be held Thursday, January 28 at 7:00 p.m. in City Council chambers, 2nd floor of City Hall, 600 4th Avenue. Potter encourages people to send their testimony to sandy.brooks@seattle.gov if they can't make the meeting. The bottom line, she says, is "this code isn't yet complete but we're listening!"