HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/23/2025 Item Funding Priorities, Manalili (2)Hello Council Members:
My name is Nicola Manalili. I’m a Cal Poly senior, San Luis Obispo resident and renter, and president of
the Cal Poly Public Health Club. I’m here to advocate for stronger protections for the health of our
community.
Renters comprise nearly two thirds of San Luis Obispo’s population and are disproportionately affected
by secondhand smoke exposure. Alarmingly, 1 in 3 non-smokers and 2 in 5 children living in rental
housing report being exposed. While the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
has required smokefree policies in public housing since 2018, these protections do not extend to
privately owned multi-unit housing.
There is a clear opportunity to act. Over 100 California municipalities, including nearby Morro Bay,
Guadalupe, and Fresno, have adopted policies to extend smokefree protections to private multi-unit
residences. And the public is supportive–a recent survey of over seven thousand Californians showed
that over two thirds of participants agreed that apartment complexes should require all of the units to be
tobacco smokefree and vape-free. Resources to help are readily available, including model ordinances
and an enforcement guide tailored to California by the Public Health Law Center.
I urge the Council to prioritize residents' health and extend smokefree protections to all multi-unit
housing. This step will ensure all members of our community particularly those from marginalized
groups, not just a select few, are protected from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.
Thank you for your time and commitment to public health.
Resources:
List of California Municipalities Regulating Smoking in Multi-Unit Housing
https://pets.tcspartners.org/files/List%20of%20MUH%20laws_October%202024.pdf
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Smoke-Free Public Housing
https://www.hud.gov/smokefreepublichousing
Key findings from the 2023 Online California Adult Tobacco Survey
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DCDIC/CTCB/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Research
andEvaluation/Reports/KeyFindingsOnlineCATS2023.pdf
Model Ordinance:
https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/sites/default/files/resources/PHLC-Smoke-free-Common-Interest
-Community-Policy.pdf
Enforcement Guide:
https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/sites/default/files/resources/SF-MUH-Cal-Enforcement-Guide.pdf
Regulating smoking in multi-unit housing:
https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/sites/default/files/resources/Regulating-Smoking-in-MUH.pdf