HYATT REGENCY Orange County Hotel in Garden Grove on Harbor Boulevard (File photo).

By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune

Two proposed ordinances with potential for controversy are on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of the Garden Grove City Council.

One of them is the revival of a proposal to ban smoking in city parks; the other is the first reading of an ordinance to “establish safety and security requirements for hotel workers.”

The original proposal for a ban on smoking in parks was tabled when Councilmember Joe DoVinh made a vigorous objection to the idea, suggesting that it might be a violation of civil rights.

Now, at the request of Councilmember Yesenia Muneton, the topic has been revived. The staff report notes that second-hand smoke creates a health risk for park visitors and that second-hand smoke is responsible for approximately 41,000 deaths among non-smokers each year.

State law requires that smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of playgrounds and”tot lot” areas. Currently several cities in Orange County – including Dana Point, Buena Park, Laguna Beach and Cypress – have enacted prohibitions on smoking in parks.

Regarding safety and security for hotel workers, the proposal calls for hotels to provide (among other requirements) providing certain employees with”

• a “personal security device” to summon help if threatened and;
•  provide for “designated and trained responders” such as security staff or an on-duty manager to respond to calls for assistance;
• ability for employees to request reassignment away from an offending guest, and be given paid-time to contact and cooperate with a police investigation.

The employees who are considered the most likely in need of such protections are those who work alone in guest rooms and other isolated areas where “they may be exposed to threatening or other violent conduct,” according to a staff report.

The requirements listed in this proposed ordinance do not appear to exist for other classes of workers in Garden Grove, but similar regulations have reportedly been adopted for hotel workers in Anaheim and Ontario.

The city council meets at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Meeting Center, 11300 Stanford Ave.