No smoking in your own home? Ocean Township condo complex could join those with total ban

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - Bill Commons has been living in his second-story condominium at Nobility Crest, a 55-and-older community, since 2017. Four years ago, a smoker moved into the unit directly below.

At Nobility Crest, all public areas are smoke-free, but that didn’t prevent what the 73-year-old Commons describes as “devastating” second-hand smoke infiltrating his condo.

“The problem is if the person below you smokes, it goes through the ventilation and air conditioning and just poisons your neighbors,” he said. “It’s devastating.”

So Commons and some similarly concerned residents launched a quest to get cigarette smoking banned from the entire complex — individual residences and all. After three years of pushing and some guidance from a nonprofit, they got Nobility Crest’s governing board to hold a meeting on the subject, where it was resolved that a vote of all homeowners would be held on the proposed ban.

According to Tobacco-Free for a Healthy New Jersey, a Tinton Falls-based nonprofit, there are 113 such communities in New Jersey. The nonprofit’s officials aided Nobility Crest residents with their smoke-free push.

“Research shows that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause immediate harmful effects on the heart and blood vessels, resulting in coronary heart disease and stroke,” said Ashley Smith, Tobacco-Free for a Healthy New Jersey’s state coordinator.

What does the law say?

Smith’s staff provided Commons and his neighboring advocates with a toolkit on implementing smoke-free policies, including the following legal bullet points:

• People who smoke are not a protected legal class; there is no “right to smoke” under any U.S. law.

• Smoke-free policies are like any other lease provision, such as trash removal or pet restrictions.

• Public and private facilities have the right to adopt smoke-free policies.

Joining Commons in the smoke-free push is Barbara Haberman, who owns a third-floor condo at Nobility Crest and lives above a smoker.

“I know when she’s home because I can smell the odor of cigarettes,” Haberman said. “It’s not contained to an individual unit, which is a point of contention. I have new grandkids and they sleep over sometimes. I know if I can smell it, I’m breathing in particulates and they are, too.”

Although Commons estimates that smoking is taking place in only about 10 of Nobility Crest’s 198 units (which are spread among six buildings), he believes he has the backing of just enough owners to clear the 67% supermajority required to implement the ban.

“It’s an aging community and people are moving in and out, and who knows who’s going to get a smoker as a neighbor tomorrow,” Commons said.

Warnings and fines

The ban, which comes in the form of an amendment to Nobility Crest’s bylaws, includes an exemption for medical marijuana. The penalty for violating the ban is a written warning for the first offense, a $200 fine for the second, a $500 fine for the third, and a $1,000 fine for the fourth and subsequent offenses.

Commons said he contacted property managers at a handful of other communities that recently implemented similar smoke-free bylaws and it went smoothly.

“This has been done before,” Haberman said.

Ballots went out to owners two weeks ago and will be tabulated Feb. 15.

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Smoking ban inside homes up for vote at Ocean Township condo complex