toledoblade.com --

Local tavern owner William Delaney, who has served up suds in Toledo for the past 20 years, yesterday became the first bar owner to be convicted for violating the city's law banning smoking in public places.

"It's terrible," Mr. Delaney said of the ordinance. "It's going to ruin everyone in this town."

Mr. Delaney, owner of Delaney's Lounge, was found guilty in Toledo Municipal Court of 11 minor misdemeanors for violating the city's Clean Indoor Air Ordinance. His offenses ranged from having ash trays available and failing to post "No Smoking" signs to several occasions when city inspectors found people smoking at his establishment at 309 West Alexis Rd.

He is scheduled for sentencing on July 17, when he faces a fine of $100 per conviction.

In court yesterday, defense attorney Steve Hales said that Mr. Delaney was holding private social functions in his bar when inspectors visited it on several different occasions during January, February, and March. Closing the establishment to the public

so that it can be used for "private social functions" is listed in the ordinance as an exemption when smoking is allowed, he said.

Mr. Delaney testified that he was hosting private charity events for the Bethany House or for Horseback Haven at the time he was visited by inspectors from the city's environmental services division.

Municipal Judge C. Allen McConnell discounted that argument, saying it was a "method of trying to circumvent the law." He did dismiss four of the original charges for lack of evidence. In one instance, an inspector spoke with a woman who said she was having a birthday party in the tavern's back room. That led Judge McConnell to conclude there could have been a private function there that day.

"The law is not ambiguous in any way," the judge said. "It is very clear to those who read it. I find nothing here that indicates to me that these were genuinely private functions that were occurring at the bar."

Toledo became the first jurisdiction in Ohio to ban smoking in bars, restaurants, and public places when city council members approved the ordinance in July. Several other Ohio cities, including Findlay, Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, are considering smoking bans.

The Toledo law exempts private clubs and social events and bars smaller than 245 square feet. It allows establishments to build smoking lounges as long as they meet city standards.

Bar owners have claimed that the ordinance will force business out of Toledo. They claim a less strict smoking ban would be more suitable, like that in Bowling Green where bars that derive less than 35 percent of their revenue from food sales are exempt.

"I think it's fair down there," Mr. Delaney, who derives almost 90 percent of his sales from alcohol, said of Bowling Green. "What we have here is totally unfair. Our only hope is if [City Council] looks at it again."

Toledo tavern owners James Avolt of The Distillery and Jeff Bollin of the Bier Stube will return to court today to finish their trial that started Monday. Both men face one charge of violating the ordinance.

Several other Toledo bar owners face similar charges filed since the law went into effect in January. The owners of the Easy Street Cafe on Washington St., Chuck's Hungry I on Monroe Street, and the now-closed Consaul Tavern pleaded not guilty yesterday before Judge McConnell to the charges.

To date, no attempts to overturn the ordinance - including an effort to put a repeal referendum before voters and two applications for a court injunction - have been successful.

"Of course we're pleased. The court has consistently upheld the smoking ban … and this is just another phase in that process," said city Law Director Barb Herring. "Now we're going to continue enforcing the ordinance." Ms. Herring added that the vast majority of Toledo's business community is complying with the ordinance.

Contact Erica Blake at:
eblake@theblade.com
or 419-724-6076.

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