Mayor Laurel Brady said her city is considering an ordinance that would ban outdoor smoking. If it passes, the city will be the fourth in Utah County to enact such legislation.

"[We wanted to] make sure it is suited to our needs," Brady said.

An Orem ordinance, which county officials want to use as a baseline, bans smoking in public parks and at public gatherings. However, it allows smoking in cemeteries and golf courses because people do not assemble in those locations in large groups for extended periods of time.

J. Layne Henderson, Salem's mayor, said his city adopted the model in September, with a few extra restrictions. In addition to parks and public gatherings, people in Salem cannot smoke at city facilities or bus stops.

"The idea was to protect everyone from secondhand smoke," Henderson said. Salem passed its ordinance in September after Henderson heard discussion about it at a Council of Governments meeting.

The Utah County Board of Health is polling mayors to find out if they want to enact the ordinance individually or have it as a countywide regulation.

Earlier, Utah County Commissioner Steve White said there were questions of how to enforce a countywide rule. He said the county doesn't plan on sending sheriff's deputies to each park to sniff out illegal smokers, but cities may balk at having to enforce a county rule.

dmeyers@sltrib.com

What's next

The Mapleton City Council will discuss a proposed outdoor smoking ban at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Mapleton City Center, 125 W. 400 North.

Other Utah County bans

Bans are in effect in Orem, Springville and Salem. Mapelton Mayor Laurel Brady said the city was inspired to act because of the county's talk of a smoking ban modeled after Orem's ordinance.