Smoking will not be allowed in Steamboat Springs' restaurants, bars, athletic fields, outdoor amphitheaters and workplaces as of July 1.

The City Council spent more than 1 1/2 hours fine-tuning its smoking ordinance before approving it, 6-1, on Tuesday night.

The majority of council members rejected an idea to take the ordinance to the voters in November, citing the decision as one of public safety, health and welfare.

"I think we should pass this, do what we were mandated to do," Councilwoman Kathy Connell said.

Connell said that residents could petition to have the referendum put on the ballot if they wanted a public vote.

The council has considered putting smoking restrictions in place since the fall. Before Tuesday's meeting, the council had agreed to a ban on smoking inside and outside of bars and restaurants and other indoor facilities open to the public. The council had not decided whether smoking should be allowed in private clubs, condominiums used for nightly rentals and outdoor facilities, such as concert venues and athletic fields.

Allowing smoking in private clubs was the issue that received the most discussion Tuesday night. The council agreed to allow smoking in private clubs, but then debated about how to define them.

Some council members worried that if the definition were too loose, business owners would try to create the illusion of private clubs by having patrons pay a nominal fee to join the club, where they would be allowed to smoke. Other council members thought that if the city went with a state-defined version of a private club -- one that had to be in existence for three years -- it would be too restrictive and exclude the possibility of a cigar club.

"Where do you draw a line?" Councilwoman Nancy Kramer asked. "If you are going to pass something, you got to be able to support it, because I think we are getting really fuzzy here."

The council settled on the definition of a private club as one that restricts admission to members and their guests and whose membership charges or annual fees substantially defray the costs of operation.

The council also discussed how the ordinance would affect the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which technically is a private club but is open to the public. Under the city ordinance, the VFW would be defined as a private club. If smoking were permitted, the VFW could allow only members and their guests.

Resident Ann Evonoff spoke against restricting smoking at the VFW and other bars, such as the Golden Cue, where children are not allowed and many of the patrons smoke.

"There is nothing I enjoy more (after) 10 hours of work than to go to the Golden Cue and have a cigarette and a vodka," Evonoff said. "Why are you going to exclude this?"

The council also decided to restrict smoking at the rodeo grounds, city-owned athletic fields, playgrounds and the outdoor amphitheatres near the Headwall ski trail and Howelsen Hill. The council also discussed whether restricting smoking at events, such as the Free Summer Concert Series, which is held at Headwall and Howelsen Hill, reached too far. The majority said no.

"What is the difference between that and the rodeo? It is a crowd," Kramer said.

The council also agreed that people who want to smoke outside of a smoke-free building must stand at least 10 feet from the entrance. The council originally said smokers must be a reasonable distance from the entrance, which city staff said would be hard to enforce.

"That is the beauty of the legal system. Anytime there is room to argue, it is going to happen," Municipal Prosecutor Colette Byrne Erickson said.

The council decided not to restrict smoking in condominiums that are used as nightly rentals. Because condominiums go on and off the nightly rental market quickly and are used by owners, nonsmoking restrictions would be too hard to enforce, Connell said.

The ordinance requires at least 80 percent of rooms in hotels and motels to be smoke-free.

Council President Paul Strong voted against the ordinance, saying the city had not fully examined all the repercussions that could result from the law. He worried about the increase in noise complaints when patrons filter out of Ski Time Square bars late at night to smoke cigarettes.

"We are going to have real issues coming. It will be something we are dealing with for a long time to come," he said.

Other council members said the risks were worth it.

"I think it is worth the trade-off. We will get by it," Councilman Steve Ivancie said.

-- To reach Christine Metz call 871-4229

or e-mail cmetz@steamboatpilot.com