So now we need to know what the meaning of “and” is. The City of Boulder is taking the owner of the Pearl Street Tavern to court regarding smoking on their outdoor patio.
So why is it called the “Indoor Air Act” if it controls smoking on a patio? My best guess w/o doing any research, because it isn’t worth the time, is that the patio is too close to the building. At anyrate, keeping in mind that a “cigar bar’ is grandfathered in and can have smoking inside or outside the establishment, the Daily Camera summarizes the issue as follows:
The question of whether Sonn’s business qualifies as a cigar bar comes down to the meaning of the word “and.”
The Clean Indoor Air Act, which the state Legislature passed in 2006, defines a cigar bar as an establishment that “generated at least 5 percent or more of its annual gross income or $50,000 in annual sales from the on-site sale of tobacco products and the rental of on-site humidors.”
Nobody disputes that the business sells enough cigarettes and cigars at the bar to qualify. But the two sides disagree about whether Sonn needs to rent space in his humidor to meet the legal standard.
So the concern is:
1. Does “and” mean the combined sales of both tobacco products and rental of on-site humidors
OR
2. Does “and” require that sales from BOTH tobacco products and rental of on-site humidors are required.
The City of Boulder point of view is given by the environmental control officer…
A Boulder environmental enforcement officer said Sonn needed to both sell enough tobacco and rent out humidor space to qualify as a cigar bar. Sonn’s lawyer said the statute only requires bar owners to meet the tobacco-related financial threshold, which can — but doesn’t have to — include humidor rentals.
The article goes on to say both sides report case law. Frankly I find it crazy that the City would believe both sources of income are required. But of course this is the same City that wants to tax free coffee.
Further information can be found in this previous Daily Camera article.
