Jump to full article: Aspen (CO) Daily News, 2008-08-09
Author: Andrew Travers, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Intro: An attorney for the homeowners association at the Centennial affordable-housing complex says a ban on cigarette smoking in its privately owned units is viable and will hold up in court.
When the homeowners association board proposed banning smoking in the 92 privately owned condominiums, some residents — smokers and non — balked, arguing that the ban would set a dangerous precedent for infringing on civil liberties and possibly violating the constitutional right to privacy.
“Preliminary findings indicate that we will be able to make Centennial a ‘smoke-free environment’ if we so choose,” homeowners association board president Ed Cross wrote to residents in a letter this week. “Legal precedent has stated that smoking is not a constitutionally protected right.” . . .
attorney, Fred Peirce, has since prepared a legal argument for the ban that he will present at a Centennial homeowners meeting on Aug. 19.
That meeting will also include remarks from Aspen Fire Marshal Ed Van Walraven, who recommended that Centennial ban smoking after a June fire caused by a smoldering cigarette destroyed 10 apartments in the Castle Ridge affordable-housing complex. (
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