The Township Council has introduced a measure that would ban smoking of all forms and products around all municipally owned buildings and in public parks.
The ordinance, introduced at the council’s April 22 meeting, aims to prohibit the smoking of all tobacco products — including e-cigarettes — on township-owned grounds and in public parks. Those in violation could face fines from $250 to $1,000 and up to 30 days of community service and jail time, according to the proposal.
If approved, Mount Laurel would join numerous other towns with similar bans.
The measure would also prohibit the smoking of cannabis products as well, if legalized by the state.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen with marijuana in the state of New Jersey, but I don’t think anybody wants people smoking pot while they are pushing their kids on a swing,” Mayor Kurt Folcher said during the meeting. “I think (the ordinance is) something that is really going to resonate in the community.”