A smoking ban is coming to the parks of Gilroy, Calif. after the city council approved an ordinance earlier this month.

The ban extends to all areas of the parks, including parking lots, and removes the existing designated smoking areas that exist of 14 of Gilroy’s 17 parks. The city had been one of just three in Santa Clara County not to have passed such a ban, leaving Mountain View and Los Altos Hills as the remaining two. Violators would be subject to being cited with an infraction,

The ordinance is expected to be in effect by April 1. Gilroy is home to approximately 57,000 residents and is located just over 30 miles southeast of San Jose.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.