DEARBORN— The city council will not vote at tonight’s meeting on an ordinance that would ban smoking at city-owned parks. It has referred the proposal to the recreation commission, which will make recommendations to amend the ordinance.

However, according to the council and commission’s calendars, it is unlikely that the ordinance will become law before the end of summer.

The proposal, which had been due for a final vote on Tuesday, bans all types of smoking— including cigarettes, hookah and e-cigarettes— in the parks. It was deemed controversial after some community members voiced their opposition to it on social media and in this newspaper. Some activists said it targets Arab residents, who often smoke hookah in the parks.

An ordinance has to be reintroduced for a first reading if it does not go to a final vote within 90 days after it gets tabled. After a first reading in May, the council was going to approve the proposal on June 23 but moved to table it because of last-minute disagreements about exempting the golf course from the ban.

The Recreation Commission does not meet until Aug. 12. It will make non-binding recommendations to the council, which will have to amend the ordinance and vote on it before Sept. 8, during the last meeting before the 90-day period ends.

Moreover, the commission meets once a month and may not make conclusive recommendations the first time it discusses the ordinance, which would delay its input until mid-September.

Councilman Mike Sareini, who opposes the ordinance and considers it intrusive, told The Arab American News that the council referred the proposal to the Recreation Commission to avoid voting on it Tuesday.

“What they did is simply not giving it a vote,” he said. “It was a way to make it go away in its current format.”

The council had discussed reaching a compromise to enact a partial ban on smoking at parks.

Last week, Councilman Robert Abraham said the council is working on a balanced ordinance that would be accepted by most people.

Council President Susan Dabaja had toured the city’s parks with Councilman Mark Shooshanian to envision alternatives to the total ban. She said the council considered banning smoking at neighborhood parks and designating areas for smokers away from the playing spaces at community parks.

On July 18, the council decided to refer the ordinance to the Recreation Commission for evaluation.

“From the onset of this proposed ordinance, I have been an advocate for compromise to meet the interests of all our residents without compromising the safety of our children,” Dabaja said. “I hope the Recreation Commission will provide us with the input to find that balance.”

Dabaja added that the ordinance is still on the table, but it appears that council members are more willing to reach a middle-ground agreement versus an absolute ban.