The two resolutions Kamloops submitted to the Union of B.C. Municipalities passed Thursday without any debate.

The resolution on making voting more accessible to the blind was a shoo-in for support.

But Coun. Ken Christian's resolution calling for UBCM support to get the province to ban smoking in parks, playgrounds, beaches, restaurant and bar patios and other public outdoor areas was expected to spark some debate.

It didn't.

Christian said both resolutions went through in a block. Usually, if someone wants to debate one of the items, they ask for it to be pulled out for discussion.

That didn't happen with the Kamloops resolutions.

Cancer from smoking is the largest single preventable cause of morbidity and mortality, he said.

"Really what the resolution talks about is outdoor places — that would be civic outdoor places, soccer sidelines and those kinds of things, where you have a congregation of people affected by sidestream smoke," he said.

The problem is, there are at least 30 municipalities in B.C. with varying smoking restrictions. They're all different. His resolution asks the province to set out rules for all of B.C.

All the UBCM resolutions that were passed fall into the hands of the union's executive. They take them to the provincial government to look at related initiatives.

Christian said his resolution garnered letters of support from the B.C.-Yukon branch of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the B.C. Lung Association.

The other resolution asked the UBCM to lobby Victoria for legislation that would ensure accessible ballots for blind or visually impaired voters at polling places.

Coun. Nancy Bepple said there were some resolutions that would affect communities around Kamloops, such as the one brought forward by the Cariboo Regional District.

It asked for larger tax exemptions for rural resorts, as there have been a lot of closures and financial pressures in recent years.

Bepple said the argument was made that property values have gone up enormously for lakefront properties — one regional district director said assessments in her area went up 4,000 per cent recently.

That same director noted that one lake that used to have 30 resorts around it now has four.

Bepple said she and other UBCM delegates supported that request for support for tax exemptions, which could affect resorts at lakes around Kamloops like Tunkwa, Heffley, Knouff, Bonaparte and Lac le Jeune.

What didn't get the support of UBCM delegates was other requests for tax exemptions, such as Vernon's resolutions around breaks for commercial property owners. One involved waiving school taxes for commercial properties.

"We weren't in the mood to give tax exemptions for commercial," said Bepple.