Many Texas cities have adopted stringent regulations for public places in the decade-long anti-smoking campaign. Property owners are following the rules, but still providing smoking areas to accommodate tenants.

"As a landlord, we walk a very fine line so you don't upset your tenants as well as be responsive to the community," Feliz Jarvis, vice president with the Billingsley Co., tells GlobeSt.com. Billingsley's International Business Park spans Carrollton and Plano, the more restrictive of the two cities.

Becky Rowland, Billingsley's vice president of property services, says six months ago copies of Plano's ordinances had been sent to all tenants due to repeated violations. Security cameras had caught employees standing inside the buildings and holding their cigarettes outside the glass doors. Faced with a $2,000 penalty per violation, Billingsley floated the ordinance copies so the onus is on the tenant instead of the building owner.