City amends outdoor burning regulations

The City Commission recently approved an updated outdoor burning ordinance effective May 24, 2017. The ordinance clarifies the options for outdoor cooking, allows for special event bonfires with a permit and a fee, and allows outdoor recreational campfires that meet specific requirements.

Outdoor Cooking: For the purpose of outdoor cooking, fires of propane, charcoal or woodchips are allowed on private property without a permit. The fires must be contained in the appropriate metal, brick or other fireproof container designed for cooking purposes.

Recreational Campfires: A recreational campfire is a small fire used for warmth, cooking and/or leisure. The burning of propane or natural gas in a recreational outdoor portable fire pit, or other free standing container designed for outdoor fires is allowed without a permit. Additional regulations include:

• The fire container must be at a one-family or two-family dwelling
• The fire container cannot be on a balcony or deck
• The fire container must be 20 feet from any structure, combustible material, lot line, roadway, alleyway or fence
• At its largest point, the fire container must not exceed 3 feet wide, 3 feet deep and 3 feet tall
• The fire container must be UL certified and installed according to manufacturer’s recommendations
• The fire container must be made of non-combustible materials
• Burning of yard waste, leaves, trash, refuse, building materials or other materials is prohibited
• Fires are prohibited during times of high fire risk or burning bans

Other types of outdoor fires, such as bonfires (large fires fueled by wood or burnable waste), ground fires or other similar fires are allowed only with a permit and payment of a fee ($65 for permit, plus $145/hour if standby personnel are required).

Please note, a bonfire is not equivalent to a recreational campfire, and permits are not issued for wood/waste-burning recreational campfires. Permits must be requested at least 10 days in advance. Contact Fire Lt. Randy Keeler at (989) 779-5122.

To see the full outdoor burning ordinance, click here.