HomeMy WebLinkAbout[09b] Fire OrdinanceCITY OF ST. JOSEPH
MEETING DATE:
AGENDA ITEM:
SUBMITTED BY:
Council Agenda Item 9
April 1, 2010
Administrator Reports
a. Fire Ordinance
Administration /Fire Chief
BOARD /COMMISSION /COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: The Fire Chief has indicated previously that all burning permits within
the City of St. Joseph will be administered by the Department of Natural Resources. The City has
adopted an Ordinance that prohibits burning in the corporate limits.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The Fire Chief, based on a recommendation of the DNR is looking to
amend the current Ordinance on burning. The way the current Ordinance is written no burning is
allowed in the City limits. The City has holding ponds that are burned annually and we occasionally burn
the brush pile at the compost area. The DNR is indicating that if the City wishes to continue that
practice we need to amend our Ordinance. We have also been requested by some commercial property
owners to burn their holding ponds that contain native grasses. The City encourages native grass
plantings but the regulations limit how they are maintained. In looking at other Cities Ordinances, they
allow for pond burning. We are working with the DNR for the needed changes and will get those to you
as soon as they review.
BUDGET /FISCAL IMPACT:
ATTACHMENTS:
REQUESTED COUNCIL ACTION: Authorize the Mayor and Administrator to execute the Amendment to
the Fire Ordinance causing the same to be published.
RESOLUTION 2010 -009
AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE 103
FIRE AND BURNING REGULATIONS
SUMMARY PUBLICATION
The City Council for the City of St. Joseph has adopted an amendment to Ordinance 103: Fire
and Burning Regulations.
The purpose of the amendment to Ordinance 103 is the following: the addition of Section
103.03 Subd. 5 providing for Natural Resource Burning and 103.03 Subd. 5 Public Purpose Burning,
allowing for control burns by the St. Joseph Public Works Department.
This material is a summary of the amendments to Ordinance 103. The full text of the Oridnance
and amendment is available for inspection by any person during regular office hours at the Office of the
City Administrator.
This summary publication was adopted by the City Council of the City of St. Joseph on the
V day of April , 2010, and shall become effective upon publication.
CITY OF ST. JOSEPH
By
Alan Rassier, Mayor
By
Judy Weyrens, Administrator
This amendment was published on
AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE 103
REGARDING FIRE AND BURNING REGULATIONS
The Council of the City of St. Joseph hereby ordains:
That Ordinance 103.03 is amended as follows:
"Subd. 5: Fires ignited for the purpose of Natural Resource Management. It is recognized that
areas within the City of St. Joseph have incorporated native prairies as a landscaping alternative and the
preferred maintenance method is prescribed burning. Permits for burning Natural Resource areas must
be secured by the local fire warden or other authorized state, county or local authority. In requesting an
a permit for a prescribed burn, the applicant must provide the following information:
a) Site Plan of Proposed Burn Area. Applicant must provide a professionally drawn site
plan drawn to scale and indicating set back distances from structures, property lines, and any factors
that could contribute to fire spread or growth;
b) Burn Plan. Applicant must include the methods for burning and fire control during the
prescribed burn and also how residents in the immediate area will be notified about the prescribed
burn;
C) Smoke Management Plan.
d) Requested time frame for conducting the prescribed burn. (Limited to no more than a
two week period).
e) Letter of Authorization. The applicant must provide written approval from the property
owner requesting the Natural Resource Burn.
f) Licensure. The applicant must provide documentation of licensing, bonding and
insurance that the contractor conducting the burn carries for damages incurred by the burn.
Subd. 6. Public Purpose Burning. The St. Joseph Public Works Department may conduct burns
of brush and leaves for maintenance purposes.
This amendment is adopted the 15` day of April , 2009, and shall be effective upon publication.
CITY OF ST. JOSEPH
By
By
This amendment was published on
Alan Rassier, Mayor
Judy Weyrens, Administrator
CHAPTER X — NUISANCES & OFFENSES
ORDINANCE 103
FIRE AND BURNING RESTRICTIONS .................. ..........................103
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Section 103.01:
PURPOSE .................................... ............................... ..........................103
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Section 103.02:
DEFINITIONS ............................. ............................... ..........................103
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Section 103.03:
PROHIBITION OF FIRES .......... ............................... ..........................103
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Section 103.04:
MATERIALS ............................... ............................... ..........................103
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Section 103.05:
PROHIBITION OF ALL BURNING ......................... ..........................103
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Section 103.06:
GENERAL REGULATIONS REGARDING PERMITTED FIRES...
103 -3
Section 103.07:
PENALTIES ................................ ............................... ..........................103
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I[III l
CHAPTER X — NUISANCES & OFFENSES
ORDINANCE 103 FIRE AND BURNING RESTRICTIONS
Section 103.01: PURPOSE. The City Council has made a determination that
unregulated burning within the City has an adverse effect upon the health, comfort, repose and
property of the residents of the City, specifically finding:
a) Increases the risk of destruction of personal property and structures.
b) Increases the pollution of the air and affects the health of residents, primarily
those suffering from asthma and other respiratory ailments.
C) Causes annoyance by smoke drifting onto adjacent properties.
d) Increases the potential for injury by creating a nuisance attractive to children.
e) Causes soot and odor to adjacent property.
Therefore, the City Council has enacted this Ordinance restricting the ignition and
maintenance of fires, and other burning as may occur within the City of St. Joseph.
Section 103.02: DEFINITIONS. As used herein, the following terms shall be defined in
the following manner:
Subd 1: Person. Means any natural person acting either personally or in any
representative capacity, corporation, firm, co- partnership, or an association of any nature or kind.
Subd. 2: Timber. Means and includes trees, saplings, bushes, seedlings, and sprouts
from which trees may grow, of every size, nature, kind and description.
Subd. 3: Forest Products. Means and includes all products derived from timber.
Subd. 4: Owner. Includes a person owning the fee title to any real property, or the
person occupying real property pursuant to a leasehold interest therein.
Subd. 5: Open Fire or Open Burning_ Means a fire which is not contained within a fully
enclosed fire box or structure from which the products of combustion are emitted directly to the
open atmosphere without passing through a stack, duct or chimney.
103 -1
CHAPTER X — NUISANCES & OFFENSES
Subd. 6: Recreational Fire /Campfire. Means a fire set for cooking, warming, ceremonial
or esthetic purposes, which is not more than three feet in diameter by three feet high, which has
the ground five feet from the base of the fire cleared of all combustionable material, and which is
contained within a metal ring, rock, concrete or other similar non- combustionable material
surrounding the base of the fire.
Section 103.03: PROHIBITION OF FIRES. All fires within the City of St. Joseph are
prohibited, except for the following:
Subd. 1: Recreational Fires /Campfires
Subd. 2: Fire contained in a charcoal grill, camp stove or other device designed for the
purpose of cooking or heating.
Subd. 3: A fire contained within a building or structure ignited for the purpose of
providing heat to the interior of the structure or to be used in the preparation of food.
Subd. 4: Fires ignited for purposes of fire training as therein defined by Minn. Stat.
§88.17 subd. 3(a), pursuant to special permit granted by the local fire warden or other authorized
state, county or local authority.
Subd. 5: Fires ignited for the purpose of Natural Resource Management. It is recoggized
that areas within the City of St. Joseph have incorporated native prairies as a landscaping
alternative and the preferred maintenance method is prescribed burning. Permits for burning
Natural Resource areas must be secured by the local fire warden or other authorized state, county
or local authority. In requesting an a permit for a prescribed burn, the applicant must provide the
following information:
a) Site Plan of Proposed Burn Area. Applicant must provide a professionally drawn
site plan drawn to scale and indicating set back distances from structures, property
lines, and any factors that could contribute to fire spread or growth;
b) Burn Plan. Applicant must include the methods for burning and fire control
during the prescribed burn and also how residents in the immediate area will be
notified about the prescribed burn:
C) Smoke Management Plan.
d) Requested time frame for conducting the prescribed burn. (Limited to no more
than a two week period).
e) Letter of Authoriziation. The applicant must provide written approval from the
property owner requesting the Natural Resource Burn.
103 -2
CHAPTER X — NUISANCES & OFFENSES
f) Licensure. The applicant must provide documentation of licensing, bonding and
insurance that the contractor conducting the burn carries for damages incurred by
the burn.
Subd. 6. Public Purpose Burning. The St. Joseph Public Works Department may
conduct burns of brush and leaves for maintenance purposes.
Section 103.04: MATERIALS. Fuel for all fires permitted shall consist of timber, forest
products, and kerosine, fuel oil or natural gas if the fire is contained in a stove or fire box
designed for the ignition of that substance. Burning of the following materials shall be strictly
prohibited:
Subd. 1: Motor oil, rubber, plastics, chemically treated materials or other materials
which produce excessive or noxious smoke including, but not limited to, tires, railroad ties,
chemically treated lumber, composite shingles, tarp paper, installation, composition board,
sheetrock, wiring, paint or paint filters.
Subd. 2: Hazardous waste as defined in Section 116.06 Subd. 11 of the Minnesota
Statutes and applicable Commissioner's Rules.
Subd. 3: Solid waste generated from an industrial or manufacturing process or from a
service or commercial structure.
Section 103.05: PROHIBITION OF ALL BURNING. No outside burning may occur
during any time when a burning ban is declared by any state, county, or local authority due to an
air pollution alert or a fire danger.
Section 103.06: GENERAL REGULATIONS REGARDING PERMITTED FIRES.
Subd. 1: No person shall ignite or maintain a fire upon the land of another without the
permission of the owner thereof or his agent.
Subd. 2: No person shall ignite or maintain a fire on publicly owned or controlled
property except in areas designated for the maintenance of campfires by the public authority
governing the property.
Subd. 3: Any authorized open fire shall be attended by a competent person until such fire
is extinguished.
Section 103.07: PENALTIES. Violations of any of the provisions of this Ordinance
shall be deemed a petty misdemeanor, except the violation of Section 103.04 Subd. 1, 2 or 3
shall be deemed a misdemeanor. Any person who ignites or maintains a prohibited fire may be
liable under this ordinance. Any person who owns or controls property and knowingly permits a
prohibited fire to be ignited or maintained on his or her property shall also be liable as if that
person had actually ignited the fire.
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