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Burning Bylaw
5962-2020
THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED FOR CONVENIENCE ONLY and is a consolidation
of "District of Mission Burning Bylaw 5962-2020" with the following amending bylaws:
Amending Bylaw
Date Adopted
Section Amended
6070-2020 (a general fees
& charges amending bylaw)
December 20, 2021
Replace Section 3.1(c)(I)
Add Section 3.1(c)(I)(i)
Add Section 3.1(c)(I)(ii)
Individual copies of any of the above bylaws are available from the Corporate Administration
Department of the City of Mission. For legal purposes, copies of the original bylaws should
be obtained.
DISTRICT OF MISSION
BYLAW 5962-2020
A bylaw to regulate open residential burning
and recreational fire pits in the District of Mission
NOW THEREFORE the Council of the District of Mission, in open meeting assembled, ENACTS
AS FOLLOWS:
1. TITLE
1.1. This Bylaw may be cited for all purposes as "District of Mission Burning Bylaw
5962-2020".
2. INTERPRETATION
2.1. In this bylaw, unless context otherwise requires
"adult person" means an individual 19 years of age or older;
"approved" means acceptable to the Fire Chief;
"burn" includes fire and burning;
"fair ventilation category" means weather and atmospheric conditions do not meet the
parameters for open burning
"Fire Chief" means the person appointed by Council as Fire Chief to manage the Fire
Rescue Service or his delegate;
"good ventilation category" means weather and atmospheric conditions meet the
parameters for open burning;
"nuisance" has the same meaning as defined in the District of Mission's Good Neighbor
Bylaw 5524-2015;
"order" means any order or directive, whether written or verbal, given to a person by the
Fire Chief;
"permit" means a document issued by the Fire Chief authorizing a person to burn under
the terms and conditions specified in the permit;
"poor ventilation category" means weather and atmospheric conditions do not meet the
parameters for open burning.
"vegetative debris" means disturbed or undisturbed vegetative matter targeted for disposal
"ventilation forecast" means a daily forecast for the area of the burn as posted on the BC
government Air Quality Website;
"ventilation category" refers to the atmospheric conditions in the afternoon that affect
ventilation as specified by the government of British Columbia for the Fraser Valley area;
"ventilation index" means a prediction of atmospheric turbulence and low-level winds as
stipulated by the British Columbia government for the Fraser Valley area.
"yard debris" means leaves, grass clippings, and cuttings resulting from the pruning of
shrubs and trees;
District of Mission
Burning Bylaw 5962-2020
Page 3 of 6
3. ADMINISTRATION
3.1. The Fire Chief may:
a)
for the purpose of administering and enforcing the provisions of this Bylaw, enter, at
all reasonable times, on any real property, and take with them any persons, apparatus
or equipment they deem necessary to assess or control or put out a burn;
b)
notwithstanding any other provision of this Bylaw, at any time in their opinion
conditions warrant, declare a burning ban or issue an order;
c)
issue a permit to a person to:
I. hold a special occasion, special circumstance, or ceremonial burn provided no
active fire ban:
i. Charitable organizations and Societies - no charge (effective January 1, 2022)
ii. All others - $5.00 per permit (effective January 1, 2022)
II. operate a fire pit provided the person has registered the fire pit in accordance with
this Bylaw and paid the $40 one-time administration fee (effective January 1, 2021
rate - $40.00)
d) suspend, cancel or revoke a permit if there is a contravention of any of the terms or
conditions under which the permit was issued.
4. APPLICATION
4.1. Minimize vegetative debris to be burned:
Prior to a burn of yard debris, a resident or permit holder shall ensure that every
reasonable alternative to burning the debris is considered including compost, reuse, and
recycling to minimize the amount of debris to be burned.
4.2. Smoke minimization techniques:
Prior to the burning of yard debris, a resident or permit holder shall ensure that all
reasonable steps have been taken to minimize smoke emission including:
a)
Minimizing any soil content in the debris to be burned;
b)
Constructing a debris pile in a way that maximizes air flow through the pile;
c) Maximizing the amount of seasoned (dry) yard debris in the pile.
4.3. The provisions of this Bylaw apply to all burns in the District of Mission except:
a)
a burn done under the control of the District of Mission Forestry Department;
b)
a burn done under the control of the District of Mission Fire/Rescue Service;
c)
a burn done under the control of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police;
d)
a burn contained in a fuel burning appliance, stove or fireplace within a building;
e)
a barbecue taking place in an appliance constructed for that purpose;
f)
a burn carried out as part of a plan for community wildfire risk reduction;
g)
a burn carried out as a plan to dispose of diseased vegetative debris or a controlled
substance;
District of Mission
Burning Bylaw 5962-2020
Page 4 of 6
h)
a burn carried out as part of any emergency planning mitigation strategy or recovery
strategy;
i)
a burn within a fire pit provided the fire and its use complies with the provisions of
Section 4.4 of this Bylaw.
4.4. Fire pits and their use shall comply with the following:
a)
a fire pit shall be constructed of non-combustible material, enclosed on all sides, and
shall have no linear dimension exceeding 1 meter (3.28 feet) or vertical dimension
exceeding 0.60 meters (2 feet);
I.
except for a parcel of land containing a lawful campground use, a fire pit shall
not be located closer than 4.6 meters (15.09 feet) to any building, combustible
structure, or any type of material or vegetation that may be subject to
combustion;
II.
except for a parcel of land containing a lawful campground use, only one fire pit
is permitted on a parcel of land unless otherwise approved;
III.
except for a parcel of land containing a lawful campground use, a fire pit shall
only be permitted on a parcel of land containing a dwelling unit;
IV.
except for a parcel of land containing a lawful campground use, a fire pit shall
only be used a maximum of six times per calendar month and only when the
ventilation category for the day is good;
b)
a burn is to be confined to within the fire pit;
c)
only dry wood shall be burned within a fire pit;
d)
an adult person shall attend the pit, or be in close vicinity to the fire pit, at all times
during a burn;
e)
no person shall continue to burn if it is the cause of an unreasonable nuisance to the
immediate neighborhood because of drifting smoke, ash, or an unpleasant odor;
f)
on a parcel of land containing a lawful campground use it shall be the responsibility
of the owner of the land or campground to ensure that fire pits are at a safe distance
from any building, combustible structure, or any type of material or vegetation that
may be subject to combustion.
4.5. Except during a burn ban, declared or ordered under the provisions of Section 3.1(b) of
this Bylaw, yard debris may be burned from October to April when the ventilation category
is Good provided:
a)
a ventilation forecast is obtained on the day but not before the burning commences;
b)
the forecast is categorized as "Good"
c)
the burn starts not earlier than one hour after sunrise;
d)
the burn ends by 4 p.m. or two hours before sunset whichever is later;
e)
the property is located outside of the residential refuse collection area;
f)
an adult person attends the burn, or in close vicinity to it;
g)
the pile of yard debris to be burned or being burned does not exceed 1 meter (3.28
feet) in diameter and 1 meter (3.28 feet) in height;
District of Mission
Burning Bylaw 5962-2020
Page 5 of 6
h)
the pile of yard debris to be burned or being burned is not located closer than 4.6
meters (15.09 feet) to any building, combustible structure, or any type of material or
vegetation that may be subject to combustion;
i)
the burn does not cause an unreasonable nuisance to the immediate neighborhood
because of drifting smoke, ash or an unpleasant odor;
j)
the burn is limited to yard debris derived from the parcel of land on which the burn is
taking place;
k)
the appropriate equipment required to prevent the fire from spreading shall be
available on site during a burn;
l)
no material defined and prohibited by the BC Waste Discharge Regulation is burned.
4.6. The issuance of a permit under this Bylaw shall not in any way relieve a person to whom
a permit has been issued from having to comply with any Act or Regulation of the
Province pertaining to a burn.
4.7. Any resident, tenant, or owner permitted or not by the District of Mission who in the
opinion of the Fire Chief is burning in manner that is disruptive to neighbors can be
declared a nuisance and can be subject to Section 19 of the District of Mission Good
Neighbor Bylaw 5524-2016.
5. PROHIBITIONS
5.1. Unless provided for in Section 3.1(c), Section 4.3, Section 4.4, Section 4.5, and Section
4.6 of this Bylaw, no person shall burn or allow a burn to take place;
5.2. No person shall burn or allow a burn to take place at variance with any terms or conditions
specified in a permit;
5.3. No person shall burn or allow a burn to take place during a burn ban declared pursuant
to Section 3.1(b) of this Bylaw;
5.4. No person shall burn or allow the burning of yard debris at variance with any of the
requirements contained in Section 4.4 of this Bylaw;
5.5. No person shall construct a fire pit, or burn or allow a burn to take place in a fire pit at
variance with any of the requirements contained in Section 4.3 of this Bylaw;
5.6. No person shall burn or allow a burn to take place at variance with an order;
5.7. No person shall interfere with, or obstruct the entry of the Fire Chief while acting in the
conduct of administering or enforcement of this Bylaw.
5.8. No person shall burn yard debris or operate a fire pit under a ventilation category of "fair"
or "poor."
District of Mission
Burning Bylaw 5962-2020
Page 6 of 6
6. PENALTY
6.1. Every person who violates any of the provisions of this Bylaw, or who suffers or permits
any act or thing to be done in contravention of any provision of this Bylaw, or who neglects
to do or refrains from doing anything required to be done by this Bylaw is guilty of an
offence, and each day that the violation is caused or allowed to continue shall be
constituted a separate offence.
6.2. Every person who commits an offence under this Bylaw shall be liable on summary
conviction to a penalty prescribed in the Offence Act.
7. REPEAL
7.1. "District of Mission Burning Bylaw 2975-1996" and all amendments thereto, are hereby
repealed.
READ A FIRST TIME AS AMENDED this 19th day of October, 2020
READ A SECOND TIME AS AMENDED this 19th day of October, 2020
READ A THIRD TIME AS AMENDED this 19th day of October, 2020
ADOPTED this 2nd day of November, 2020
(original signed by Acting Mayor)
(Original signed by Corporate Officer)
MARK DAVIES
JENNIFER RUSSELL
ACTING MAYOR
CORPORATE OFFICER