Outdoor Recreational Fire Bylaw No. 15/2015 (Consolidated) — full text

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CONSOLIDATED COPY January 1, 2023 CITY OF MEADOW LAKE OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL FIRE BYLAW NO. 15/2015 With amendments up to and including Bylaw #18/2022 passed December 12, 2022 by City Council. ================================================================= = NOTE: All persons making use of this consolidation are reminded that this document has no legal status, that the amendments have been embodied for convenience of reference, and that the original bylaws should be consulted for all purposes of interpretation and application of the law. Red highlighted entries indicate the amendments to the bylaw. Outdoor Recreational Fire Bylaw No. 15/20115 - Consolidated Page 2 CITY OF MEADOW LAKE BYLAW NO. 15/2015 OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL FIRE BYLAW A BYLAW OF THE CITY OF MEADOW LAKE TO SET MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR SAFE USE OF OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL FIRES IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES. The Council of the City of Meadow Lake, in the Province of Saskatchewan, in open meeting hereby enacts as follows: PART I - INTRODUCTION 1. TITLE This Bylaw shall be known and may be cited as the Outdoor Recreational Fire Bylaw. 2. PURPOSE The purpose of this Bylaw is to regulate and control the use of wood- burning outdoor appliances in residential zones within the City of Meadow Lake. 3. SCOPE This Bylaw shall apply to all residential properties located in residential zones zones within the corporate limits of the City of Meadow Lake. PART II - INTERPRETATION 4. Whenever in this Bylaw the following words or terms are used they shall, unless the text provides otherwise, be held to have the following meanings: (a) "Appliance" shall mean a receptacle for containing a recreational fire, including fire pits, chimineas, fireplaces or stoves; (b) "City" shall mean the City of Meadow Lake; (c) "City Manager" shall mean the Chief Administrative Officer of the City of Meadow Lake; (d) "Fire Chief" shall mean the Local Assistant to the Fire Commissioner appointed by the City; (e) "Nuisance" shall mean a condition of property, object or activity that adversely affects or may adversely affect: i) the safety, health or welfare of people in the neighbourhood; ii) people's use and enjoyment of their property; or iii) the amenity of a neighbourhood; and includes such things as excessive noise, smoke or odor. (f) "Owner" shall mean the person, persons or corporate entity designated as the registered owner of a property on the tax rolls of the City; Outdoor Recreational Fire Bylaw No. 15/20115 - Consolidated Page 3 (g) "Recreational Fire" shall mean an outdoor fire burning wood and suitable for cooking food, complying with the standards set out in this Bylaw. PART III - REGULATIONS 5. No person may install an appliance as defined in this Bylaw unless that person has obtained a permit from the City. No person shall start, or permit to be started or continued, an outdoor fire that is not contained within an appliance as defined in this Bylaw. 6. Permits for recreational fire appliances shall be in the form set out by the City and may be issued under the following conditions: (a) The permit application is signed by the owner of the property; (b) The applicant has paid the specified fee as set out in Schedule A of this Bylaw; (c) The appliance conforms to the requirements of this Bylaw; and (d) The Fire Chief or designate has inspected the appliance and deemed it satisfactory. 7. The permit shall be considered void if the appliance is moved to a new location on the property. 8. Permits for recreational fire appliances will expire five (5) years from the date of issue. This provision shall also apply to all permits issued under previous bylaws. 9. All appliances must meet the following requirements: (a) The appliance shall be sturdily constructed of non-combustible materials, which may include concrete, brick, stone, clay, terra- cotta, steel and iron; (b) The following materials are not acceptable: i) Hollow concrete blocks; ii) Sheet metal of less than 18 gauge (1.27mm) thick; iii) Any metal with low melting point; and iv) Any material which can release harmful fumes, vapours or particulate. (c) The appliance shall be not exceed 760mm (30 inches) in width or diameter, measured on the inside of the fire box, and shall not exceed 0.91 cubic metres (9.8 cubic feet) in volume; (d) The appliance must be fitted with a spark arrestor consisting of heavy gauge metal screen with openings not exceeding 13 mm (0.5 inches). 10. The appliance shall be permanently attached to a non-combustible base extending no less than 400mm (16 inches) in all directions from the outside surface of the appliance. The base shall be constructed so as to prevent the incursion of vegetation. Under no circumstances shall a recreational fire appliance be placed on a deck, balcony or veranda. 11. The appliance shall be located on the property in accordance with the following clearances: Outdoor Recreational Fire Bylaw No. 15/20115 - Consolidated Page 4 (a) No less than 3 metres (9.8 feet) from any property line, fence, combustible deck, roof projection, accessory building, coniferous tree or other combustible material; (b) No less than 6 metres (19.7 feet) from the outside wall of any dwelling; and (c) Not directly beneath a power line. 12. Permitted materials which may be burned in a recreational fire appliance are dry, seasoned, untreated wood and charcoal. Burning any of the following is prohibited: wood that has been painted or treated with preservative, green wood, leaves, synthetic material, household garbage, garden refuse, or any material which, when burned, will cause a hazard or a nuisance. 13. Materials shall not be burned in such quantities as to produce excessive flame height. Determination of excessive flame height will be at the discretion of the Fire Chief and may take into account such things as appliance location and surrounding yard features. 14. Hours of use are not restricted, provided that no nuisance is caused to any other person. All activity between the hours of 11:00PM and 9:00AM is subject to the provisions of the Noise Bylaw. 15. This Bylaw does not apply to any cooking appliance designed and used to burn charcoal, natural gas or propane. CSA approved electric or gas- fired meat smokers are also exempt from the provisions of this Bylaw. PART IV - ENFORCEMENT 16. Recreational fire permits will be revoked immediately if the City Manager, Fire Chief or their designate is convinced that any of the following have occurred: (a) Unsafe use; (b) Burning of garbage or other unapproved fuel; (c) Creating a nuisance; or (d) Any use contrary to the provisions of this Bylaw. 17. COMPLAINTS Residents are encouraged to settle disputes directly with their neighbours. Complaints received by the City will be dealt with in the following manner: (a) Written complaints will be investigated by the Fire Chief or designate, who will determine whether the complaint is valid. Valid complaints may be addressed as follows: i) Written instruction to remedy; ii) Revocation of permit; or iii) Removal of the appliance and fuel. In this case, a service fee will be levied at the rate set out in Schedule A. (b) Calls to 911 about unsafe fires will result in Fire Department response, as follows: Outdoor Recreational Fire Bylaw No. 15/20115 - Consolidated Page 5 i) If the appliance is found to be used in a hazardous manner, the fire will be extinguished and the appliance and fuel removed. Service fees will be assessed to the Owner in accordance with the rates set out in Schedule A; ii) If the use of the appliance contravenes other provisions of this Bylaw or is causing a nuisance, the fire will be extinguished. The Fire Chief or designate will take further action as deemed necessary. Service fees will apply as set out in Schedule A; or iii) If the complaint is unwarranted or spurious, the complainant will be issued a warning by the Fire Chief or designate. Repeated spurious complaints will result in service fees being assessed, at the discretion of the City Manager, to the complainant or the complainant's landlord. 18. Any owner found guilty of a breach of any provision of this Bylaw shall be subject to the penalties as set out in the General Penalties Bylaw of the City of Meadow Lake. PART V - GENERAL 19. Bylaw No. 15/2002 is hereby repealed. 20. This bylaw shall come into force on the date of passage. Introduced and read a first time this 24th day of August, 2015. Read a second time this 14th day of September, 2015. Read a third time and adopted this 14th day of September, 2015. _________________________ _________________________ CITY CLERK DEPUTY MAYOR Outdoor Recreational Fire Bylaw No. 15/20115 - Consolidated Page 6 SCHEDULE A BYLAW NO. 15/2015 OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL FIRE BYLAW Fees & Charges Description Amount of Fee Permit Fee $25.00 per permit Service Fees Extinguishment $525.00 Appliance Removal $525.00 *All fees shall be subject to applicable taxes