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Committee reviews draft open-burning permit for urban district, asks fire chief for clarifications
Summary
The Codes and Zoning Enforcement Committee reviewed a draft ordinance and burn-permit form for the county’s urban district, affirmed the fire chief’s general approval of current wording and asked staff to invite the chief back to clarify permit timing, revocation authority and communication with the trustee’s office.
The Codes and Zoning Enforcement Committee reviewed a draft ordinance and accompanying burn-permit form intended to fill a gap in the county code for the urban district and agreed to invite the fire chief to the next meeting to clarify issuing procedures, permit windows and enforcement details.
The draft, which the committee said has the fire chief’s approval in principle, would require permits for open burning of trees, limbs, leaves, brush and grass in the urban district. As read during the meeting, the ordinance text states: “Open burning of trees, limbs, leaves, brush, grass shall be conducted by permit only.” The fire chief retains authority to deny or revoke permits, and the draft assigns discretion to the chief to stop burns during dry conditions.
Committee members sought practical clarifications that remain unresolved. The draft did not include a fixed permit duration or an operational timeline for when a permit becomes valid after issuance; members discussed a potential 48-hour waiting window to give the fire chief time to review permits and to allow staff to coordinate with the trustee’s office, which currently processes receipts and issues authorizations. One member asked whether the existing system used by state forestry agencies — where permits are valid for a specified “window” the applicant declares — could serve as a model.
The committee discussed enforcement and penalties. The draft expects that citations would be adjudicated by a judge and that penalties would remain discretionary; members flagged the need to clarify whether fines or other penalties should be expressly stated in the ordinance or left to the existing citation process.
Members also confirmed the draft applies to the urban district only; the county outside city limits remains under forestry regulations and different enforcement arrangements. The meeting record includes a $20 fee mentioned in discussion as a possible permit fee, but the committee deferred fee finalization pending chief input and a final printed draft for review.
Committee Chair (Speaker 1) said the goal was to recover the verbiage that had been lost from an older 1993 provision and to provide the fire chief with clear text to implement: “The fire chief said that he brought this to us because he just wanted it — he's wanting to fill in the spot that is already in the code for a fire permit. That was for the urban district.”
Next steps: staff will invite the fire chief (referred to in discussion as Mr. Wheeler/Mark Mueller in different places) to the next committee meeting to confirm the permit window, the communication process between the chief’s office and the trustee’s office, and the penalties/enforcement approach. The committee said it will circulate a final printed draft to members before forwarding the ordinance to the full commission.
