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Belvidere council debates ban on wood-burning fire pits, motion fails
Summary
The Belvidere City Committee of the Whole considered re-adopting a pre-2007 ban on outdoor wood burning and limiting home fire pits to propane or natural gas; after extended debate about health, enforcement and tradition the council voted down the ban and agreed to revisit penalties and enforcement.
The Belvidere City Committee of the Whole debated proposed changes to the city’s outdoor burning rules on June 23, 2025, including a motion to prohibit wood burning in backyards and limit recreational fire pits to propane or natural gas devices.
City Attorney Drella presented a copy of the city’s pre-2007 code that largely prohibited open burning and suggested readopting that text while adding a subsection to permit manufactured propane or natural-gas fire pits. Drella said the earlier code had allowed only ceremonial, permitted fires and that the current (2007–2023) code permits commercially sold outdoor…
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