Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Quincy supervisors authorize staff to draft tighter burn setbacks and higher fines
Summary
A resident requested updates to the township's burning ordinance to increase setback distances and raise fines; the board authorized the solicitor and staff to draft an amended ordinance for review and approval.
Resident Harrison Frantz asked the board to consider amending the township’s Burning Ordinance (Ordinance 17, as amended by Ordinance 65) to increase required setbacks and raise fines. The proposed language discussed at the Feb. 2 meeting would change Section 3 to require burning no closer than 50 feet from an inhabited dwelling on adjoining property and 35 feet from property lines, with narrower setbacks allowed (25 feet to dwellings, 20 feet to property lines) only if combustible materials are burned in a screened, enclosed incinerator. The proposal would also increase fines from a $5 minimum to $50 and from a $20 maximum to $200.
The board voted on an Egolf/Peck motion to authorize the solicitor and staff to draft an amended Burning Ordinance for later review and approval; the motion carried. The board characterized the changes as intended to improve resident safety and reduce fire calls related to outdoor burns.
No final ordinance text or effective date was adopted at the meeting; staff and the solicitor will prepare the formal amendment for a future public review process.
