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Zoning committee weighs tougher limits, higher fines in proposed Ordinance 35 burning rules
Summary
Fountain City's Zoning and Planning Committee discussed narrowing what can be burned, capping burn rings at 3 feet, and creating a strike system with fines as high as $500. Members flagged enforcement as the key obstacle and asked for sample ordinance language and outreach to relevant staff.
The Fountain City Zoning and Planning Committee discussed proposed revisions to Ordinance 35 on open burning during its Aug. 19 meeting, focusing on clearer limits and stronger penalties.
Chair Ryan Ligman opened consideration of community complaints that smoke and ashes from on-property burns have disturbed neighbors and that a ground fire required fire-department response. Committee members explored specifying allowable materials — for example, limiting burns to clean wood and prohibiting pallet burning — and restricting hillside burning.
Committee member Ben Adank said the group should set a maximum burn ring size, proposing a 3-foot limit, and adopt a graduated fine schedule to deter repeat violations. The committee discussed increasing fines to tiers such as $300, $400 and $500 and creating a strike-violation system to escalate enforcement for repeat offenders.
Members repeatedly noted that enforcement capacity is a central constraint. The committee did not adopt language at the meeting but directed members to bring sample ordinance snippets for further review. Adank was assigned to reach out to Mike and to Chair Ryan Ligman to coordinate drafts and potential enforcement approaches.
The citizen comments earlier on the agenda had flagged smoke and a separate request for a disabled parking space on Liberty Street; the committee recorded those items for follow-up. The committee set the ordinance revision as a future agenda item and asked staff and members to prepare proposed text and enforcement options ahead of the next meeting.
