Council May Change Rules on Fire Pits

East Lansing’s City Council is considering an ordinance change to modify the fire code, allowing for outdoor fires at more single-family dwelling zones, so long as residents get permits. This ordinance covers outdoor fire pits and outdoor fireplaces, and a public hearing on the issue will be held next Tuesday, May 22.

Under current law, outdoor fires are allowed with a permit in R-1 and R-2 residential zones, according to the C ity’s fire code. (R-1 and R-2 zones are traditional, single-family residential house districts.) The permit, acquired by filling out an application available online and free of charge, requires annual renewal by residents.

The proposed ordinance changes would amend the existing East Lansing fire code. The changes, a City Council meeting agenda from April 17 shows, would allow for fires in RM-8 zoning districts on property used for single-family dwellings, where they are currently illegal.

According to a memorandum by Planning and Zoning administrator David Haywood, the ordinance was drafted after an Abbott Parkside neighborhood property owner requested the change.

Haywood included the above map of RM-8 zones with the memo, which was forwarded to City Council for discussion. (For a larger version of this map, click here.) The Abbott Parkside senior apartments and neighborhood are in RM-8 zone No. 1 on the included map.

At an April 17 work session meeting, the ordinance was discussed by Council. One of the major concerns addressed at the time was rising smoke affecting taller nearby buildings. But this issue had been considered before the meeting.

Haywood had emailed East Lansing Fire Marshal Donald Carter on March 27 posing a similar question about smoke potentially bothering neighbors. In his reply a day later, Carter highlighted that horizontal distance from buildings is where the issue lies for him.

Current code requires outdoor fires to be at least 20 feet away from structures and property lines, which, Carter said in the email, has caused “minimal trouble in the past, and when we do [run into problems] it is usually because the user is not following the rules.”

Along with the permit, residents are also supposed to follow regulations, last updated in January 2017 and curated by the fire inspector (Ray Stover) and fire marshal (Carter), regarding the size of an outdoor fire “container” — no bigger than 9 cubic feet — not placing a fire pit on a combustible surface as well as keeping a source of water nearby.

There will be a public hearing on the proposed ordinance changes at the City Council’s May 22 meeting. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. in the courtroom on the second floor of City Hall. Comments can also be sent to Council via email at council@cityofeastlansing.com.