The Independence City Council completed the first reading of an ordinance at their meeting this week that would regulate open burns and recreational fires in the city. Statements from council members, city staff and the fire chief indicate that the ordinance primarily controls open burns started by commercial construction companies rather than individual residents.
“So the goal of this is not to regulate your backyard fire pit,” said City Administrator Chris Moriconi.
Moriconi and Mayor Chris Reinersman both stated that complaints from residents prompted the ordinance. Moriconi added at the meeting that the police didn’t have an established means of controlling the burns without an ordinance.
“It’s generally when they’re clearing land for development,” Reinersman said. “They start burning and it burns and burns and ashes fly and people are coming out in the morning and their cars are covered in ash and so on.”
Moriconi and Independence Fire Chief Scott Breeze confirmed with LINK nky later in the week that there had been several recent incidents in Independence where residents had complained about open burns.
“Construction burning is the big impetus,” Breeze said.
The specific developments about which people had complained were the Tullamore Estates off Stephens Road, a development off of Taylor Mill Road near Pembroke Village and a small development near the Meadow Glen subdivision.
The ordinance establishes the following restrictions on open burns (list is not exhaustive):
- Burns could only be performed during certain times of the year and certain times of the day
- It would be illegal to burn tires, cars, appliances, garbage and other man-made scrap and debris
- Burns can only encompass two contiguous acres of land at a time
- The people performing the burns must be at least 18
- Burners must have a device on hand to communicate with the fire department and emergency services
- Burners must have a large piece of earth-moving equipment laden with dirt to extinguish the fire if necessary
- Burners must have a proper insurance and proof of insurance
- Burn piles can only have a maximum diameter of 30 feet and a maximum height of 15 feet
Recreational fires on private property, like the backyard fire pits Moriconi mentioned, would still be allowed, although they would be limited to fires with a maximum height of five feet and a maximum diameter of five feet. The council landed on these dimensions after some discussion; the original ordinance stated the maximum dimensions to be three by three feet. Recreational fire pits on private property would not require permits, either.
Two council members, Greg Waite and Chris Vogelpohl, both former firefighters and the fire department itself, were integral in crafting the ordinance.
The council will complete a second reading and cast a vote on the ordinance at their next meeting on Monday, March 4, at the Independence City Building. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.
Read a full text of the ordinance here. Note: The text incorrectly states the maximum dimensions of recreational fire pits as 3 feet by 3 feet as it was produced prior to Monday’s discussion.
