ORDINANCE NO.2020________
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCE No. 1981-572 REGARDING THEDEFINING AND LIMITING CONDITIONS FOR OPEN BURNING WITHIN THE CITYLIMITS OF THE CITY OF MONTICELLO
WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Monticello enactedOrdinance No. 1981-572 that Defined and Limited the conditions for open burning within the City of Monticello; and
WHEREAS, it has been discovered that certain terms in thatOrdinance need additional clarification and expansion fordevelopment of rural land and the efficient removal of naturaldebris, trees, limbs or vegetation; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Monticello wishes to amend Ordinance No. 1981-572 to clarify thatOrdinance.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ordained by the City Council of theCity of Monticello, Arkansas, as follows:
Ordinance No. 1981-572 is hereby modified as follows:
Section 1. Permit Required
A. Permit required for all permissible burning as listedin section two.
1. Permit shall be issued free of charge form the MonticelloFire Department central station during normal business hours.
2. Permits shall list guidelines that shall be met whileconducting controlled burns.
3. Permit holder is required to call the Monticello FireDepartment before conducting any burns.
Section 2. Permissible Burning
A.Residential Vegetation Abatement
In accordance with Arkansas Code Annotated § 8-6-1703(d),instances of open burning of yard waste by residents areexpressly discouraged. For the purpose of open burning, "yardwaste" shall be defined as grass clippings, leaves, tree limbs,and shrubbery trimmings collected by a resident or property owner from residential property located within the city limits of theCity of Monticello.
1.The burning of yard waste is allowed throughout theyear, except when a Burn Ban is in effect, beginning at one (1)hour before sunrise and ending at two (2) hours after sunset.
2.The Monticello Fire Chief or designee may declarecertain periods as "Smoke Free Periods" under the followingcircumstances
a. Within a one-half-mile radius of an outdoor publicevent including, but not limited to, authorized parades, outdoorpublic sporting events, outdoor public gatherings such asconcerts, or other outdoor public assemblies including religious,civic, and community events. The intent of this provision is toprotect outdoor public gatherings from the nuisance of lingeringor low lying smoke coming from yard waste fires occurring withinone-half-mile of the outdoor public event.
b.When an identified outdoor public event is scheduled tooccur, through either permitting with the City Parks Department,Police Department, or Code enforcement, the Fire Chief or hisdesignee may declare a Smoke Free Period for the duration of thatscheduled event and within the one-half mile radius surroundingthat event. When an event is scheduled and a determination ismade to make the surrounding area "Smoke Free" the Fire Chiefshall take reasonable steps to provide 48 hours' advance noticeon the City of Monticello website and through other media.
c. In the event of a yard waste fire occurring within aone-half mile radius of an outdoor public event, and the smokefrom that yard waste fire lingers or remains low lying within theimmediate area of the outdoor public event, then the Fire Chiefor his designee may require the extinguishment of any yard wastefire for the remainder of the outdoor event so affected by thelow lying or lingering smoke.
3. Open burning of residential yard waste shall not beallowed unless the following conditions are met;
a. Location. The Location for open burning shall not beless than 50 feet (15 240 mm) from any structure, andprovisions shall be made to prevent the fire from spreadingto within 50 feet (15 240 mm)of any structure.
Exceptions:
1. Fires in approved containers that are not less that 15 feet (4572 mm) from a structure.
2. The minimum required distance from a structure shall be25 feet (7620 mm) where the pile size is 3 feet (914 mm) or lessin diameter and 2 feet (610 mm) or less in height.
b. The fire must be attended at all times. The personattending the fire must have a charged hose (i.e. the hose mustbe connected to a working faucet and the water must be on andpressurized within the hose) and/or sufficient water supply orother suitable means available to completely extinguish the firein the event that fire spread happens to occur.
c. Burning shall not commence until one (1) hour before sunrise, and shall be completely extinguished by two (2)hours after sunset.
B.Burn Bans
1. Burn bans may be issued under the followingcircumstances:
a. Atmospheric conditions prevent smoke from risingfreely.
b. Excessively dry conditions exist.
c. There are sustained winds greater than fifteen (15)mph or 13.0 knots.
d. Frequent peak wind gusts are greater thantwenty-five (25) mph or 21.7 knots.
2. Burn bans may be issued by:
a.Governor.
b.Mayor
c.County Judge.
d.Monticello Fire Chief or designee.
C.Development, construction, or site improvement burning.
Open burning of trees, limbs or vegetation removed duringthe process of site preparation for construction or siteimprovement shall not be allowed unless the following conditions are met:
1. The burning is to occur at least twenty (20) feet fromall property lines encompassing the parcel.
2. All surface vegetation must be removed from all surfaceareas adjacent to the burning materials for a distance of no less than twenty (20) feet in all directions.
3. Approved materials to be burned may be placed in a pileno larger than fifteen (15) feet in diameter and ten (10)feet inheight. No more than one pile per acre on the site may be burnedat any given time by an individual resident, property owner,contractor, or developer up to twelve (12) acres. For sites overtwelve (12) acres, the number and arrangement of piles must beapproved by the Fire Chief or his designee.
4. The fire must be checked periodically by a responsibleperson. The person tending the fire must have sufficientextinguishment equipment on site (tractor with blade, watertruck, dozer, etc.) and available to completely extinguish/contain the fire in the event that fire spread occurs.Periodically means that a responsible person is sufficientlypresent to prevent the spread of the controlled fire allowed bythis subsection. If fire spreads outside the area identified andmade available for burning under this subsection, then it isprima facie evidence that the fire was not being checkedperiodically and the land owner, contractor, and/or resident aresubject to Section 3 herein below.
5. The parcel of real estate must be no less than one acre.
6. Notification must be given to the Monticello FireDepartment at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the intendedburning of said trees, limbs or vegetation, by notifying the Cityof Monticello Fire Chief.
D.Agricultural burning.
Open burning in the course of agricultural operations(farming) shall not be allowed unless the following conditionsare met:
1. The perimeter of the parcel to be burned is tilled,disced or plowed in order to remove vegetation from the groundsurface. Vegetation removal must be no less than ten (10) feet inwidth.
2. The fire must be attended at all times.
3. Burning shall not commence before sunrise, and shall notextend beyond sunset.
E.Other allowed burning.
The following types of burning activities are permitted accordingto the circumstances listed herein:
1.Fires of a controlled and manageable nature used in thecourse of food preparation that incorporate the use of barbecueequipment, outdoor fireplaces, cooking grills, or cooking pitsspecifically designed and created for the preparation of food.
2. Burning associated with road construction or right-of-wayclearing operations. Any road construction or right-of-wayclearing type of burning, the contractor or property owner mustgive notice to the Monticello Fire Department. Notification mustbe given to the fire department at least twenty-four (24) hoursprior to the intended burning of said trees, limbs or vegetation,by notifying the Fire Chief.
3. Fires allowed by the fire department for the purpose ofweed abatement, prevention and/or elimination of fire hazards,and burning of storm debris, with burning of such debris at thesole discretion of the Fire Chief or his designee depending onweather, safety and environmental concerns.
4. Instruction of fire department employees in methods offirefighting or for civil defense instruction, and under thedirect supervision of the fire department or authorized firetraining instructor.
5. Fires associated with ceremonial (bonfire) orrecreational (fireplaces, fire rings, or fire pits) purposes.
a.The location of ceremonial fires shall be a minimum offifty (50) feet from a structure or combustible material.Approved materials to be burned shall be placed in a pile nolarger than fifteen (15) feet in diameter and ten (10) feet inheight. No more than one pile may be burned at any given time byan individual resident or property owner. The fire departmentshall inspect and approve the burn site. No permit is required.
b.The location of recreational fires shall be a minimumof twenty-five (25) feet from a structure or combustiblematerial. Approved materials to be burned shall be placed in apile no larger than three feet in diameter and two feet inheight.
Section 3: Prohibited acts of burning.
The following open burning practices shall be prohibitedwithin the corporate boundaries of the City of Monticello,Arkansas:
A.Open burning of trash, garbage, and/or rubbish by anyresident or business for the purpose of incineration.
B.Open burning of construction waste of any kind on thepremises of a construction site.
C.Open burning of materials resulting from remodeling,dismantling and/or demolition of structures or buildings.
D.Open burning of vegetation clippings generated by, orresulting from, commercial activities or establishments thatprovide lawn maintenance and/or grounds care services through thecourse of normal business activities.
E.Open burning in any right-of-way (ditches, alleys, street,etc.).
F.Any burning activity when a burn ban is instituted by anappropriate governmental agency or executive as listed above.
G.Any burning in violation of the requirements listed withinthis chapter.
Section 4: Violations and enforcement.
A.An offender shall be issued a warning citation for a firstviolation of any provision of this chapter, unless circumstanceswarrant more serious enforcement action as determined by the Cityof Monticello Fire Chief, or City of Monticello Police Chief.
B.Any person convicted of a second violation of a provisionof this chapter, shall be fined the sum of one hundred dollars($100.00) plus court cost.
C.Any person convicted of a third violation of a provisionof this chapter within a five-year period, shall be fined the sumof two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) plus court cost, and beineligible to conduct any open burning of any type within thecity boundaries of Monticello. Citations may be issued by theMonticello Police Department or authorized fire department
personnel, who have law enforcement authority.
D.One-hundred percent of fines collected will be allocatedto the Fire Department to be used for fire prevention, education,or equipment.
Section 5:Severability
The provisions of this Ordinance are separable and if anysection, phrase or provision shall be declared invalid, suchdeclaration shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the Ordinance.
Section 6:Repealer
All ordinances and resolutions and parts thereof in conflictherewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
PASSED AND APPROVED THIS ____ day of ________, 20__
________________________
Mayor
Attested by:________________________
City Clerk