Ordinance No 1646 Bill No 647

 AN ORDINANCE DEFINING OPEN BURN AND DESIGNATING OPEN BURN AREAS, REQUIREMENTS, PROHIBITIONS, RESPONSIBILITIES, PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS, OBSTRUCTION OF DUTY AND PENALTY

______________________________________________________________Be it ordained by the Board of Alderman of the City of Rich Hill, Missouri as follows:

SECTION 1Definition

Open Burning – burning of materials wherein products of combustion are emitted directly into the ambient air without passing through a stack or chimney from an enclosed chamber

 SECTION 2 – Burning Restrictions  

No person shall kindle, authorize to be kindled or maintain any open burning unless conducted and approved in accordance with this Ordinance.

Open burning that is offensive or objectionable due to smoke or odor emissions when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fire hazardous shall be prohibited. The Rich Hill Fire Department and/or Rich Hill Police Department is authorized to order a extinguishment by the permit holder of open burning which creates or adds a hazardous or objectionable situation.

No person shall burn trash in the City except for yard waste, such as leaves, trees, brush and untreated building materials, which may be burned on the property from which it is generated provided there is no burn ban in effect for the City.

All fires or burning permitted by this Ordinance shall occur during daylight hours only, unless prior consent has been obtained from the Fire Chief or his authorized designee.

Open burning, bonfires or recreational fires shall be constantly attended until the fire is extinguished. A minimum of one portable fire extinguisher with a minimum 4-A rating or other approved on site fire-extinguisher equipment, such as dirt, sand, water barrel, garden hose or water truck, shall be available for immediate utilization.

SECTION 3 – Permission required, penalty for failure or refusal to obtain permission

a.  Verbal permission shall be obtained from the Dispatch or his authorized designee prior to kindling a fire for yard waste, wildfire management practices, prevention or control of disease or pests or a bonfire.

b.  The Fire Chief, his authorized designee and designated members of the Rich Hill Fire Department shall have authority to issue verbal permission to burn.

c.  The Bates County Sheriff’s Office is also authorized to issue verbal burning permission as directed by the Fire Chief and in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted by this Ordinance.

d.  Request for such approval shall only be presented by and permission granted to, the owner of the land upon which the fire is to be kindled.

e.  All persons who obtain permission must be of 18 years of age.

f.  When required by state or local law or regulations, open burning shall only be permitted with prior approval from the state or the authorized local air quality management, provided that all conditions specified in this Ordinance are followed.

g.  Penalty: Any person who fails to obtain or refuses to obtain permission pursuant to this Ordinance shall be punished as follows:

1)         A maximum of 1 warning shall be allowed to the homeowner, resident or                         responsible person for the violation of this section.

2)         After the first warning, the homeowner, resident or responsible person shall be             fined $25.00 for each additional warning thereafter.

3)         The fines and penalties in this section shall be in addition to the violation of                    any other provisions of this Ordinance.

 SECTION 4 – Location and exceptions

a.  The location for open burning shall not be less than 50 feet (15,240 mm) from any structure, and provisions shall be made to prevent the fire from spreading to within 50 feet (15,240 mm) of any structure.

b.  Exceptions:

1)         Fires in approved containers shall be no less than 15 feet (4,572 mm) from a                   structure.   A burn container must be of non-combustible materials such as                     cinder blocks, brick or a metal barrel.

2)         The minimum required distance from a structure shall be 25 feet (7,620 mm)                  and the size of the fire shall not exceed 4 feet (1,828 mm) in diameter and 4                    feet (1,219 mm) in height.

SECTION 5 – Burn Ban

a.  If the Fire Chief or his authorized designee determines that dangerous conditions exist, no outdoor burning shall take place.

b.  When such determination is made, no permission to burn shall be issued and all existing permission to burn shall be revoked and no outdoor burning shall take place so long as the dangerous conditions exist.

SECTION 6 – Enforcement

a.  The provisions of this Ordinance shall be administered and enforced by the Rich Hill Fire Department and the Rich Hill Police Department.

b.  The Fire Chief may designate a member of the Rich Hill Fire Department and/or the Rich Hill Police Department to carry out the Fire Chief’s authority and directives provided for in this Ordinance, for any period of time.

c.  The Rich Hill Fire Department and the Rich Hill Police Department may direct that any unlawful outdoor fire be extinguished, and if the outdoor fire is not extinguished, or no one is present to extinguish the fire, the outdoor fire will be extinguished by the Rich Hill Fire Department at a charge of $250.00 per hour.

SECTION 7 Obstruction of Duties

No person shall obstruct or harass a fireman or emergency management personnel who are enforcing the provisions of this ordinance.

SECTION 8 – Penalty

Upon conviction of or guilty plea to the provisions of this Ordinance, a fine not to exceed $500, imprisonment not to exceed 90 days or both fine and imprisonment may be imposed.

SECTION 9 Responsibility

a.  Any applicant, as a condition of a Permit to Burn, shall assume all responsibility and obligation to take necessary precautions to control any fire and prevent its escape to his own or to the neighboring property

b.  The applicant shall be fully liable for, and indemnify and hold the City harmless from all damage to property and injury to any person as a result of any outdoor burning.

c.  The City shall assume no responsibility or obligation by the issuance of any permit or permission to burn.

All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed.

This Ordinance shall be in force from and after its passage and approval.[i]

First reading March 28, 2017              Second reading March 28, 2017

This Ordinance was read two times and passed this 28th day of March 2017.

________________________________                Ayes: Humble, Pilcher, Robb, Rich

Jennifer Perkey-Ewing, Mayor

ATTEST:

________________________________                    Nays: None

Brittany Schenker, City Clerk

[i] The above provisions were removed from Ordinance No. 1504, enacted June 9, 2015.