[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Hudson by Ord. No. 1-81 as Ch. 11, Secs. 11.09 and 11.10 of the 1981 Code; amended in its entirety 3-19-2001 by Ord. No. 3-01. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fires in parks — See Ch. 181, § 181-10.
The purpose of this chapter is to strictly control open burning within the City.
A. 
Except as hereinafter provided, no person shall burn in the open any leaves, yard wastes, rubbish, garbage, other household wastes or hazardous materials upon any street, court, alley or private property within the City.
B. 
The use of outdoor portable drums, barrels, or any containers used to burn leaves, yard wastes, rubbish, garbage, other household wastes or hazardous materials upon any premises within the City is prohibited.
C. 
Fires set by the Hudson Fire Department for practice and instruction of fire fighters are allowed.
D. 
Outdoor fires used for cooking and recreational purposes are allowed. These are defined and limited to charcoal and gas grills, freestanding fireplaces (clay or metal) or fire pits.
E. 
Apartment, townhouse and condominium association rules must be strictly followed when using charcoal and propane grills, freestanding fireplaces (clay or metal) or fire pits.
F. 
Construction and use of fire pits shall meet the following requirements:
(1) 
The diameter of the pit shall not exceed three feet.
(2) 
The depth of the pit shall be one to two feet deep.
(3) 
The rim of the pit shall be lined with rock, concrete, brick or steel.
(4) 
Fire pits shall be a minimum of 20 feet from combustible structures.
(5) 
Fire pits must be attended by at least one person 18 years or older when lighting the fire and at all times while the fire is burning.
(6) 
A fire extinguisher or water hose must be available nearby at all times.
(7) 
Only split firewood, tree limbs or charcoal may be burned in fire pits. No rubbish, yard waste, tires, garbage, household waste or hazardous materials shall be burned.
(8) 
When burning, all burning material shall be completely contained within the fire pit and shall not extend beyond the confines of the fire pit or freestanding fireplace.
(9) 
Fire and embers must be completely extinguished before the fire pit is vacated.
G. 
Freestanding fireplaces shall be placed on noncombustible surfaces and shall comply with Section F(4) through (9) (above).
H. 
The Fire Chief has the authority to issue a burning ban at any time due to weather conditions or other hazardous conditions that may exist.
I. 
Cooking and recreational fires are only allowed on private property, except as provided in Hudson City Code § 181-10.
J. 
Open burning of areas of prairie landscape will be allowed to be managed by periodic controlled burning with the following conditions:
[Added 3-21-2005 by Ord. No. 10-05; 8-1-2011 by Ord. No. 15-11; 5-20-2024 by Ord. No. 4-24]
(1) 
Prairie area landscape plans must be reviewed by the Fire Department and Public Safety Committee for recommendation to and approval for a permit for open burning of prairie areas by the Common Council. Prairie area landscape plan applications must contain a fire management plan as part of the application process, including, but not limited to, information regarding the total site area, proposed area subject to a controlled burn, projected timetable and frequency of proposed controlled burns, location of fire hydrants, unique site conditions and proposed fire supervision by a professional fire management agency or business personnel, proof of liability insurance, and provide a list of suppression equipment sufficient to address a control burn of the area proposed. The fire management plan must be approved by the Fire Department as part of the recommendation for approval by the Public Safety Committee to the Common Council.
(2) 
Permits for open burning of approved landscape areas for vegetative management shall be restricted to vegetative areas located within properties that are zoned in the:
(a) 
B-2, General Business District;
(b) 
I-1, Light Industrial District;
(c) 
I-2, General Industrial District;
(d) 
PUB, Public District;
(e) 
RM-1, RM-2, RM-3 and RM-4, Multiple-Family Residential Districts;
(f) 
All Planned Districts, including:
[1] 
PUD, Planned Unit District.
[2] 
PID, Planned Industrial District.
[3] 
PRD-1, PRD-2, and PRD-3, Planned Residential District.
[4] 
PCD-1 and PCD-2, Planned Commercial District.
(3) 
The permittee must notify the Fire Department of the proposed date at least 20 days prior to the date of the controlled burn. The Fire Department reserves the right to cancel any proposed controlled burn because of conditions that may make the proposed controlled burn unsafe for the public.
(4) 
The permittee will be responsible for notifying all residents and landowners within 1/4 mile of the controlled burn location of the proposed date and time of the proposed burn at least 10 days prior to the controlled burn date.
(5) 
Open burning shall be constantly attended and supervised per the approved fire management plan until the fire is extinguished and is cold. The person(s) attending the fire shall have readily available for use such fire extinguishing equipment as may be necessary for the total control of the fire. The permittee shall be responsible to immediately notify the Hudson Fire Department and the St. Croix County dispatch center when the fire is determined to be cold, and they are abandoning the site with their fire management personnel.
(6) 
Open burning in accordance with Subsection J shall only be conducted in a location at least 150 feet from the nearest building which is not on the same property.
(7) 
The permittee will be responsible for all related costs of the Fire Department to review proposed plans and fire suppression costs related to the proposed control burn.
(8) 
The approval of the controlled burning of a prairie area does not excuse the permittee from the consequences, damages or injuries which may result, nor does it exempt the permittee from regulations promulgated by the state pollution control agency or any other governmental unit exercising jurisdiction in matters of pollution or fire hazard regulations.
(9) 
The permittee shall agree to hold the City of Hudson harmless from liability of damages due to activities that occur as a result of the controlled burning.
(10) 
No open burning for vegetative management shall be conducted on days when the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has declared an ozone action day applicable to the City of Hudson.
(11) 
The Fire Chief or an authorized official of the Hudson Fire Department or representative of the City of Hudson who presents credentials may inspect any property for the purpose of ascertaining compliance with the provisions of this subsection.
(12) 
Application for a burning permit must be submitted to the City of Hudson Fire Department with all applicable materials as defined in § 110-2J(1) along with a nonrefundable fee, to be established annually in the Municipal Fee Schedule by the Common Council.
The use of commercial multiple-chamber incinerators is prohibited.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall be subject to the following penalties:
A. 
A forfeiture of $100 for the first offense.
B. 
A forfeiture of $200 for the second offense.
C. 
For the third and subsequent offense, a forfeiture of $500 and possible forfeiture of all burning privileges, plus other penalties at the discretion of the court.