[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Cheektowaga 12-20-1999 by L.L. No. 5-1999; amended in its entirety 4-9-2024 by L.L. No. 3-2024. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The Town Board hereby finds that the open burning of brush, wood, lumber, paper products, plastic, tires, garbage, refuse and other related items causes air pollution, is a fire hazard and is otherwise injurious to the public safety, health and welfare of the residents of the town.
B. 
It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to control the open burning of certain materials within the limits of the town and, in some instances, to prohibit open burning completely.
Except as permitted below or by state law or regulation, no person shall burn, allow or permit to be burned any brush, wood, lumber, paper products, plastic, tires, chemicals, trash, garbage, refuse or other related items within the limits of the Town of Cheektowaga.
A. 
Nothing contained herein, however, shall prevent the operation of outdoor grills or fireplaces for the preparation of food, or the installation and use of indoor fireplaces and wood stoves. The fuel for the aforementioned devices shall be that material typically used in the device, such as charcoal, charcoal briquettes and wood in its natural state or wood pellets. All installations of fireplaces and stoves shall be in conformance with Chapter 10 of the New York State Residential Code. Residential fireplace installations shall require a building permit.
B. 
Recreational fires or campfires may be allowed, provided that only wood in its natural state is used, the fires comply with the regulations set forth in the 2020 NYS Fire Code Chapter 307, and do not constitute a nuisance, or a danger to public safety.
Upon written application to the Town Fire Inspector under the Town Fire Prevention Code,[1] and when approved by the Town Fire Inspector, the Town Board may grant a permit to a public agency or fire district to burn structures, lumber or other items, provided that all permits required by the Erie County Health Department and/or New York State Department of Environmental Conservation are obtained and complied with.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 120, Fire Prevention.
The provisions of this chapter shall be administered and enforced by any officer of the Cheektowaga Police Department, a Town Fire Inspector, or a Town Building Inspector. The Local Fire Chief or their designee may also order the extinguishment of illegal, nuisance, or hazardous recreational or cooking fires, and are required to report illegal, nuisance, hazardous, or structure fires to the Office of Fire Safety within 48 hours.
Every person convicted of violating any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The continuation of a violation of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute, for each day the violation is continued, a separate and distinct violation hereunder.
The Town of Cheektowaga Office of Fire Safety, in the interest of public safety, may implement a Town-wide burn ban at any point, for any practical length of time due to atmospheric and/or weather conditions.
Fires larger than three feet in diameter, and two feet in height, shall be considered bonfires, and are subject to § 77-4, requiring a permit, and prior authorization from the Office of Fire Safety and local fire district.
The provisions of this chapter shall be applicable within the boundaries of the Town of Cheektowaga, excluding the villages of Sloan and Depew.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph or part of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this chapter and shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall be rendered.