[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.
