Our Village Board of Trustees meets this evening, and one of the topics on their agenda is the, “Open Burning Ordinance.” We have the sneaking suspicion this might me the first of many occasions this subject will appear in their and other’s agendas.
Many residents have shared their thoughts and frustrations on this ordinance since it was first passed around the turn of the century. It rarely comes up in public discussion even though open burning of “bonfires” is a daily occurrence somewhere in Barrington Hills.
Since it will be discussed tonight, here are some of our collective thoughts on what we see as the two primary components of contention of the ordinance:
Bonfire size:
The code states, “A bonfire shall not be more than 5 ft X 5 ft X 5 ft in dimension.”
Our experience is that few residents gather a bonfire for the purposes of roasting weenies and s’mores. When tree limbs and other debris are stacked on their five-acre property, can it be assumed that residents are following code or is it more likely that their bonfires are “illegal” due to the size?
Clearly there needs to be limits to the limits of the burn pile (our technical term), but the current limits are too low and unrealistic in most cases.
Hours and duration burning is allowed:
No bonfire shall be started or maintained other than between the hours of 10:00 AM. to 10:00 PM and for a maximum duration of 3 hours per day:
Experience shows winds are almost always calmest in the early morning and late evening hours. On any given day, by 7:00 – 8:00 AM, if you cannot see some neighborhoods with smoke rising, you will likely smell it some days.
Then, depending on the season, by 6:00 PM people are outdoors enjoying their property from barbecues to bocce, and they likely do not appreciate the smell of smoke other than that from their own grills. Also, in the spring and fall, who does not want to open their windows for fresh, cool air?
Summarizing, when it comes to size and time/duration of bonfires, although in most cases inadvertently, residents are breaking the law. If the codes are deemed acceptable, they should be enforced. If not, the need to be amended.
The Board of Trustees meeting is at 6:30, and a link to the remote proceedings can be accessed here.
A current village official had old fencing on her horse property that she burned about 10 yrs ago for 3-4 days straight day and night. It stunk to high heaven causing us to close windows and doors because it was TREATED WOOD which now I see is illegal! Wish I’d known that then.