Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Where there is fire there is smoke, and now an ordinance that regulates outdoor wood boiler systems.

After weeks of discussion, delays and fielding citizen complaints, the Forest Lake City Council took action Monday to approve new regulations.

The ordinance comes after numerous discussions and complaints aimed at James Dufour, 1531 SE 9th Ave., who has used a wood boiler to heat and cool his home for the past three years. Some 60 area neighbors earlier this year signed a nuisance petition regarding the boiler and the smoke that it emits.

Council’s approval Monday came on a 3-1 vote after two modifications to the proposed ordinance were reviewed and added. Councilwoman Susan Young was opposed. Councilman Bo Bogotty remains out of action because of a stroke.

Votes by Mayor Stev Stegner and Council members Judy Bull and Greg Ochs carried the motion.

The approval came over the objections of Travis Stottler, attorney for Dufour. He questioned the motive of the ordinance which did not address fire pits or wood-fire barbecue units.

“We find that peculiar,” Stottler said.

He added that exceptions provided by the ordinance could not be met by his client.

Mayor Stegner defended the city’s involvement in the issue.

“We found a problem in our city and we’re trying to deal with it the best we can,” the mayor said.

2 changes

Monday’s passage came with two amendments requested by Bull. Bull initially requested another two-week delay and a vote on the amended ordinance on Nov. 26, but agreed to move forward with the action this week.

At Bull’s request, the months in which a wood boiler may not be operated were changed from May 1 to Oct. 1 to April 1 to Oct. 1.

Bull was also successful in requiring that wood boilers only be allowed in rural residential and agricultural zones.

If technology improvements in boiler systems are made, the city could revise the requirements at a later date, Bull said.

While Council member Young was anxious to move on the topic and delay the decision no more, she voted no, finding the new provisions too restrictive.

“This is the issue that won’t die,” Young said.

Ochs voted in favor of the ordinance but said it was “unfortunate” that laws were needed to establish limits as to how wood boilers can be used. With many people using wood to heat their homes, Ochs conceded the ordinance could be a hardship to some.

But Ochs said the city was forced to address the concerns of neighbors and the potential health hazards that come with the boilers.

Del Palacheck, one of Dufour’s neighbors who has been active in seeking regulations for wood boilers, said he supported the ordinance and requested the city shut down Dufour’s boiler under the nuisance ordinance.

Young agreed thae enforcement was needed, Young said she had full expectations that the Forest Lake Police Department would enforce the nuisance ordinance as it impacts wood boilers.

Ordinance facts

The ordinance provides an amendment to the city zoning code with a new section designed to “insure that outdoor wood boiler systems are utilized in a manner that does not create a public nuisance and is not detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the city.”

The ordinance requires that only “clean fuel” be used. It prohibits the use of wood that has been painted, varnished or coated in any manner.

Wood boilers will be allowed only with a certificate of compliance and a building permit from the city.

The ordinance also establishes minimum requirements for installation and maintenance of outdoor wood boiler systems.

Under the new rules, an outdoor wood boiler system must be located at least 300 feet from any residence or principal building which is not on the same property as the outdoor wood boiler.

In specifying that clean fuel be used, the ordinance also requires that boiler systems not be operated in a manner that “creates dense smoke, noxious fumes or noxious gas or releases soot or cinders in unreasonable quantities.”

Existing outdoor wood boilers installed prior to the adoption of the ordinance “shall be operated in compliance with the minimum requirements of this section except that the distance requirements” (300 feet) of the section not apply.

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