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STAFF REPORT <br />DATE: October 14, 2025 <br /> WORKSHOP <br /> <br />TO: City Council <br />FROM: Dustin Kalis, Fire Chief, Anthony Svoboda, Assistant Fire Chief / Fire Marshal <br />ITEM: Consider Changes to the Open Burning Ordinance <br />REVIEWED BY: Nicole Miller, City Administrator <br /> <br /> <br />CORE STRATEGIES: ☐ Vibrant, inclusive, connected community ☒ Efficient, reliable, innovative services ☒ Responsive, transparent, adaptive governance ☐ Balanced Finances now and future ☒ Managed Growth ☐ Resilient Infrastructure <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: <br />The current open burning ordinance was adopted in April 2022. Since that time, staff have <br />evaluated the current program and have identified several issues that come from open burning <br />that would be addressed with an updated ordinance. This has no impact on recreational fires <br />currently allowed by ordinance. <br /> <br />ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL: <br />Should the City Council consider adopting a more restrictive ordinance change to 5.12-IV Open <br />Burning? <br /> <br />PROGRAM DATA: <br />Date Collection Timeframe: 01/01/2022 – 08/31/2025 <br />• Residential Applications (a private person conducting a burn): 76 <br />• Commercial Applications (a licensed contractor conducting a burn): 28 <br />• Number of Site visits: 82 <br />• Number of Complaints Generated (that fire responded to, excluding Law calls): 25 <br /> <br />PROCESS: <br />The process for processing an open burning application and payment is collected in person or <br />online. There are two subtypes on the permit application: Piles of Material or Prairie Restoration. <br />Prairie restorations can only be completed by a licensed contractor. The permit application is <br />entered into Cloud Permit and ImageTrend. A site visit is scheduled for all residential burns prior <br />to issuing the permit. A site visit prior to issuance is not scheduled for commercial applications <br />(prairie restoration only). A site visit usually occurs during the burn for commercial applications. <br /> <br />At the site visit, staff will review the application with the applicant and discuss the safety <br />requirements, make sure they have a means of extinguishment on site, numbers to call, etc. Once <br />confirmed that the applicant is prepared to follow the safety rules, the permit is issued.