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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes October 22, 2013 Page 3 1 B. Appeal of City Ordinance 97.11; Decks. Mark Casey. City Manager, presenting. 2 3 City Manager Casey presented the appeal of the Pire Marshal's decision and recited § 97.11(A) 4 of the City Code that states an open flame is prohibited in any structure containing three or more 5 dwelling units and that no person shall kindle, maintain, or cause any fire or open flame on any 6 balcony above ground level or on any ground floor patio within 15' of the structure. He advised 7 that Mr. Brown questioned the City Code and the Fire Marshal replied on September 19, 2013, in 8 an email that stated "our interpretation of our existing ordinance remains the same. If a structure 9 has 3 or more dwelling units grilling is not allowed on any balconies or decks. Grilling on a 10 patio is acceptable if you can get 15 feet away from the structure." He advised that City staff 11 agrees with the Fire Marshal's interpretation, adding the ordinance applies to any structure 12 containing three or more dwelling units, whether a structure is one story or multi -storied makes 13 no difference for purposes of enforcement, and fires and open flames are prohibited on any 14 balcony above ground level and any ground floor patio within 15' of the structure; at the ground 15 level, whether it occurs on what is labeled a patio or deck or otherwise, an open flame within 15' 16 of the structure is expressly prohibited. 17 18 Mayor Faust stated that the City Manager is the City Zoning Administrator so he normally 19 handles these issues but if there is a conflict, someone can appeal to the City Council; in this 20 case, the City Council will have an opportunity to ask any questions of Mr. Casey, then Mr. 21 Brown will have an opportunity to speak and answer any questions of the City Council, and then 22 the City Council will discuss the appeal and adjudicate the issue. 23 24 Councilmember Roth asked if a side-by-side unit, e.g., a duplex, could have a patio or deck and 25 be allowed to have a gas grill. 26 27 City Manager Casey stated the interpretation of the ordinance refers to balconies or decks in 28 dwelling units of three or more. 29 30 Fire Marshall Fuller stated the Fire Code defines a structure as the outer walls and the dwelling 31 units have to be within that structure so they are combined. 32 33 Councilmember Roth noted that the ordinance as stated does not specify if a patio is a wooden or 34 cement structure or whether a patio is defined as some type of non-flammable structure and 35 requested further information about the definition of a patio. 36 37 City Manager Casey stated the City Code does not define materials comprising a patio. 38 39 Councilmember Roth asked if the City Code makes the assumption that a patio is at ground 40 level. 41 42 City Manager Casey replied in the affirmative. 43 44 Mr. Ken Brown, 3422 Silver Lane NP;, appeared before the City Council and stated that he felt 45 that § 97.11 does not apply to their situation because most of the townhomes have a deck on 46 ground level and the Code states that it prohibits decks above ground level. He stated the 47 Minnesota State Fire Code issued a fact sheet in 2003 and an "Appendix H" that the City