First cook with the WSM!


 
A

Arturo

New member
I received my 22.5" WSM from amazon on Tuesday, assembled it and fired up the charcoal right away! Then a neighbor pops his head over the fence and informs me that there is a law prohibiting the use of charcoal at apartment complex's in California... I was totally bummed, I just spent all this money on a smoker that I only got to use once? Does anybody know if there are any provisions or any loop holes around this law? I have a pretty large backyard, for an apartment, and it's entirely cement. It just seems rediculous that I can't use charcoal in my situation.

On the good side, the meat turned out great! I smoked 18 chicken thighs on the bottom grate and 2 racks of spare ribs on the top! The temperature took longer than I expected to get up to range, but once it was there, it held like a champ.
 
not sure what the law is here now, but i lived in an apartment about 6 years ago and the law was no gas grills and charcoal grills were allowed but had to be a minimum of 10 feet from the structure during use.
 
Next time the neighbor pops his head over the fence, give him some BBQ.

If he does it again, smack him like "Whack A Mole!"

I am not from California - although I have been there twice. I am a lawyer, but not in California - but I would bet that the restriction is a city of county ordinance, not a California state statute.

Call your local city or county clerk and ask for a copy of the ordinance, then get out your magnifying glass and look for the loop hole. Here, many cities have ordinances like that but they apply to decks and patios, not the entire apartment complex, so you might be able to command a parking spot, set up your smoker, tent and folding chair, cooler of beer and have a fine old time!

Pat
 
It may not be a law but unfortunantly it may be a rule of the apartment complex. You may need to check with the management. Bummer if it is true.
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I don't know a thing about California fire laws, but "F" that guy. If you're cooking safely and deliciously, which I assume you are if you take the time to read up on a website like this, then that dude should just be laying back and enjoying this type of second hand smoke.

Surely it depends on local law and your apartment rules, but I can't imagine that much of a problem if you're cooking in the middle of a large slab of concrete?

Sorry to hear about your neighbor troubles... been through similar type situations so I feel for you. Best of luck and keep that fire going!!!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve Whiting:
It may not be a law but unfortunantly it may be a rule of the apartment complex. You may need to check with the management. Bummer if it is true.
icon_frown.gif
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is usually the case, most laws will not prohibit it unless you are on a wood structure (balcony, deck) but each complex does have it's own rules. Lived at a couple myself but the parking lot wasn't a "bad" place so that's where I did bbq/smoke and usually had several neighbors join in. Got to know a lot of people that way.
 
Makes you wonder if you might be able to lobby the apt management folks to pour some 4 x 4 concrete slabs in the complex so folks can set up their grills and cook legally. The condos we rent down at the beach have either gas or "state park" type grills installed in the ground level common areas for residents and renters to use for grilling.

Interesting that the restriction is a state law rather than a local ordinance. I guess our California brethren love the regulation! I'm surprised that California hasn't banned cooking with charcoal, lest the smoke contribute to the smog problems!

Pat "Smoke On My Brother" Smith
 
Ok, here are a couple of questions to ask your neighbor.

#1 "What are you? Some kind of cop?"

#2 "Are you aware that there is a law against trespassing?"

#3 "Piss off"

Well, I guess #3 really isn't a question.
 
My apartment is made out of stucco, so I probably have a good chance of getting away with it! Thanks for all the advice guys. I still think I'll lay low for a while, just so the neighbors don't get all pissy that I totally disregarded their advice. I'll probably practice my butts and packers since the neighbors will most likley be asleep...or too tired to care!
 
I bought a condo and the first question that I asked was if they allowed charcoal BBQs. They said yes and pointed out a few on some decks. I bought the place and 8 months later I got a letter informing me that I had to remove my smoker. Now that is complete bull crap. I figure that if I put it in the storing closet out side after I use it than that's OK but there is now way I'm getting rid of my WSM. I think if it comes to a battle I might have to go find a lawyer.
 
I really hope it is not an apartment complex thing. If so, you may be hosed, due to the fact that you likely signed a contract stating you would abide by the rules they laid out. My wife and I rented a two-story townhouse when we first got married. The townhouse was run by an apartment complex. All the apartments in the complex were three stories high and had wooden decks, and grilling with a wooden deck above you is prohibited here in KC for, I assume, fear of rising heat igniting the wood. I think that's the law - it was how it was explained to us when we moved in, anyway. Obviously, this law left the people on the third floor free to grill, because they had no wooden decks above them (assuming the law was explained to us correctly). It also left people in the townhouses, like us, free to grill, because the townhouses had no upper decks, just a concrete porch in the back. The apartment complex passed a blanket rule that said no grilling/smoking at any unit at all, even in the parking lot. Fortunately for me, I didn't even have a grill at that point, and I hadn't even heard of the WSM, and as we moved into a house eight months after moving into the townhouse, it never effected me.

But, yeah, if I were you I would lay low for now, maybe do a few nighttime smokes like you're planning. Also, be polite to your neighbors. Most people won't go to the trouble of turning you in unless you piss them off, so try to stay on their good side and hope that no one in the apartment complex's management comes by.
 
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