Possible fine for using WSM and other smokers in SF Bay Area


 
Ah Chris, you know this is just payback for all the:
"Yes it was cold here today, only got up to 70 degrees" posts by our CA friends. :p
 
If a skunk sprays in the yard 2 houses down does Noelle Robbins call the police on her neighbor for that too?
 
Chris Allingham said:
Hey, if I were you guys, I'd keep my mouth shut about how good things are where you live. When California dries up and blows away in the next big Dust Bowl, all 38 million of us will be looking for greener pastures, and we'll be coming to a neighborhood near you to drive up your housing prices and cost of living!

Don't forget to leave the light on for us! :)
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ps.........I'd let you stop by for some ribs................
 
I assume the law will cover all out door cooking to include gas grills and charcoal grills. If that is the case, it may not get through. It's a little crazy as cooking indoors adds just as much CO2 and other contaminants as dies cooking out doors. I sure am glad I don't live on your coast.
 
~Mark~ said:
Some people. . . Where I live the houses are fairly close together. With that being said, whenever I fire up all my grills it seems like it's a smoke signal for all the neighbors to head on over and chew the fat. They all want to see what this hillbilly is going to do this time, then we all talk about nothing in particular, have a few beers, and enjoy slowing down for a time. You can keep all that California high life. I'd rather slow down and smile.
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Where I am they will come out and chew the fat but.... If it's every week or an overnight cook they find something to complain about. (The previous neighbor was a jerk so I'm a little scarred) I live next door to Buddhist vegetarians on one side and on the other the lady hates the smell of charcoal. I am debating on buying a 14" and taking it to our local county park just so I don't have to hear the sarcasm.
 
My neighbor lady confided in me that when I light up the grill or the smoker that she LOVES the heavenly smells. Of course, they are serious grillers (and I introduced him to smoking via helping him build a Mini-Joe). Our houses are pretty close but not THAT close.

However, keep in mind that there are people that will complain just to exercise their personal power.

The government, both local and national, are subject to illogical responses to complaints. As a for instance, a few years ago, the State of Ohio decided to regulate emissions from autos by requiring them to be measured once a year before you were able to buy licenses for the car. The Ohio EPA issued a press release by way of explanation. It was front page news in all local newspapers. I carefully read the press release. By their own words, this was NOT going to alleviate the "bad air days" that we occasionally suffer during high heat days in the summer. Yet, they built large facilities all over the state just to measure these emissions spending millions of dollars. As their own press release stated, it had no effect on overall emissions. After a few years they closed all of the facilities.

One thing I found interesting at the time. If you had an old car, that almost certainly was creating serious emissions compared to a new car with the emission equipment from the factory, that was grand fathered in. You didn't have to correct them:rolleyes:. But it sounded good, so just another batch of "feel good" legislation that did NOTHING but spend taxpayer money and enriched the people who built the facilities...

FWIW
Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Haha... what's next? They will tell you what to eat so you don't fart too much. So people are allowed to drive around all day and eat out 3+times a day, but you better not start your BBQ!?
 
We live near Cincinnati. A few years ago, a Pizza Parlor in a suburb of Cincinnati that made and sold wood fired pizza (had a wood fire oven behind the counter) had a complaint registered with the board of health. It was on the news and we deliberately traveled there several times and had pizza just to support that business. The pizza was excellent. Apparently, the complainant was upset because city regulations did not permit cigarette smoking inside restaurants.:rolleyes: At any rate, it came to nothing as wiser heads prevailed (at least, THAT time).

FWIW
Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Might just be a conspiracy... Those who didn't get their way in Irwindale moved to the Bay Area...

Chris, please keep up posted as this, if enacted, could also affect comps.
If the SCAQMD brings up this idea, you bet I'll join my brethren in trying our best to defeat it.

Don't let the few spoil it for the many !

Bob
 
What is the world coming to? Officially complaining coz someone fires up a grill? Sad person.

I've not heard anything like that over here.............yet. (I did fire up a full sized, fully loaded chimney once, & the smoke just swirled around the back garden getting thicker. The neighbour rang the door-bell & asked if we were ok & hadn't torched ourselves. I think the charcoal was a bit damp).

We are bombarded from all directions on how to save energy. Not using the cooker in the kitchen, & using your grill to cook your food seems like a good start. Cuts down on the bills to.

Just can't win, can you?

Edit: I must admit, those who do overnight cooks are being inconsiderate. I wouldn't want to be lying in bed & getting a wonderful whiff of bbq. Means I'd have to get up, schlep to the kitchen for a snack, coz you made me hungry! And I'd have to brush my teeth again before going back to bed. You terrible people! :eek:
 
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Well without starting another controversy my main concern is the horrid white smoke that the KBB puts out until the coals get lit and it's not only the smoke it stinks also.

Barb and I live in a patio home so we're pretty much on top of one another. Every time I fire up a chimney it's a white out for the houses around us. I don't go for heavy smoke so after the fog lifts there is very little smoke haze from the wood. So far no ones complained, I'm just hoping that the new KBB will address the smoke issue on start up.

My daughters friend is a sheriffs officer in Cali and told us there is even a code for "excessive BBQ smoke" and they do get a lot of calls on it. So glad I left California.
 
I get the “privilege” to travel this great country sometimes more than I like. If you’ve read my posts you’ll note that I have a great disdain for kalifornia. I’ve lived here > 55 years and have 6 more to go if you count 2015. I would caution ya’ll if you think the thought process of “kalifornia” is limited to this state. I’ve seen some crazy stuff in the last decade, from Georgia (Atlanta) to Washington (Seattle) The infection I call kalifornia is coming to ya’ll, I saw it happen here, I see it happening out there. I fight the good fight, I sit on the supervisor’s board in my city and my county (volunteer) and I tell you, it is eye opening like nobody’s business. The US is going to hell and it’s not just kalifornia.

Just sayin’ don’t think it can’t happen where ya’ll are, it’s happening, right before your very eyes
 
Rich Dahl said:
Well without starting another controversy my main concern is the horrid white smoke that the KBB puts out until the coals get lit and it's not only the smoke it stinks also.

Barb and I live in a patio home so we're pretty much on top of one another. Every time I fire up a chimney it's a white out for the houses around us. I don't go for heavy smoke so after the fog lifts there is very little smoke haze from the wood. So far no ones complained, I'm just hoping that the new KBB will address the smoke issue on start up.

My daughters friend is a sheriffs officer in Cali and told us there is even a code for "excessive BBQ smoke" and they do get a lot of calls on it. So glad I left California.
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That's my biggest complaint with KBB as well. Once it gets lit in the chimney, and then again when the lit heats up the unlit in the cooker, it quits smoking but that takes a while. Stubb's is a little better but costs more. Lump seems to be the best but then you deal with inconsistency from bag to bag. Each has a comprise involved.

When you have that many people in close proximity I can see where this can become an issue for those around without the same interest in outdoor cooking. (Notice the OP says outdoor pizza ovens as well). My closest neighbor is over a hundred yards away. My brother's neighbors (he lives in a N Dallas suburb) are less than 20 ft. on both sides.
 
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Seems like there's a lot of California bashing on here, lol, but if you folks lived in close proximity in an incredibly populous state, you might rethink. As a Northern Californian, when I visit SoCal I am appalled at the air quality and get headaches every time. NorCal air quality is better, but in winter it deteriorates and who wants to wake up to grey skies? I like my sky blue and my air pretty clean. I'd much rather limit my smoker time if it helps. And, yes, there are other causes some of which are much larger contributors to bad air. But I can't make everyone stop driving their cars to get to work. Using a smoker/bbq is not essential so respecting spare-the-air days is not that big a deal. I personally love living in the Bay Area and wouldn't move for anything; to each their own, as they say.
 
Bob Bass said:
Might just be a conspiracy... Those who didn't get their way in Irwindale moved to the Bay Area...

Chris, please keep up posted as this, if enacted, could also affect comps.
If the SCAQMD brings up this idea, you bet I'll join my brethren in trying our best to defeat it.

Don't let the few spoil it for the many !

Bob
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If this actually goes anywhere in terms of public meetings, it would be good for CBBQA to get involved to represent the interests of competition BBQ. One cannot plan ahead for a Spare the Air Day, as they are dependent on weather and air quality, so there would need to be an exemption for organized competitions that are scheduled many months in advance. Same goes for organized BBQ classes.
 
Chris Allingham said:
If this actually goes anywhere in terms of public meetings, it would be good for CBBQA to get involved to represent the interests of competition BBQ. One cannot plan ahead for a Spare the Air Day, as they are dependent on weather and air quality, so there would need to be an exemption for organized competitions that are scheduled many months in advance. Same goes for organized BBQ classes.
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Good points, Chris.
Also, all of those practice cooks.

Will be in touch.

Bob
 
Partial solution...(?) I have a neighbor who seems to find things to complain about and is very loud. One fine afternoon I heard some complaining about the smell of my starting charcoal. I really dislike it as well so I had to forgive the shrill and get after a solution. Playing around a bit, I found that adding cooking oil to the coals makes the start-up smell just like grilling burgers. Bingo! So, I no longer toss my grate cleaning oiled paper towel. I save it for starting the chimney on the next go and I add a shot of oil to the bottom coals for an extra boost of "Burgers a'cooking!". Bonus is that the fire starts things very quickly and I'm not tossing out the used towels. Extra bonus is that the complaining has gone away while I'm cooking.

BTW, this only helps with the smell (or those with loud neighbors who don't like the smell). The smoke is actually much thicker, but goes away a bit faster. Sorry my San Fran brethren for StAD days :(
 
Bonn fires, campfires, or burning yard rubbish in close areas to homes is one thing,however smoke from a cooking device should never be under ordinance discussion, that said look at Detroit we have been smoking out Windsor,PA, NY, for a hundred years and they dont call and ask us to stop making cars. Living close to neighbors is a choice by everyone, much like the people who in my town who bought a house right next Pine Knob our nations largest outdoor amputheater and complain they dont like the noise or our hometown boy Bobby Ritchie (Kid Rock) has to many cuss words. Dont like it ? your free to leave<<
 
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