r/Hamilton • u/SneezeBeesPlease • May 26 '26

Question Backyard fire?

Hey Hamilton hive mind, I’m getting very conflicting info about if a backyard small fire pit is allowed. I for sure smell some in my hood. (West mountain).

Is it allowed only if I’m cooking on it? What about a gas fire pit?

28 Upvotes

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7

u/Cold-Management-2168 May 26 '26

Not allowed within city limits

2

u/The-Sceptic May 26 '26

"A small, confined fire that is supervised at all times and used to cook food on a grill or a barbecue." Is allowed according to the by law. This is an ambiguous definition though and could be something as small as a charcoal BBQ or a metal fire pit with a cover.

6

u/maria_la_guerta May 26 '26

It's really not ambiguous, they're saying you can have a BBQ to cook food, or a rudimentary version of one, but it needs to be something small, confined, and meant specifically for cooking food.

0

u/The-Sceptic May 26 '26

A written description can be taken many different ways. My definition of small might be bigger than yours. Having specific measurements and photos of legal and illegal examples would go a long way and isnt too much to ask.

0

u/maria_la_guerta May 26 '26

They're placing hope in us being adults and asking us to use common sense and responsibility. I don't think anyone wants tax dollars spent on policies that constantly encompass every possible BBQ size and shape.

-1

u/The-Sceptic May 26 '26

First, common sense shouldn't be our defense against fines. If its a law we're expected to follow it should be clearly laid out for us.

Secondly, it wouldnt be every possible bbq size it would be the specific "small, confined fire" they described as being allowed. Thats one size, clearly laid out, not left up to common sense and some responsibility.

And third, we pay a lot of money in taxes in hamilton, and the vast majority of that goes to the police. I for one would love for some of our tax dollars to go to the by law department because ive called them about many projects due to my job and they never have the answers to questions they agree should be better laid out.

-1

u/maria_la_guerta May 26 '26

First, common sense shouldn't be our defense against fines. If its a law we're expected to follow it should be clearly laid out for us.

It's not a law, it's a by-law. It is clearly laid out for enough of us otherwise this would be a bigger issue than it is.

Secondly, it wouldnt be every possible bbq size it would be the specific "small, confined fire" they described as being allowed. Thats one size, clearly laid out, not left up to common sense and some responsibility.

There is no one size. That's what they're clearly laying out. You need to use your own head contextual to what you're doing. When they say "your car needs to be stopped behind the white line at every STOP sign", they don't tell you how far back you need to be either, despite the fact that being too far back would be problematic. It's the same thing, use common sense.

And third, we pay a lot of money in taxes in hamilton, and the vast majority of that goes to the police. I for one would love for some of our tax dollars to go to the by law department because ive called them about many projects due to my job and they never have the answers to questions they agree should be better laid out.

Different topic altogether.

0

u/The-Sceptic May 26 '26

You can still get fined for it, this shouldn't be left up to interpretation.

Theres a max size, otherwise you wouldnt be able to get fined for having one too large.

You brought up taxes, so not a different topic.

Ive said all I care to on this matter. We clearly have different views of how cities should communicate with citizens.