Bellevue, NE Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Bellevue adopted the 2021 International Fire Code by reference in Section 12-36, and the fire code official within the fire department's Division of Fire Prevention enforces it under Section 12-37. Rather than treat propane or charcoal grills as fire pits, Section 12-172 defines OUTDOOR FIREPLACE to mean wood-burning fire pits, portable fire pits and chimeneas used at a private residence, and expressly states the term does not include barbeque grills that use propane or charcoal and are used primarily for outdoor cooking. Those grills instead fall under Section 12-36.1(A)(1), which amends the Fire Code's Section 308.1.4, Open Flame Cooking Devices, by deleting the code's second exception and rewriting the remaining exception so that only LP-gas cooking devices with a propane container holding 20 pounds of water capacity or less are exempted from the section's underlying restriction.

A grill supplied by a larger cylinder falls outside that exception and must meet the Fire Code's stricter open-flame cooking device standard. If a resident believes the standard creates a practical hardship, Section 12-39 lets the fire chief grant an individual modification provided public safety and the code's intent are preserved, and Section 12-40 allows an appeal of any Fire Code decision to the city council within 30 days of the ruling.