Bowie, MD Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

City Code § 5-7B(6)(a) generally forbids leaving household items, including coolers, furniture not built for outdoor use, tool boxes and similar materials, in the open on a residential or commercial exterior property area; everything not specifically exempted must be stored inside a building or screened from view of neighbors and the street. Patio heaters, firepits and grills are one of the seven listed exceptions to that storage ban, alongside items like extension ladders, clotheslines, outdoor-rated furniture and short-term residential dumpsters. The exception does not give grills and heaters a blank check: § 5-7B(6)(a)[6] ties their outdoor placement and use to 'the regulations of the Prince George's County Fire Marshal and/or any health, safety and welfare regulations adopted by the City pertaining to the use of such items,' meaning fire-safety rules for clearance, fuel storage and open flames come from the county Fire Marshal under the Fire Prevention Code the City adopted at § 8-1, not from a separate City distance table.

Grills used in City parks, as opposed to private residential yards, follow a different and more specific rule at § 17-2B: private grills are allowed without a permit in designated family areas, a permit is required to use one in a pavilion or group area, grills with a cooking surface over six square feet need a City-issued permit wherever used, and a hot grill or fire may never be left unattended, meaning no responsible adult at least 18 years old within 10 feet of it.