Corpus Christi, TX Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

4, adopted as part of the city's Fire Code by Code of Ordinances Sec. 18-1, states that charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices shall not be operated on combustible balconies or within 10 feet of combustible construction. Three exceptions apply: one- and two-family dwellings are exempt outright; balconies and decks protected by an automatic sprinkler system are exempt; and small LP-gas cooking devices with a fuel container holding no more than 2 1/2 pounds of water capacity, about a 1-pound nominal LP-gas cylinder, the size used on a portable tabletop grill, are exempt regardless of clearance.

Corpus Christi added its own paragraph directly beneath the base code text, extending the same 10-foot combustible-clearance rule to a stove, oven, or barbecue pit, whether portable, temporary, or permanent, at multi-family dwellings, apartments, condominiums, attached single-family buildings, hotels, or commercial businesses, measured from any portion of a combustible building, including decks, arches, balconies, walls or verandas. That local addition carries the same carve-outs: it does not apply to one- and two-family homes, and it does not reach stoves, ovens or barbecue pits installed indoors in accordance with the city's building codes.

In practice, a resident of a Corpus Christi apartment or condo cannot run a charcoal grill or propane barbecue pit on a balcony or within 10 feet of the building unless it is a small approved LP-gas device or the structure has fire sprinklers.