Lauderhill, FL Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Sec. 9-8 of the Lauderhill Code, enacted by Ord. No. 81-150 on July 27, 1981, prohibits operating barbecue grills and similar outdoor cooking devices on the balconies, terraces and porches of multifamily dwellings, and bars them entirely from parking garages and any below-ground level floor of a building. The section requires that every such cooking device be used outside only, positioned a minimum of ten (10) feet from the outside building line or overhang, a rule aimed squarely at Lauderhill's condo and apartment stock along the State Road 7/US-441 corridor and around Inverrary where balconies sit close to shared exterior walls and stacked units.

Because the rule sits in Chapter 9, Fire Protection, Prevention, and Life Safety, it is enforced as a fire-safety measure rather than a nuisance or zoning rule, meaning the fire marshal and fire inspectors can act on it directly during routine inspections of multifamily properties, not only in response to a complaint. The ten-foot clearance applies regardless of whether the device is charcoal, gas or electric, since the text covers 'barbecue grills and similar cooking devices intended for use outdoors' without carving out an exception for propane units.

No permit or registration is required to own or use a grill that complies with the placement rule; the ordinance regulates location only, not fuel type, size or frequency of use.