Lee's Summit, MO Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Article III of Chapter 13 is the City's Fire Code. Ordinance No. 10421, adopted July 14, 2026, repealed the former article and adopted the 2024 International Fire Code in Sec. 13-43, with the Lee's Summit amendments listed in Sec. 13-44. The grilling rule is the local wording of § 4104.2, titled Portable Fuel Fired Cooking Appliances.

The rule has two prongs. Charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices, expressly including pellet grills, pellet smokers and wood-burning smokers, cannot be stored or operated on a combustible balcony. They also cannot be stored or operated within 10 feet of combustible construction. The text covers storage as well as use, so a cold charcoal grill parked on a combustible balcony is as much a violation as a lit one.

Three exceptions each lift the rule on their own. One- and two-family dwellings are exempt, so a detached house or a duplex owner can grill on a deck. Buildings, balconies and decks protected by an automatic sprinkler system are exempt. LP-gas cooking devices with a container of no more than 2 1/2 pounds water capacity, a nominal 1 pound of LP-gas, are exempt. The third exception reaches only that small container size, so a grill fed by a larger cylinder cannot use it.

Propane carries a separate commercial layer. Sec. 6101.2 requires a permit for any facility that uses or dispenses liquefied petroleum gas (propane) for retail or commercial purposes, and distributors cannot fill or provide an LP-gas container for which a permit is required unless the fire code official has issued a permit for that location. Under Section 5001.5(b), retail or commercial propane use above 40 pounds and below the EPCRA threshold quantities needs a Hazardous Materials Permit from the fire department. The Chief of the Fire Department grants or denies it administratively, and requests outside the Chief's discretion go to the Public Safety Advisory Board, which recommends to the Mayor and City Council.

Other outdoor fire limits sit in the same section. Portable outdoor fireplaces cannot operate within 15 feet of a structure or combustible material. Recreational fires need a permit under Section 105.5.36, must stay 25 feet from a structure or combustible material, and cannot exceed a pile 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height. Section 307.1.1 prohibits open burning, recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces whenever National Weather Service or NOAA information shows atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make them hazardous.