Mebane, NC Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Mebane City Code § 16-3(b) states plainly that 'these guidelines do not apply to fires in which fuel being burned is completely contained in an outdoor fireplace, barbeque grill or barbeque pit,' carving grills and similar contained-fuel appliances out of the six numbered restrictions in § 16-3(a): the safe-distance, constant-attendance, extinguisher-on-hand, two-foot-by-three-foot fuel size and 40-inch diameter limits that apply to open recreational fire pits. In practice, a propane or charcoal grill used on a patio, deck or balcony is not measured against those size or setback numbers, because the exemption turns on containment, not fuel type or grill size.

The exemption was adopted alongside the rest of § 16-3 on October 7, 2019, under Ord. No. OA-19-05. Nothing in Chapter 16 sets a separate distance requirement, tank-size limit or balcony restriction for gas or charcoal grills; the sole textual hook is the containment exemption itself. Homeowners association rules or the North Carolina Fire Code, adopted by reference at § 16-61 for the separate purpose of fire-code enforcement and inspection, may still impose their own equipment or placement standards, but the city's own recreational-fire ordinance imposes none on a contained grill.

A grill fire that escapes its containment, for example a flare-up that ignites nearby combustible material, stops being 'completely contained' and can be treated as unlawful open burning under § 16-1 or a fire code violation, subject to the misdemeanor penalty in § 16-2.