Medina, OH Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

06 of the Codified Ordinances of Medina applies to any residential structure with two or more units, expressly naming duplexes, apartments, condominiums, hotels, motels and boarding houses. Under subsection (a), no owner or occupant of a unit in such a building may use a barbecue grill, hibachi, chimena or any other open-flame cooking or warming device on a common walkway or on, under, or below a balcony, porch or rooftop built of combustible material and located above the ground floor. The rule targets fire spread risk in stacked, shared-wall housing; single-family homes fall outside the section's scope.

Subsection (c) carves out a grade-level exception: owners and occupants of the same covered buildings may still use open-flame grills, hibachis and chimeneas in open areas at ground level, provided the appliance sits at least 10 feet vertically from combustible construction and at least 15 feet horizontally from the nearest balcony or overhanging appendage. The Fire Department enforces the chapter, adopted by Ordinance 92-03, passed July 14, 2003, as part of the city's fire prevention code. 5 pounds water capacity on the same balconies or inside covered units, closing off both the open-flame use and the fuel storage that could feed a balcony fire.

99, carrying a fine of up to $500, up to 60 days in jail, or both, on top of any removal order from the Fire Code Official.