Piscataway, NJ Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Section 19-15.10 of the Piscataway Township Code, added by Ordinance No. 2024-28 on November 26, 2024, splits barbecue grill placement into two clauses that together cover most backyard, patio and balcony cooking setups in the Township. Under clause a., a grill fueled by propane with the tank attached cannot be located or operated inside or upon any building, and even outdoors it cannot sit or run within five feet, measured laterally, of any building, wall or overhang; that five-foot buffer runs to the nearest wall or overhang, not just the building's footprint, so a grill tucked under a covered porch roof or overhang violates the section even if it sits outside the building's walls.

Clause b. imposes the identical restriction on charcoal or wood-fired grills: no operating within or upon a building, and no operating within five feet laterally of a building, wall or overhang. Because the section applies to attached-tank propane grills and to charcoal or wood grills separately but with matching five-foot language, it reaches the balcony and multifamily scenario directly: a propane grill on an apartment balcony sits well inside five feet of the building wall and the overhang above it, so operating one there fails clause a. regardless of the tenant's floor.

The section sits inside Chapter 19, Fire Prevention and Protection, so the Piscataway Bureau of Fire Prevention enforces it alongside the rest of the fire code, and it was adopted the same day as the Township's fire watch and key lock box updates in §§ 19-15.9 and 19-15.11.