Stonecrest, GA Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

The prohibition sits inside Article VI, Open Burning, of Chapter 12, Fire Prevention. Sec. 12-146(a) opens with a general ban on open burning citywide, then carves out cooking food for immediate human consumption as a permitted exception, immediately followed by the balcony and clearance limit: charcoal burners and other open-flame cooking devices cannot sit on a combustible balcony or within ten feet of combustible construction, unless the building is a one- or two-family dwelling. That single- and two-family carve-out is the whole exemption; townhomes with shared walls, apartment buildings and condominium towers all fall back under the restriction because their balconies and exterior walls are treated as combustible construction unless proven otherwise.

The rule does not distinguish gas from charcoal, so a propane tank grill qualifies as an open-flame cooking device just as a charcoal kettle does, and either one has to move off the balcony and clear the ten-foot line from siding, railings or other combustible material before it can be lit. Subsection (b) layers on general standards for any open burning permitted under (a): the fuel cannot be the kind that produces dense smoke or obnoxious odors, the fire has to stay on private property clear of streets and sidewalks, and it cannot violate federal EPA or Georgia Environmental Protection Division rules or the state minimum fire safety standards.

Enforcement runs through Chapter 12's own violations article: Sec. 12-85 makes it unlawful to violate, permit or fail to comply with any provision of the chapter, and Sec. 12-86 ties the penalty back to Chapter 1 of the Code.