Syracuse, NY Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

Subsection (b)(1) names four off-limits locations for any unvented portable cooking or heating equipment fueled by solid, liquid or LPG fuel: inside a structure, under or upon a roof, upon a balcony or porch, or within three feet of combustible material or a structure. That fourth clause is the one that reaches freestanding grills used in a yard or driveway, not just balconies, since it sets a flat three-foot buffer from siding, fences, decks or any other burnable surface regardless of where the equipment sits.

Because balconies and porches are listed outright, the rule effectively bars propane and charcoal grills from apartment balconies and porches in Syracuse's many multifamily buildings, a common source of code-enforcement complaints in dense rental neighborhoods. The companion clause in (b)(2) adds a fuel restriction: only charcoal, hardwood, natural gas or LPG may be burned for domestic food preparation, and burning anything else, or burning even those fuels in a way that produces excessive smoke, flaming brands or noxious odors, is separately prohibited. Both restrictions sit inside Section 27-48, Outdoor fires, which was adopted as part of the 1993 rewrite of Chapter 27, the Property Conservation Code, and is enforced the same way as the rest of that Code.

There is no permit or registration process for backyard grilling itself; the rule is a straight prohibition on the four listed locations and the excessive-smoke standard, not a licensing scheme.