Waco, TX Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

" That covers charcoal grills and any open-flame cooking device, which reaches gas and propane grills as well as charcoal burners, on any patio or balcony attached to an apartment, condo or other multifamily building, and it doesn't stop at the patio line: the same devices are barred anywhere within 10 feet of the multifamily building itself, patio or not. The same subsection separately governs single-family and other standalone-lot cooking equipment, requiring a stove, oven or barbecue pit used outside a building or enclosure to sit at least 10 feet from any adjoining building, but that standalone-lot rule doesn't create an exception for multifamily patios and balconies, which remain banned outright regardless of distance on the patio itself.

A device used indoors, inside a carport, garage or other enclosure, instead falls under § 10-44's separate vent and spark-arrestor requirement. Because chapter 10 imposes strict liability under § 10-2(b), a tenant or property manager doesn't need to have intended a violation for it to be enforceable, and the fire marshal's office and fire department personnel handle enforcement under § 10-2(a), which can include inspections of apartment complexes for fire code compliance.