Anaheim, CA Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Anaheim does not have a smoker-specific ordinance. Wood smokers, pellet grills, offset smokers, and wood-fired pizza ovens are legal at single-family residential properties. The California Fire Code adopted in AMC Title 16 requires that commercially manufactured cooking devices maintain safe clearance from combustible construction, and CFC §308.1.4 prohibits open-flame cookers — including wood and pellet smokers — on combustible balconies in multi-family buildings of three or more units. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 444 applies to Anaheim and prohibits residential wood-burning on declared No-Burn Days between November 1 and February 28, which includes wood smokers and wood-fired pizza ovens (gas-fired smokers and pellet grills using pellets as fuel are partially exempt depending on emissions; check current SCAQMD guidance). Continuous smoke that drifts over property lines and substantially interferes with a neighbor's use of their property can be cited as a nuisance under AMC Title 1. HOAs commonly impose stricter smoker rules; California Civil Code §4750 limits some HOA bans but smokers are not specifically protected. The Anaheim Resort District (AMC Ch. 18.116) imposes additional design controls in commercial overlay zones but does not restrict residential smokers.