Backyard smokers and pellet/charcoal cookers are treated as food grills in Lee County, not as open burning, so they need no permit and remain allowed even during a burn ban. Nuisance-smoke and multifamily fire-code limits still apply.
A residential smoker used to cook food is classified with grills rather than with recreational or debris burning. Because Lee County's burn ban excludes "grills for food," a wood, charcoal, or pellet smoker may keep operating even when campfires and open burning are prohibited. There is no county permit for backyard smoking. Practical limits: persistent heavy smoke drifting onto neighbors could draw a nuisance complaint under general property-maintenance/nuisance provisions, and at apartments or condos the Florida Fire Prevention Code's balcony open-flame restrictions apply the same as for grills. Use only clean cooking fuels - never treated wood, trash, or accelerants.
No smoker-specific penalty exists; chronic smoke nuisance may be cited under the county's general nuisance code, and multifamily balcony use is enforced by the fire marshal under the state fire code.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Lee County, FL
Backyard composting is allowed in Lee County; no ordinance prohibits a residential compost pile. Yard waste (grass, leaves, brush) is collected separately th...
Lee County, FL
Lee County's Land Development Code does not authorize synthetic turf as a substitute for required living landscaping, so it generally does not count toward d...
Lee County, FL
Lee County's development landscape standards require a large share of native Florida trees and shrubs from Appendix E, and Florida law (FS 373.185) bars HOAs...
Lee County, FL
Lee County does not restrict residential rainwater harvesting. Under water Ordinance No. 24-01, rain barrels, cisterns, and other rain-harvesting devices may...
Lee County, FL
Unincorporated Lee County limits landscape irrigation to set days by address and bans watering from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round under Ordinance No. 24-01, su...
Lee County, FL
The Lee County Lot Mowing Ordinance (No. 14-08) declares grasses and weeds over 12 inches on lots a nuisance in unincorporated areas. The County notices owne...
See how Lee County's smoker rules rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.