Georgetown, TX Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Georgetown treats offset smokers, pellet smokers, and BBQ pits the same way it treats grills: they are cooking fires that do not require an outdoor burn permit, unlike yard-waste burning. The governing local requirement is the cooking-fire clearance distance of 10 feet from structures, which helps prevent radiant heat and ember exposure to buildings. Smokers should be fueled only with approved cooking fuels such as seasoned hardwood, lump charcoal, wood pellets, or propane; the city's prohibited-materials list for burning (tires, treated lumber, plastics, painted or manufactured wood, and similar) applies, so a smoker must never be loaded with treated or painted scrap wood. Because smoking food produces sustained smoke over many hours, residents should also be mindful of Georgetown's general nuisance framework: smoke, odor, or fumes that unreasonably interfere with neighbors' use of their property can draw a nuisance complaint to Code Compliance even though routine, properly fueled cooking smoke is expected and allowed. The same safety practices apply as for any cooking fire, including attending the smoker and keeping a water source or extinguisher nearby. Like grills, household-scale smokers and their propane or wood-pellet fuel do not require a separate city permit, but larger commercial or event cooking operations may need fire department coordination, particularly for vendors. During a county burn ban, contained cooking on a smoker is commonly still permitted, but the specific burn ban order should be checked.