Lakeville, MN Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

City Code section 8-4-2 defines OPEN BURNING as the burning of any matter whose combustion products are emitted directly into the atmosphere without passing through a stack, duct, or chimney, except a recreational or camp fire as separately defined. The same definition expressly carves out mobile cooking devices, naming charcoal grills, wood smokers, manufactured hibachis, and propane or natural gas devices, and states they are not considered open burning devices. Because section 8-4-3 requires a permit only for open burning, and a smoker or grill falls outside that definition entirely, using one in a Lakeville backyard does not require an open burning permit from the Fire Department, and it is not held to the recreational fire limits in section 8-4-3(F), such as the 3-foot diameter cap, the 25-foot structure setback, or the 15-mile-per-hour wind limit that apply to open fires and fire pits.

That exemption is specific to single-family and similar ground-level use; it does not reach section 8-4-4's separate ban on open flame and stored fuel on balconies and ground-floor patios in buildings with three or more dwelling units sharing a hallway or exit, where even an unlit smoker or grill remains restricted unless it is a permanently mounted, Fire Chief-approved unit.