Maple Grove, MN Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Maple Grove does not have a separate ordinance singling out smokers, but the City Code treats a charcoal, wood-pellet, or propane/gas smoker the same as a barbecue grill. City Code Sec. 18-78 (Ordinance 20-07) provides that a recreational fire permit is NOT required to operate barbecue grills using charcoal, natural gas, propane, or wood chips/pellets as fuel where the purpose of the fire is to cook materials for human consumption - language that covers offset smokers, pellet smokers, kamado cookers and similar cooking devices. This distinguishes a smoker (a cooking appliance) from a recreational 'fire,' which would otherwise require a permit and meet 25-foot/15-foot setbacks. Because a smoker is a cooking appliance, it is not subject to the recreational-fire wind limit, attendant, or material restrictions that apply to campfires - though common-sense safety still governs, and any device cannot be operated in a way that creates a hazard the Fire Chief could order corrected. The multi-family limits in Sec. 18-79 (MSFC Appendix O) apply to smokers as open-flame/heating devices: in structures over two stories with 15 or more units, open-flame cooking is restricted to at least 15 feet from the structure. Propane-fueled smokers are subject to Sec. 18-94's outdoor LP gas storage rules, and the prohibition on using unvented gas-fired devices indoors or inside any enclosure applies. Wood and pellet smoke should also not create a nuisance.