Medina, OH Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Buildings with two or more residential units
- Banned locations
- Combustible balconies, porches, walkways, rooftops above grade
- Propane limit
- Tanks over 2.5 lb water capacity barred indoors/balconies
- Grade-level clearance
- 10 ft vertical, 15 ft horizontal from balconies
- Max penalty
- Third-degree misdemeanor, up to $500 and 60 days
Summary
Medina bars residents of duplexes, apartments, and similar multi-unit buildings from grilling, smoking, or using any open-flame cooking device on a balcony, porch, walkway, or rooftop above ground level. Section 1505.06 pushes that cooking to grade level instead, with minimum clearance from the building and stored propane limits.
(a) No person, being the owner or occupant, of a unit in a residential structure having two units or more, including, but not limited to, duplexes, apartments, condominiums, hotels, motels, boarding houses and similar shelters, shall use a barbecue grill, hibachi, chimena or other device or appliance producing an open flame for the purpose of cooking or warmth on any common walkway or on or below any balcony, porch or rooftop, made of combustible material, located above the grade level of any such structure. ... (c) Persons being owners or occupants of a unit or structure described in subsection (a) hereof may use open flame cooking barbecue grills, hibachis, chimenas or other appliances on open areas at grade level, provided there is a minimum vertical distance of 10 feet from combustible construction and a minimum horizontal distance of fifteen feet from the nearest balcony or overhanging appendage.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025-01: Local legislation current through June 24, 2025 | State legislation current through December 31, 2024).
Full Breakdown
06 targets combustible-balcony fire risk in Medina's multi-family and multi-story housing stock. Subsection (a) applies to any residential structure with two units or more, naming duplexes, apartments, condominiums, hotels, motels, and boarding houses specifically, and bars the owner or occupant from using a barbecue grill, hibachi, chimena, or any other open-flame cooking or warming device on a common walkway or on or below a balcony, porch, or rooftop made of combustible material above grade level. 5 pounds cannot be stored on a combustible balcony or inside any unit of that structure, closing off the workaround of simply keeping the tank indoors between uses.
Subsection (c) gives residents an alternative rather than banning grilling outright: open-flame cooking is allowed on open areas at grade level, provided the grill sits at least 10 feet vertically from combustible construction and at least 15 feet horizontally from the nearest balcony or overhanging structure. Together the three subsections push charcoal, propane, and wood-fired cooking devices away from combustible upper-floor surfaces in multi-unit buildings while leaving ground-level grilling available under fixed clearance numbers rather than a case-by-case permit.
Violations & Fines
Grilling, smoking, or warming food with an open flame on a combustible balcony, porch, walkway, or rooftop in a multi-unit building, or storing an oversized propane tank there, violates Section 1505.06 and is enforced under Section 1505.99 as a third-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to sixty days in jail, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I grill on my apartment balcony in Medina?
Where can multi-family residents grill legally in Medina?
Can I keep a spare propane tank in my apartment for the grill?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Medina
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