Backyard smokers and pellet grills are allowed at Montebello homes under the 2019 California Fire Code, adopted as Municipal Code Chapter 15.32. Charcoal and wood smokers face the same 10-foot balcony restriction as grills, and smoke that bothers neighbors can be treated as a nuisance.
Montebello has no smoker-specific ordinance; outdoor smokers, pellet grills, and offset barbecues fall under the open-flame cooking rules of the 2019 California Fire Code, adopted as Chapter 15.32 of the Municipal Code (MMC 15.32.010) and enforced by the independent Montebello Fire Prevention Bureau. At detached single-family and two-family homes, wood and charcoal smokers are allowed. The main limit is multifamily housing: Fire Code Section 308.1.4 bars charcoal or other solid-fuel cooking devices on combustible balconies or within 10 feet of combustible construction unless the building is sprinklered, so a charcoal or wood smoker generally cannot be used on a wooden apartment balcony. Electric smokers are treated more leniently. Persistent smoke can be a nuisance under South Coast AQMD Rule 402.
Using a charcoal or wood smoker on a combustible apartment balcony or within 10 feet of combustible construction, in an unsprinklered building, violates Fire Code Section 308.1.4 as adopted by MMC 15.32 and is citable by the Montebello Fire Department.
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