Plymouth, MN Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

City Code § 905.15 amends Appendix O of the Minnesota State Fire Code, adopted at § 905.01, to regulate barbecues on balconies and patios at the multifamily buildings the City has designated under that appendix. Subd. 1 flatly bars any charcoal-briquette cooking device, which covers charcoal grills and charcoal smokers, from those balconies and patios. Subd. 2 allows electrical cooking devices instead, but only if the balcony or patio has a protected outdoor electrical outlet to power them. Subd. 3 defines 'Barbecues' broadly to include any cooking device, rotisserie, roaster, smoker, oven or similar equipment used in food preparation, so the ban reaches wood and pellet smokers as well as charcoal grills, and it separately defines 'open flame' to cover torches, candles and similar heating or lighting devices.

Outside that balcony/patio context, § 940.13, Subd. 2.C carves mobile cooking devices, including manufactured hibachis, charcoal grills, wood smokers, and propane or natural gas burners, out of the definition of Camp or Recreational Fire entirely, so a backyard smoker or grill is not subject to the three-foot ring, 25-foot setback or attendance rules that govern fire pits, and it does not need an Open Burn Permit under § 940.01. Enforcement of the balcony rule falls to the Plymouth Fire Department under its Minnesota State Fire Code inspection authority, and violations of the adopted Fire Code carry the misdemeanor penalty tied to the Building Code chapter that incorporates it at § 400.07.