Stonecrest, GA Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Chapter 12's open-burning article treats a backyard smoker the same as any other cooking fire: Sec. 12-146(a)(1) permits open burning for cooking food for immediate human consumption in the first place, and Sec. 12-146(b) then sets the standards every permitted cooking fire, including a wood or charcoal smoker, has to meet. The fuel rule is specific: heavy oils, gasoline, asphaltic materials, plastic, items containing natural or synthetic rubber, or any other material that produces dense smoke or obnoxious odors cannot be used to start or keep the fire going, which rules out treated lumber, painted scrap wood and similar smoker fuel that neighbors would otherwise smell for hours.

The location rule requires the smoker to sit on private property and stay clear of any interference with traffic on public streets or sidewalks. The last standard folds in outside authority directly: burning cannot violate restrictions the Federal Environmental Protection Agency or the Georgia Environmental Protection Division impose, nor can it violate the state minimum fire safety standards adopted elsewhere in Chapter 12's fire code amendments. A smoker placed on a combustible balcony or within ten feet of combustible construction runs into the separate restriction in Sec.

12-146(a)(1) that applies to any open-flame cooking device other than at a one- or two-family dwelling, so an apartment-dweller running a smoker on a balcony is doubly exposed under both subsections. Violations of either subsection are chapter-wide violations under Sec. 12-85.