West Bloomfield, MI Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Chapter 11, Article V of the West Bloomfield Township Code covers permanent outdoor cooking and heating appliances separately from portable fire pits. Under Sec. 11-79(a), an outdoor fireplace or outdoor stove, defined in Sec. 11-77 as a boiler, stove, oven or furnace located outdoors and fueled by natural gas, propane or clean wood, cannot go in without Planning and Development first issuing a building permit backed by construction plans. Once installed, the appliance must sit at least twenty-five feet from the nearest building that is not on the same property, at least fifteen feet from any structure on the same lot, and at least fifteen feet from a woodland as mapped under the zoning ordinance's Sec.

2.1.127; it cannot be placed inside a wetland delineated under Sec. 12-5. The stack or chimney must rise at least eight feet above grade, though the fire chief can approve a shorter stack case by case if the manufacturer's specifications call for it and the lower exhaust will not create a smoke nuisance for neighbors. While burning, the appliance must be constantly attended until fully extinguished, and a working fire extinguisher has to be within reach of anyone using it. Sec. 11-78(f) separately treats any burning, permitted or not, as a nuisance if it produces noxious odors or excessive dust and ash reaching nearby properties, letting a fire code official, police officer, or code enforcement officer order it extinguished on the spot.