Woodbury, MN Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)

Woodbury does not publish a separate smoker ordinance; backyard smokers (charcoal, wood-pellet or other solid-fuel cooking devices) are treated as 'grills' and open-flame cooking equipment under City Code Section 8-4 and the Minnesota State Fire Code. For single-family detached homes, smoking meats on a patio or in the yard is allowed, provided the device is used per manufacturer instructions and kept a safe distance from the house and combustibles, and ashes are disposed of cold. The strict limits apply to multi-family housing: for any structure with three or more dwelling units sharing a common hallway or means of egress, no fire or open flame may be kindled or maintained on any above-ground balcony or on a ground-floor patio within 15 feet of the structure, and no grill of any kind - electric, gas, charcoal or open flame, which includes charcoal and offset smokers - may be used in those zones. The lone exception is a building, balcony or patio that is entirely non-combustible and sprinkler-protected. The city imposed these rules because solid-fuel and propane cooking equipment on patios has caused multiple fires in Minnesota and Woodbury. Smoke or odor from a smoker that unreasonably disturbs neighbors could also be addressed under the city's general nuisance provisions, and any larger wood fire that goes beyond cooking would be subject to the recreational fire (Section 15-1) or brush fire permit (Section 8-3) rules.