Eagan: No grills on decks of multi-housing units

Grills are now banned from decks at Eagan multi-housing units, even when not in use.

Last year, following a number of fires, the city council banned the use of grills -- both gas and charcoal -- on decks or patios of housing complexes in which at least three units share a common hallway.

"We were one of the last cities in Dakota County to adopt (an ordinance)," Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott said this week.

But enforcing the city code was tricky because it was tough to tell whether the grills residents stored on decks were actually being used, Scott said.

So this week, the city council passed an ordinance amendment that prohibits grills, along with charcoal and lighter fluid, from being stored on decks or patios of complexes in which at least three units share a common hallway.

On a ground-floor patio, grills and lighting materials now must be kept at least 15 feet away from a building.

A common question is why townhouses are not included in the new rules, Scott said.

To draft the ordinance, he said, Eagan used state rules adopted in the 1990s that cities could voluntarily adopt.

"The intent of it was that on the second or third floors of an apartment building, the only way to get out is through a common hallway," he said. "And if it's filled with smoke, you don't have a way out. So you're putting other families in jeopardy."

When the state rules were adopted, one of Eagan's largest fires was mentioned as a reason, Scott said.

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Eagan: No grills on decks of multi-housing units