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Boulder Revised Code Home

1. Charter
2. Title 1 General Administration
3. Title 2 Government Organization
4. Title 3 Revenue and Taxation
5. Title 4 Licenses and Permits
6. Title 5 General Offenses
7. Title 6 Health, Safety, and Sanitation
1. Chapter 6-1 Animals
2. Chapter 6-2 Weed Control
3. Chapter 6-3 Trash
4. Chapter 6-4 Regulation of Smoking
5. Chapter 6-5 Rodent Control
6. Chapter 6-6 Rodent Control
7. Chapter 6-7 Hazardous Material Transportation
8. Chapter 6-8 Nuclear Free Zone
9. »Chapter 6-9 Air Quality
10. Chapter 6-10 Pesticide Use
11. Chapter 6-11 Ozone-Depleting Compounds
12. Chapter 6-12 Trash Hauling
13. Chapter 6-13 Voice and Sight Control Evidence Tags
8. Title 7 Regulation of Vehicles, Pedestrians, and Parking
9. Title 8 Parks, Open Space, Streets, and Public Ways
10. Title 9 Land Use Regulation
11. Title 10 Structures
12. Title 11 Utilities and Airport
13. Title 12 Human Rights
14. Title 13 Elections and Campaign Disclosures and Activities
15. Title 14 Arts
16. Index
17. Ordinances Pending Codification

Page Contents

• 6-9-1 Legislative Intent
• 6-9-2 Definitions
• 6-9-3 No-Burn Days
• 6-9-4 Solid Fuel Burning Device Installation and Retrofit
• 6-9-5 Limit on Coal Burning
• 6-9-6 Non-Owner Occupied Dwelling Units
• 6-9-7 Enforcement

Chapter 6-9: Air Quality²⁶

6-9-1 Legislative Intent.

(a) It is the intent of the city council to regulate activities contributing to the degradation of the air quality within the city limits in order to preserve the health, safety, and welfare of its inhabitants.

(b) The city council finds that air pollution presents a threat to the health of the inhabitants of the city. As of March 3, 1978, the city was classified as a nonattainment area in carbon monoxide, ozone, and particulates. Federal standards must be met or various federal funding programs may be cut back. It is the intent of the city council to implement requirements that will enable the city to meet federal standards by reducing the total amount of hazardous materials in the atmosphere. The city council finds that there now exist woodstoves which have emissions that are ninety-five percent less than the emissions of conventional devices.

(c) It is the intent of city council to preserve and improve visibility, particularly scenic vistas.

(d) It is the intent of city council to allow low income persons to heat their homes if wood is the primary source of heat for their homes.

(e) City council finds that the burning of solid fuel has been determined to be a cause of air pollution and that regulations concerning the installation of solid fuel burning devices are necessary for the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of its inhabitants.

(f) The city council finds that there are federal and state laws that regulate certain activities that affect the quality of the air, but those laws do not exclude local government regulation, if such local regulation is not inconsistent therewith. The city council further finds that the provisions of this chapter address the city's local concerns, including, without limitation, certain limitations on activities that have an impact on the quality of the air and the implementation of effective enforcement. The city council finds that the provisions of this chapter are not inconsistent with federal and state law.

(Ordinance No. 5445 (1992))

6-9-2 Definitions.

(a) The following words and phrases have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Barbecue device" means a device that is used solely for the purpose of cooking food.

"Phase II certified device" means a solid fuel burning device which meets the emission standards set forth in subsection II, A, 1, Regulation No. 4, Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, 5 CCR 1001-6, for wood stoves.

"Phase III certified device" means a solid fuel burning device which meets the emission standards set forth in section II, paragraph B of Regulation No. 4, Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, 5 CCR 1001-6, for wood stoves.

"Primary source of heat" means that source of heat which heats more than fifty percent of the space heating load in any building.

"Sole source of heat" means one or more woodstoves which constitute the only source of heating in a building. No woodstove shall be considered to be the sole source of heat if the building is equipped with a permanently installed furnace or heating system utilizing oil, natural gas, electricity, or propane, whether connected or disconnected from its energy source.

"Solid fuel burning device" means a burning device designed for solid fuel combustion so that usable heat is derived for the interior of a building, and includes, without limitation, solid fuel-fired stoves, woodstoves of any nature, fireplaces, pellet stoves, solid fuel-fired cooking stoves, combination fuel furnaces or boilers which burn solid fuel, or any other device used for the burning of solid combustible material. Solid fuel burning devices do not include barbecue devices, natural gas-fired fireplaces, or electrical appliances.

(b) Words defined in chapter 1-2, "Definitions," B.R.C. 1981, have the meanings there expressed if not differently defined by this chapter.

(Ordinance No. 5445 (1992))

6-9-3 No-Burn Days.

(a) No-burn days shall be in effect on such days as the Colorado Department of Health designates no-burn days for the Denver metropolitan area.

(b) In addition, the city manager may designate no-burn days when monitoring indicates actual or potential violations within the city of air quality standards established by either the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") or the Colorado Department of Health, or when meteorological conditions warrant such designation.

(c) No person shall use any solid fuel burning device during a no-burn day except as provided in subsection (f) of this section.

(d) No-burn days shall last for a twenty-four-hour period. Such days may be declared to be over at any time during that period. Such days may be renewed at the end of that twenty-four-hour period if violations still exist, or if meteorological conditions are such that it is likely that violations will continue to occur.

(e) At the time of the declaration of a no-burn day, the city manager shall allow three hours for the burndown of existing fires prior to the initiation of enforcement.

(f) It is a specific defense to a charge of burning on a no-burn day that:

(1) The burning occurred in a Phase III certified device or in a solid fuel burning device that meets the same emission standards as are required for a Phase III certified wood stove and is tested by an EPA accredited laboratory; or

(2) The person had obtained a temporary exemption demonstrating both an economic need to burn solid fuel for building space heating purposes and a reliance on a solid fuel burning device as the primary source of heat. The city manager may grant such exemptions according to the following standards:

(A) A person applying for an exemption shall demonstrate economic need by certifying eligibility for energy assistance according to economic guidelines established by the United States Office of Management and Budget under the Low-income Energy Assistance Program (L.E.A.P.), as administered by Boulder County.

(B) A person applying for an exemption must sign a verified affidavit demonstrating reliance on a solid fuel burning device as the primary source of heat.

(C) An exemption obtained under this section shall be effective for one year from the date it is granted; or

(3) A power outage, interruption of natural gas supply, or temporary equipment failure existed at the time and location of the violation that did not result from any action of the person charged with the violation.

(Ordinance Nos. 5145 (1988); 5445 (1992))

6-9-4 Solid Fuel Burning Device Installation and Retrofit.

(a) No person shall repair, alter, move, or install a solid fuel burning device without having first obtained a building permit in accordance with title 10, "Structures," B.R.C. 1981.

(b) No person shall replace a solid fuel burning device which is substantially destroyed, demolished, or in need of replacement with another solid fuel burning device, unless the replacement is a Phase III certified device. Solid fuel burning devices lawfully existing and installed as of the date of enactment of this ordinance may be repaired to the extent that such repair, in the reasonable judgment of the city manager, is necessary to prevent the existence of an unsafe condition.

(c) No person shall install a solid fuel burning device in any building unless at the time of installation it meets the most stringent emission standards for that particular type of device established by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission in effect as of such date. If there are no standards established for that device, then it shall meet the most stringent emission standards in effect as of such date for wood stoves as demonstrated by testing at an EPA accredited laboratory.

(Ordinance No. 5445 (1992))

6-9-5 Limit on Coal Burning.

No person shall burn coal in a solid fuel burning device.

(Ordinance No. 5445 (1992))

6-9-6 Non-Owner Occupied Dwelling Units.

No person shall rent a building if a solid fuel burning device is the sole source of heat. In such a case, the owner, and not the tenant, shall be liable for any penalty imposed.

(Ordinance No. 5445 (1992))

6-9-7 Enforcement.

(a) Every person convicted of a violation of any provision of this chapter shall pay a fine according to the following schedule:

(1) First conviction, no more than $100.00;

(2) Second conviction, no more than $200.00; and

(3) Third conviction, no more than $300.00.

(b) The date when the actual violation occurred will control regardless of the date of conviction.

(c) The record of the violator for two years prior to the date of the current violation will be considered.

(Ordinance No. 5445 (1992))

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²⁶ Adopted by Ordinance No. 5007.

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