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By Joel Stottrup
Princeton City Council members looked at a sample ordinance last week that would prohibit the installation of outdoor woodburning furnaces in the city and classify existing ones as a nonconforming use.
The council (with member Dick Dobson absent) discussed the idea and then instructed Princeton City Administrator Mark Karnowski to research what other cities have done about such furnaces.
 These heating devices sit outside and their principal fuel is wood. The furnace heats water that runs through an underground closed-loop pipe to bring heat into the home.
The impetus for having such an ordinance came out in the beginning of the sample ordinance that reads as follows:
“Whereas it is recognized and found that wood smoke is hazardous to an individual’s health and may affect the health of the general public when they are involuntarily exposed to the presence of smoke and,
An example of an outdoor stove, seen in rural Princeton this week.
“Whereas it is recognized that breathing wood smoke is a significant health hazard, particularly to children, elderly people, individuals with cardiovascular disease and individuals with impaired respiratory functions and,
“Whereas it is recognized that outdoor woodburning furnaces or external solid fuel-fired heating devices are designed and intended to be a primary heat source, and therefore burn and emit smoke on a continual basis,
“Whereas the population of the city of Princeton consists of a compact space with dense population and,
“Whereas significant fire safety risks are involved with units that are not properly installed or do not have proper safety equipment such as spark arresters, or are installed in close proximity to other buildings and,
“Whereas the City of Princeton recognizes the need to protect the public health and general welfare of the citizens, wishes to educate citizens affected by this (sample) ordinance and wishes to assist property owners and managers in maintaining compliance, now therefore the city ordains the following:”
The sample ordinance next defines outdoor furnaces, spells out the prohibition of installing them and classifies any that were installed prior to such an ordinance being enacted as nonconforming.
It would mean that an already-installed outdoor furnace would not be allowed to be extended, enlarged, or expanded if the ordinance passed. Also, if the useful life of the preexisting outdoor furnace ends or the outdoor furnace would need repair to function properly, it would not be allowed to be replaced, and would have to be removed from the property immediately.
Council discussion
Karnowski brought up the subject at last Thursday’s council meeting. He explained that there had been a lot of conversation in recent weeks among various cities about it. Some residents in some cities have complained about the smoke from these furnaces, Karnowski said.
From e-mails he had gotten, he continued, there are a couple smaller cities that have allowed such furnaces if they have “higher smokestacks.“ But there weren’t cities the size of Princeton in the discussion that allowed outdoor furnaces in the residential area, he also noted.
There have been past concerns about the burning of leaves, one reason being allergens, Karnowski noted. “This (an outdoor furnace) is not much better,” Karnowski said. He added that he is not actively promoting the passage of such an ordinance but was only informing the council about what other cities have been discussing.
Karnowski suggested that he could quiz officials in cities who were not in on the conversation and see if they have a “different approach.”
“I struggle with it a little, that it comes close to infringing on people’s rights,” council member Lee Steinbrecher said about the sample ordinance. He mentioned that he knows of Princeton residents with interior wood stoves and fireplaces. “I don’t know how I feel,” Steinbrecher said.
Karnowski replied that indoor woodburning devices would not be included in the kind of ordinance being discussed.
“I realize that,” Steinbrecher answered.
Mayor Jeremy Riddle said he knows of three places in the city that burn used motor oil, indicting they were commercial. Riddle said he wondered if there could be a regulation that would require a certain minimum lot size or a minimum chimney height in order to have an outdoor furnace. Later, Riddle said that the furnace may not function as well if the chimney were very tall.
Council member Paul Whitcomb commented that some outdoor furnaces are designed well and some cheap ones aren’t.
Some have forced air to make them burn hot, Riddle said, referring to a cleaner burn, than if it was burning slow.
Steinbrecher said he could see wood debris and wood parasites as potential problems.
No one seemed to know if there were outdoor woodburning furnaces in Princeton city limits. But such furnaces are not uncommon in rural Princeton and have had the appeal of providing heat without having to locate the stove inside the home.
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