(Spirit Lake)– Debate over outdoor woodburning boilers reared its ugly head again at a special session of the Spirit Lake city council Thursday evening. The issue was brought to the forefront once again as the council considered whether or not the devices should either be regulated by the city or banned altogether. The issue was first brought to the council earlier this month when several residents in the Southern Glenn area complained about smoke from an outdoor woodburning boiler in that neighborhood.
Councilman Kevin Bice said now is the time to act on the matter before more of the devices start cropping up in the city…(click here for comment.) “Do we stop it right now when we have only one in existence or do we carry on until there’s 20 or 30 of them that we have to face.” Councilman Clyde Ihrke questioned the fairness of either regulating or banning outdoor woodburning boilers, saying indoor fireplaces can also contribute to air quality issues…(click here for comment.) “Then I’m going go to back to the question of, and I know the argument is it burns differently, but an indoor fireplace is still going to give off the smokes. Do you start banning indoor fireplaces?” One woman who addressed the council Thursday evening said it should be in the city’s best interest to address the issue due to one factor in particular…(click here for comment.) “A few months ago the city of Spirit Lake was delighted and we all celebrated the fact that we were named a Blue Zone. Now there are certain responsibilities that come with being named a Blue Zone. One of them is to maintain a healthy environment for the citizens here and also, to my way of thinking, getting that designation is also a way of bringing more people and more commerce into the area. But it means not just talking the talk, folks, it means walking the walk”.
Following some further discussion, the council voted four-to-one to approve the first reading of the proposed ordinance that allows outdoor wood-fired heating systems only in agriculture, commercial and industrial zoned areas of the city, banning them from residential areas. Councilman Clyde Ihrke cast the lone no vote.
The council then voted 5-0 to impose a moratorium, effective immediately, banning any more of the devices while the proposed ordinance continues to move through the process. Two more readings are required before it can be formally adopted.
