Council furthers fireplace proposal

But critics say work on a Fresno ban duplicates similar efforts by air district.

By John Ellis
The Fresno Bee

(Updated Wednesday, January 8, 2003, 10:46 AM)

The Fresno City Council on Tuesday voted to move forward on an ordinance banning wood-burning fireplaces in any new home constructed in the city.

Council members voted 5-2 to direct City Attorney Hilda Cantu Montoy to draft the ordinance, which she will bring back at the Jan. 28 council meeting.

Critics, including council members Jerry Duncan and Brian Calhoun, called the motion a waste of valuable staff time because the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is considering similar action on a regional level. Staff time, Duncan said, could amount to between $5,000 and $10,000.

New council members Mike Dages and Cynthia Sterling joined veterans Brad Castillo and Tom Boyajian in supporting the proposal by new Council Member Henry T. Perea.

"We are a leader, and we have to act like a leader," Castillo said of Fresno, which he noted is the state's sixth-largest city.

The air district wants to limit the number of fireplaces or wood stoves to one per acre of housing, require home sellers to replace or dismantle wood-burning stoves or inserts, and restrict residential wood burning on polluted winter nights.

Duncan said he supports a ban on wood-burning fireplaces, but questioned why the city should act if the air pollution control district is doing the same thing. Calhoun said the city should take a broader approach instead and "avoid piecemeal actions."

Both also pointed out that by the time the City Attorney's Office drew up the ordinance, and it worked its way through the council, it would almost coincide with the air district's final action, which Duncan said could come in April.

Montoy said the council would vote on a first reading of the ordinance Jan. 28. Approval would be Feb. 4, and it would take effect a month later -- in March.

Environmental activist and Sierra Club member Kevin Hall called the vote "a meaningless gesture" and "political grandstanding."

Critics such as Hall saw it as a way to get Perea off to a good start in his first council meeting or, worse, as an opportunity for the region's building community to speak in favor of the proposal -- which it did -- to get some positive public relations on something that is practically a foregone conclusion.

A better option, critics said, would be to wait until after the air district's final action. If it weren't stringent enough, then Fresno could beef up its own ordinance.

But Castillo said the city needs to "take responsibility for things within our control." He said the city can't regulate trucks driving on Freeway 99 or Bay Area pollution wafting into the Valley. "This is something within our grasp, and we have to do something about it."

Sterling expressed concern about older houses that, for financial reasons, depend on burning wood. But Perea said the ordinance applied only to new construction. Houses could either have gas burning fireplaces or none at all, but wood would be prohibited.

Perea said the action would remove 10 to 15 tons of pollution annually from the air. He said he'd take Fresno's proposal and encourage other Valley cities to pass similar legislation.

As for waiting for the air board, he said: "Why delay another four months when we can start now?"

The reporter can be reached at

jellis@fresnobee.com or 441-6320.