Mayor: Outdoor Furnaces Will Be Up For Vote Again

On the Nov. 8 elections, the zoning amendment that would have failed by a slim margin. However, it will be on the ballot again in the future, Mayor Katherine Procop said Tuesday night.

Procop said a misunderstanding of what was proposed, along with lack of communication from administration and council, lead to Issue 64’s demise in November.

“Right up to the last minute, I found out many residents thought this meant backyard barbeque pits or for outdoor burn pits they use for roasting hot dogs and things like that,” Procop said. “That’s not what it was about and we will certainly get some better information out in May, when it goes back on the ballot.”

The zoning amendment would have banned the use of (also called wood boilers) which are free-standing wood-burning devices that heat water, which is then pumped to one or more structures to provide heat. They are similar in size to a small backyard shed.

Many states have banned the furnaces because of the pollution they can produce, which is why the mayor, city council, and planning commission felt so strongly about it.

The future of the was also briefly discussed.

Law Director David Maistros said he and council will decide how to approach the amendments over the next several meetings, whether or not they should be put on a future ballot.

The charter amendments (Issues 62 and 63) would have made police and fire chiefs unclassified positions and eliminated positions that no longer exist and would have allowed the appointing of all positions in the city's safety forces, below chief, through the Civil Service.

The issues were invalid because they were not published in a paper of general circulation, thus not notifying voters as required by state law.

“We will have further discussion on them,” Procop said. “I don’t know if they’ll get back on the ballot or not, but we will talk about them in the future.”