If you live in a multi-unit structure, it’s important to get clarification from your landlord or condominium board before barbecuing, the city’s deputy fire commissioner and prevention expert, Larry Muse told RedEye.
Skip that and you run the risk of getting slapped with a fine or citation if you break the building’s rules.
A random sampling of condominium and apartment property managers in Chicago revealed some drastic differences in their grilling guidelines.
Grilling with charcoal is all good at the Marina Towers, according to the service coordinator for its condominium association, who said propane is prohibited and gas grilling isn’t possible because there’s no gas in the building. But throwing hot charcoals into trash chutes can earn you a written warning, followed by a fine for repeat offenders, John Janiec said.
No charcoal grills are allowed at the West Loop’s Haberdasher Square condominium, where only 60 of the 226 units have balconies to accommodate barbecuing. Gas grills are a go, but property manager Lisa Volpe said that rather than burden their balconies, residents traditionally opt to use communal gas grills on the building’s sun deck.
You’re free to grill with gas or charcoal at properties owned and managed by the Lee Street Apartments, according to a spokeswoman, but there is no charcoal allowed on wood surfaces and tenants are encouraged to do the bulk of their barbecuing at local parks and in the buildings’ back yard areas.
If your landlord or condo property manager has banned barbecuing on-site, don’t try and solve the problem by taking your grilling gear to the sidewalk, said Kevin Smith, spokesman for the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications. It isn’t permitted as it blocks the public way, Smith said.
