Where there's smoke ...

“It’s my property. I can do whatever I want,” some homeowners argue.

Maybe. Maybe not.

A public hearing about outdoor wood-burning furnaces was held by the Batesville Advisory Plan Commission and Batesville Board of Zoning Appeals Feb. 2 after Building Commissioner Tim Macyauski received six complaints about the devices.

At last month’s meeting he suggested an ordinance restricting or banning the furnace’s use might have to be created.

Susie Stirn, 109 Beech Grove Ave., who owns one, said, “I hope you will consider not banning them completely. It is a very good option for us" because of increasing heating costs. She said she paid 51 cents a unit for gas in 2000 and $1.78 last year.

“I’m not opposed to some kind of an ordinance,” perhaps specifying how to burn and what to burn. BBZA member Jim Hortemiller noted that burning green wood would cause smoke. Andy Stirn, Susie’s husband, reported, “Yes, I burned green wood at first and it was a big mistake.”

Later in the meeting, she reported, “When we first looked at trying to do something in an alternative way, we looked at a wood-burning stove in the basement, but it wouldn’t heat our whole house. We’re using a renewable fuel source,” not natural gas. “We thought we were being more responsible in going about it this way.” Stirn said an outdoor furnace is less dangerous than having a wood-burning one inside.

Mayor Rick Fledderman, a BAPC member who lives two houses away from the Stirns, said he has heard gripes about the furnace. “I don’t really like the smell.”

Brad Lunsford, 406 N. Main St., maintained that smoke is emanating from some local factories. “That’s doing more damage than four or five (outside) stoves already existing in Batesville.”

According to him, “My gas bill a year ago December was right at $300. It would have been double this year" without the mild weather. “That’s my mortgage payment – $600 a month is not affordable.”

Lunsford added, “I don’t believe a ban is fair ... I’d like to be able to keep my stove, especially with the amount of money I spent.”

When President David Raver asked for people against wood-burning furnaces to speak, no one did. That frustrated Macyauski, who wanted the panels to hear both sides of the issue.

BBZA member Jay Varner asked the owners if manufacturers gave them any guidelines. Lunsford said if the furnace was located within 50 feet of a neighbor’s dwelling, the smoke stack should be equivalent in height to the eave line. The building commissioner said ordinances from other towns specify heights of about 20 to 22 feet.

BAPC member Chris Fairchild asked, “How tall are your stacks?” Andy Stirn answered, “Eleven feet, 7 inches.” Lunsford’s stack is 13 feet tall.

Raver wondered if the furnace also was used to heat water. Susie Stirn said theirs did. Neither family was planning to use the furnaces all year.

BBZA member Ken Wanstrath asked the owners if any neighbors had complained. Lunsford said one next door had. Joseph Casagrande wrote a letter to the city, which was read at last month’s meeting, that mentioned the furnace was “15 feet from my bedroom window” leading to “smoke and soot that engulfs my home.”

According to Lunsford, Casagrande “acknowledged to me there was not a smoke issue in his house. He was planning to sell it and thought the stove would be a deterrent.” Lunsford said he offered to move the furnace to the center of his yard in the spring.

The president noted Batesville ordinances are on the books to protect “public health, safety and welfare.” Some rules prohibit items that are “a public nuisance. Two (topics) are kind of related to this. One is odor” and the other is air pollution. “I think we need to make sure we’re not violating" Indiana standards.

Raver added, “I do think there’s a difference between you irritating me … vs. legitimate health standards.”

Fledderman proposed asking Indiana Department of Environmental Management officials to test the level of air contaminants coming from the furnaces.

Lunsford said, “I’d be more than willing to have my stove checked … to prove it’s not polluting.”

Attendee Jim Dreyer wondered if an accessory could eliminate smoke the way self-cleaning ovens do. Lunsford said a catalytic converter installed in the stack “reduces approximately 90 percent of carcinogens and irritants. If I need to, I’ll buy one. They are reasonably priced.”

Quentin Bischoff, Southeast Boilers, Batesville, president, who sells outside furnaces, said, “I’m not able to get any (converters) right now because of the demand.” He predicted future furnaces will automatically feature the converters.

Wanstrath recommended until city officials decide on testing standards that a moratorium on new installations be announced. By consensus, members agreed.

Raver said the building commissioner should not issue any more permits for the furnaces. Macyauski noted no permits are needed. Wanstrath questioned, “If you don’t require permits now ...” Fairchild finished his sentence: “How can you stop anyone from doing it?”

The panels will ask the city council to pass a general ordinance stating any future outdoor wood-burning furnace installation will have to comply with any ordinance that will be adopted.

The president could foresee one regulating the furnaces. “Now what do we do about the ones that are already here? I think they are two separate decisions.” He advised owners, “We encourage you to be good neighbors. We are not recommending that you make dramatic modifications right now because we don’t know what the future requirements are going to be.”

Raver said BAPC and BBZA have three options: no ordinance; recommend an ordinance that prohibits them; or create an ordinance that says furnaces are allowed with certain specifications, such as lot size, distance from lot lines, height of stack or a mathematical air particle standard.

After a decision, city attorney Lynn Fledderman will draft an ordinance that will be recommended by the groups, then go to the city council for a final vote.

Raver pointed out an ordinance is needed before the issue gets out of hand. “Everyone in town could have one ... You can’t think in terms of three or four.”

BAPC member Bob Fitzpatrick agreed, “I think we’re going to have more of this type of thing as energy costs go up ... people are going to start looking for alternatives.”

According to Raver, “It’s likely we will discuss this” at the Thursday, March 2, meeting at 7 p.m. in the second floor council chambers of the Memorial Building.

Debbie Blank can be contacted at (812) 934-4343, Ext. 113; or debbie.blank@ cnhimedia.com.

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