Title
Ordinance to reinstate the Lake County Temporary Emergency Public Nuisance Ordinance.
Staff Summary
• The County Board first adopted the Lake County Temporary Emergency Public Nuisance Ordinance to enact a temporary ban on open burning in the unincorporated area on May 12, 2020 in recognition of the increased risk of negative health impacts from open burning on individuals infected with COVID-19. This ordinance was subsequently extended by the County Board on several occasions, and most recently expired on December 31, 2020.
• In anticipation of the spring 2021 landscape waste burning season and in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, staff has prepared an ordinance to reinstate temporary restrictions on open burning in the unincorporated areas.
• The most recent adopted version of the temporary nuisance ordinance from the 2020 fall burn season allowed for opening burning of specified landscape waste on unincorporated residential properties at specified times and on limited days, as well in those instances where the burning occurred at least 500 feet to the nearest habitable structure. Exemptions were included for recreational fires and the use of self-contained outdoor burn devices under certain criteria. The reinstated ordinance would continue these provisions and add new exemptions for prescribed habitat and ecological landscape burns.
• If adopted by the Lake County Board on March 9, 2021, this temporary ordinance (Exhibit A) will go into effect immediately and expire on June 9, 2021.
Body
ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, pursuant to 720 ILCS 5/47-5, counties have authority to declare what shall be public nuisances and to abate the same with respect to the territory within the county and outside the corporate limits of any city, village, or incorporated town; and
WHEREAS, based upon available information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), people of all ages with underlying respiratory medical conditions, including chronic lung disease and asthma, are at higher risk for developing more serious complications if they contract COVID-19. Smoke from open burning can exacerbate these residents’ respiratory conditions and further compromise their ability to fend off potentially severe effects of COVID-19. Additionally, people who do not have underlying conditions can experience more severe COVID-19 symptoms when exposed to smoke from open burning; and
WHEREAS, the Lake County Temporary Emergency Public Nuisance Ordinance mitigates these public health risks.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by this County Board of Lake County, Illinois, that the Lake County Temporary Emergency Public Nuisance Ordinance as attached in Exhibit A be reinstated to expire on June 9, 2021; and
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that the Clerk of the County Board shall keep a record of this action.
DATED AT WAUKEGAN, LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, this 9th day of March, 2021.