Title
Ordinance amending the Lake County Temporary Emergency Public Nuisance Ordinance.
Staff Summary
• On May 12, the County Board adopted the Lake County Temporary Emergency Ordinance to enact a temporary ban on open burning in the unincorporated area for a period beginning on May 12 (upon County Board approval) and ending on June 10, coinciding with the Spring landscape waste burning season.
• The ordinance recognizes the increased risk of negative health impacts of open burning of landscape waste on individuals who have been infected with COVID-19.
• Open burning during the pandemic also increases the potential risk of uncontrolled spread of fire, which could impact first responders at a time when their resources may be otherwise needed to assist in public health and safety.
• Several fire protection districts encompassing unincorporated territory enacted comparable temporary burning bans earlier in the Spring 2020 to limit the risks of open burning during the pandemic; a number of these district bans remain in effect. This extension of the Lake County Temporary Emergency Ordinance to July 15 is intended to reinforce and support ongoing district bans and provide similar protections where such district bans have expired.
• The County’s temporary ordinance permits small recreational fires and the use of self-contained outdoor burn devices under certain criteria. County Board action is anticipated on June 9.
• This extension will go into effect immediately upon County Board adoption of Exhibit A and expire on July 15, 2020.
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, Open burning during the COVID-19 pandemic also increases the potential risk of uncontrolled spread of fire, which could impact fire departments and County, municipal and other local governmental first responders at a time when their resources may be otherwise needed to assist in public health and safety during the pandemic; and
WHEREAS, in light of these increased risks during the COVID-19 pandemic, several fire protection districts throughout Lake County encompassing unincorporated areas enacted temporary bans on open burning in Spring 2020, and open burning bans have been temporarily instituted across the US by numerous state and local governments; and
WHEREAS, the Lake County Temporary Emergency Ordinance reinforces and supports temporary open burning bans already in effect in various fire protection districts encompassing unincorporated areas and provides additional means of enforcement over prohibited open burning activity in the unincorporated area; and
WHEREAS, the further extension of such Ordinance from June 10 to July 15 reinforces and supports ongoing district bans and provides similar protections where such district bans have expired.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by this County Board of Lake County, Illinois, that the Lake County Temporary Emergency Nuisance Ordinance as attached in Exhibit A be amended to expire on July 15, 2020; 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 June, 2020.