Publication Date: Wednesday Jun 28, 2000

PALO ALTO: Wood-burning ban under fire

An industry group of local fireplace builders and designers slapped Palo Alto with a lawsuit last week to overturn the city's ban on wood-burning fireplaces. The lawsuit, filed June 21 by California Hearths and Homes, says Palo Alto's ban is unfair because it outlaws fireplaces but allows other wood-burning appliances, such as heaters.

"(The ban) is arbitrary, capricious and not rationally based," said Kenneth Finney, an attorney representing California Hearths and Homes and plaintiff Jim Buckley.

However, City Attorney Ariel Calonne characterized the suit as a political move designed to scare other cities away from similar bans.

Bay Area cities including San Jose, Petaluma, Los Gatos and Dublin currently ban wood-burning fireplaces; Morgan Hill, Los Altos, Berkeley and Contra Costa County are considering similar laws.

"This lawsuit is without merit," Calonne said.

"It was done out of fear that Palo Alto will contribute to the building momentum to regulate (wood-burning fireplaces,)" he added.

Palo Alto's so-called wood-smoke ordinance, which takes effect Friday, will make it illegal to install wood-burning fireplaces in new homes. However, the law won't regulate use of existing fireplaces, and will allow installation of new gas fireplaces, some wood heaters, outdoor fireplaces and wood stoves used for cooking.

Palo Alto's law grandfathers in existing wood-burning fireplaces by allowing homeowners to replace wood-burning fireplaces destroyed during remodeling or rebuilding. The ban's effects may be felt, however, in housing developments planned for the South of Forest Area neighborhood and the Elks Club site on El Camino Real.

Palo Alto, San Jose and other Bay Area cities have adopted laws to limit pollution caused by burning wood. According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which has pushed such regulations, burning wood creates up to 50 percent of pollution in Santa Clara County air on some winter nights.

Wood burning releases toxic chemicals into the air, and creates particles of ash and soot that can irritate the lungs or worsen existing asthma, according to the management district.

The City Council unanimously approved Palo Alto's wood-smoke law in a first reading on May 1, and again on May 22.

The law allows wood-burning heaters that meet Environmental Protection Agency air pollution standards, and would in theory allow wood-burning fireplaces that met EPA standards. But as the California Hearths and Homes lawsuit points out, the EPA has no certification standards for traditional fireplaces.

"Thus, the city's mechanism to permit the manufacturers of wood-burning fireplaces to meet air emission standards is entirely illusory," the lawsuit states.

Calonne said the ordinance recognizes there is no EPA certification for wood-burning fireplaces, but that it's in the City Council's power to regulate some wood-burning appliances and not others.

Finney, however, said that if Palo Alto wants to regulate wood-burning fireplaces the city must develop its own emission standards, or wait until the EPA creates standards for wood-burning fireplaces. 

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