Are Dearborn's Rules on Firewood Storage Too Strict?

Bill and Tina Calvas, residents of Oxford Street in Dearborn, are winners of the City Beautiful Award, which recognizes residents whose efforts to keep their home pristine go above and beyond.

However, there's one part of their setup the city has a problem with: their firewood pile.

At Monday night's City Council meeting, discussion of a suggested amendment to the city's Fire Prevention and Protection Chapter of the Code of Ordinances brought out possible problems with the city's current ordinance and possible rules against firewood.

Currently, the Nuisance Chapter of the Code of Ordinances prohibits "the storage or accumulation of junk, goods and/or materials." The new provision would specify rules for firewood storage, including the placement, height and how far the pile sticks out onto one's property.

Council President Tom Tafelski said the addition was being suggested mostly for "aesthetic" reasons.

But according to the Calvases, who have been cited for the past seven years for having firewood on their front porch during the winter, the city needs to look at whether having firewood in front of your home is storage, or simply convenience for immediate use.

Because their wood-burning fireplace is in the front of the home, Bill Calvas said they put a small amount of wood on their porch "during the winter months."

"It's not my storage area," Calvas explained, adding that he has a separate space for that in the back of his house, in accordance with city ordinance.

While several members of City Council agreed that their particular wood pile didn't seem to be a nuisance, or aesthetically offensive, "When we create an ordinance it has to be broadly based," pointed out Councilwoman Suzanne Sareini.

Mayor Jack O'Reilly also pointed out that a fire pile in on the porch of a home could violate fire codes.

"We brought up the issue of storage in front of the home, and the fire marshal felt it could be a hazard," O'Reilly said.

Additionally, O'Reilly said, the city's rules on storage of materials on one's property are also designed to keep rodents out.

The council agreed to discuss possible changes to the storage rules before the second reading of the ordinance, which will take place Dec. 12.