[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Penn Yan 9-2-1969 by L.L. No. 2-1969 as Ch. 12 of the 1969 Code; amended in its entirety 1-16-2024 by L.L. No. 1-2024. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
For purposes of this chapter the following terms are defined as specified:
CAMPFIRE
A small fire with burning material emitting flames no higher than three feet above the burning material and not exceeding four feet in width or diameter, utilized for recreational and/or social/family gatherings.
PIT
An area either on the surface of the ground or below the surface of the ground to be utilized for small bonfires or campfires prepared and constructed so as to prevent the spread of a fire from within the pit area to areas and matter outside the pit area.
Outdoor open burning in the Village of Penn Yan is prohibited except for the following permitted exceptions:
A. 
Cooking of food in or on a fireplace on a lot which fireplace has been approved by the Code Enforcement Office of the Village of Penn Yan;
B. 
Cooking food in or on a commercially marketed and properly utilized device which has been designed for such purpose;
C. 
Fires utilized for ceremonial, celebratory or religious purposes which are contained so as not to produce flames in excess of three feet in height nor four feet in width, which fire shall have been extinguished upon completion of the event for which it had been utilized;
D. 
Fires produced by a municipal firefighting entity for training or investigative purposes;
E. 
Recreational campfires or small bonfires ignited in a fire pit that is constructed so as to prevent the spread of a fire from within the pit area, use of materials for the fire which will not violate NYS Department of Environmental Conservation regulations, limiting the quantity at all times of combustible material that will at no time permit the fire to produce flames in excess of three feet above the material being burned nor four feet in width or diameter;
F. 
A properly utilized LP-gas cooking device;
G. 
Commercially manufactured outdoor fire pits.
A. 
It is prohibited to ignite a fire with gasoline, oil of any type, kerosene or other combustible liquid other than a commercially marketed charcoal lighting fluid;
B. 
Fires must be attended at all times by at least one responsible person 14 years of age or older who has the capacity to extinguish the fire, including the presence of an operable fire extinguisher and/or a hose charged with sufficient pressure to extinguish the fire;
C. 
Burning or attempting to burn any materials prohibited from burning by NYS Department of Environmental Conservation regulations is prohibited;
D. 
It is prohibited to ignite a campfire, small bonfire or other open fire less than 25 feet from any structure or within 15 feet of any property lot line;
E. 
Any fire which begins to or is emitting sparks or embers that travel more than five feet from the fire source shall be suppressed to terminate the emission of such sparks and/or embers;
F. 
Any police officer acting in the performance of his/her duties has the authority to order any open fire to be extinguished. Failure to expeditiously extinguish the fire is a violation hereof.
A. 
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $250 or by incarceration of for more than 15 days or both such fine and incarceration.
B. 
As an alternative to or in addition to a fine and/or incarceration, as provided in Subsection A hereof, the person violating such provision may be sentenced to community service. Such a community service sentence would be imposed as a definite term of hours of work to be served under the direction of the Department of Public Works of the Village of Penn Yan, and be pursuant to an Order of Conditional Discharge issued by the Court.
C. 
Each violation shall be a separate prosecutable offense.