Politics & Government

Wood-Burning Furnaces Banned in Lakewood

Council OKs moratorium, to explore ban on existing outdoor boilers.

The smoke from wood-burning furnaces had about a dozen Lakewood residents all fired up at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Fears over air pollution — along with health concerns — fueled a nine-month moratorium on the approval of the outdoor boilers.

The ordinance after neighbors of three Lakewood homes — on Merl Avenue, Manor Park Avenue and Waterbury Road — filed complaints. There have also been a number of filed.

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The homes with wood-burning furnaces — traditionally used in rural settings — will be allowed to keep them while council weighs the issue.

The boilers operate like most other hot-water-based boiler systems, except that the heat is generated through burning wood as opposed to traditional gas.

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The smoke produced from the burning wood is the primary concern.

“This has been a 24-hour-a-day problem,” said councilwoman Monique Smith, adding that the problem is only worsened during the winter months. “We want to do as much as we can to control the wood-burning that’s going on.”

None of the homeowners with the controversial furnaces attended. But their neighbors did.

Paula Reed, who lives next door to one of the homes with a furnace on Manor Park Avenue, was one of four residents who shared their thoughts with council during the meeting.

Reed said even if council doesn’t approve a ban on existing wood-burning furnaces, she hopes to prevent other Lakewood residents from the same situation.

 “We don’t want people to experience what we are experiencing right now,” Reed said. “There is no safe level of breathing wood smoke. People’s health is being affected by this. This is a quality-of-life issue — it stinks. And, this affects our property value.”

Eric Lowery, who lives near one of the furnaces on Waterbury Road, said the smoke from the boilers is “insidious.”

“We find no respite from the constant soot, constant sore eyes and constant sore throat,” he said. “Hopefully, you’ll consider making this permanent.”

During the moratorium, no new wood-burning boilers can be installed. The three known appliances would be grandfathered in unless they are deemed unsafe.

Ward 3 councilman , who proposed the legislation, said when the furnaces were installed (within the last five years), they did not break the law or violate the building code.

“It’s not as much of a safety issue as it is a nuisance or quality-of-life issue for the surrounding residents," he said, noting that council will explore whether to ban the existing boilers.

 “Ideally, this would be worked out between neighbors.”


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