Plumas County Municipal Code Ch. 13 Local Code for Wood Stoves and Fireplace Inserts

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Sections 13-1.01 through 13-1.05, added by Ordinance No. 89-720 were renumbered by codified to conform to the code numbering system.

For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

(a) "American Valley" means all land within the external boundaries of the Quincy Fire District, including any areas that are excluded from the Quincy Fire District because of interior boundaries.

(b) "Building" means any structure or improvement on real property, including mobile homes and manufactured housing, for which a County or State building permit is required for construction, repair, remodeling, or reconstruction, regardless of the uses or functions of the building, be they residential, commercial, industrial, for-profit, nonprofit, public or private.

(c) "EPA-approved or equivalent" means a wood stove or fireplace insert that is listed and/or approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or is equivalent to one listed and/or approved by the EPA in that it meets applicable federal regulations for new residential wood heaters.

(d) "Division" means the Building Division of Plumas County headed by the County Building Official.

(e) "District" means the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District.

(f) "Fireplace insert" means a prefabricated zero clearance fireplace or a fireplace heat form with doors or other accessories which cause the fireplace to function as a "wood heater" as defined in 40 CFR 60.531. It does not mean open masonry fireplaces, barbecue devices, gasfired fireplaces, or cook stoves.

(g) "Wood stove" means an enclosed wood burning appliance intended for space heating or domestic water heating, and includes pellet burners or pellet stoves, airtight wood stoves, and any other such appliance that is a "wood heater" as defined in 40 CFR 60.531. It does not mean a cook stove, a boiler, or a furnace as those terms are defined in 40 CFR 60.531.

(§ 2, Ord. 89-720, eff. December 7, 1989, and § 12, Ord. 02-984, adopted November 12, 2002)

The Division shall not issue a building permit for installation of a wood stove or fireplace insert, nor shall it issue a certificate of occupancy for a new structure, unless the plans and final inspection indicate that the wood stove or fireplace insert is EPA-approved or equivalent.

(§ 2, Ord. 89-720, eff. December 7, 1989 as amended by § 2, Ord. 90-742, eff. December 13, 1990, § 13, Ord. 01-984, adopted November 12, 2002)

(a) Operative July 1, 1990, it shall be unlawful for any person or other legal entity acting in the capacity of a seller, buyer, grantor or grantee, to consummate a sale or trade, or to close escrow for a sale or trade, which is subject to the documentary transfer tax, which transfers improved real property located in American Valley unless:

(1) Each building has been issued a certificate of compliance indicating that each wood stove and/or fireplace insert in the building is certified; or

(2) Each building has been issued a certificate of exemption from this section indicating that the building is exclusively heated by means other than wood stoves and/or fireplace inserts, or indicating that the building does not utilize a space heat source.

(b) "Sale or trade" as used above does not include a foreclosure sale, a trustee's sale or an involuntary transfer under a deed of trust.

(c) Certificates of compliance or exemption pursuant to this section are issued as determined by the District, and upon physical inspection or documentary evidence that reliably establishes compliance with this chapter.

(d) A certificate of compliance shall identify the following:

(1) Owner's name;

(2) Model number and manufacturer for each wood stove or fireplace insert in the building;

(3) The street address, Assessor's parcel number, or legal description of the parcel of real property where the building is located; and

(4) The location of the building and the specific location in the building where the wood stove and/or fireplace insert is located.

(e) A certificate of exemption shall identify the following:

(1) Owner's name;

(2) The street address, Assessor's parcel number, or legal description of the parcel of real property where the building is located; and

(3) The location of the building and whether a space heat source is utilized, and if so, what heat source is exclusively utilized.

(§ 2, Ord. 89-720, eff. December 7, 1989, and § 14, Ord. 02-984, adopted November 12, 2002)

Operative April 1, 1990, it shall be unlawful to burn coal in American Valley.

(§ 2, Ord. 89-720, eff. December 7, 1989)

(§ 2, Ord. 89-720, eff. December 7, 1989; repealed by Ord. 90-746, eff. January 17, 1991)