When the Barbecue Police come knocking

G Wiv devotee and BBQ man John Kass has an infuriating column today at the Trib's web site. I live under a rock but apparently this video went viral a few days ago . . .

If the smoke from your backyard barbecue blows over your property line, they'll come knocking at your door, with their clipboards and officious ways, to tell you that your backyard barbecue is fouling the air.

"That's unheard of," said Chris Matt of St. Petersburg, Fla., a backyard barbecue guy, in a video shot the other day that has gone viral.

When the Barbecue Police come knocking



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Does the video show the smoke or have any measurement of the odor? Some people have asthma or other things, some people hate the smell of meat. Property owners get in disputes all the time about barking dogs, trees blocking views, privacy fences, storing your garbage can in the wrong place, piles of leaves, security lamps.......

The video simply shows the interaction between the government official and the "perp."

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ronnie_suburban wrote:The video simply shows the interaction between the government official and the "perp."

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I saw this the other day and thought about how ridiculous this is and how they are so backward in Florida, and then I remembered all the crap that Honey 1 had to go through when they first moved to Western Ave courtesy of some BBQ hatin' neighbors.

stevez wrote:I saw this the other day and thought about how ridiculous this is and how they are so backward in Florida, and then I remembered all the crap that Honey 1 had to go through when they first moved to Western Ave courtesy of some BBQ hatin' neighbors.

I can understand when residential neighbors are concerned about a nearby commercial operation because it's all day, every day and that can be a drag. But getting the govt. involved because one's neighbor barbecues occasionally is really just pathetic, imo.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:getting the govt. involved because one's neighbor barbecues occasionally is really just pathetic, imo.

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I completely agree. I have found that the occasional slab of ribs or chunk of brisket shared with my neighbors goes a long way towards making them LOVE the fact that I BBQ so often.

My understanding is that the backstory in this case is that these guys have a commercial smoker in their backyard and seem to have some type of commercial operation.

stevez wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:getting the govt. involved because one's neighbor barbecues occasionally is really just pathetic, imo.

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I completely agree. I have found that the occasional slab of ribs or chunk of brisket shared with my neighbors goes a long way towards making them LOVE the fact that I BBQ so often.

Haha, so true. My #1 smoker is pretty near one of my neighbor's windows and I'm always a bit uneasy when the wind takes the smoke in that direction. If the window is open, I try to give them a heads up before I get started. And, like you, I'm always generous with the finished product, which I think they appreciate.

But, if you're doing it right, the harsh part of bbq smoke output comes only at the beginning. Once you're up and running, the acrid smoke gives way to the scent of delicious food cooking. That seems a lot better to me than ubiquitous firepits, which produce nothing but harsh smoke with zero deliciousness.

Who knows, maybe this guy in FL who got busted is making some horrible Q and his neighbor's calls to the govt. were simply a public service.

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There's an article here that has some video of smoke coming from their yard - it definitely looks like a large smoker being started up, or a large smoker being poorly run. If they're running that smoker in that manner for hours at a time for most of the week (as claimed) I could see why neighbors would have a problem with it, but it doesn't really seem clear what authority or actions the county employee can actually take in this instance.

ronnie_suburban wrote:But, if you're doing it right, the harsh part of bbq smoke output comes only at the beginning. Once you're up and running, the acrid smoke gives way to the scent of delicious food cooking....Who knows, maybe this guy in FL who got busted is making some horrible Q and his neighbor's calls to the govt. were simply a public service.

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Exactly - Thin blue smoke is all you should have once you get the smoker going. I grill and smoke 4 or 5 days a week all year round and very little smoke is visible. I started using a turkey fryer to light charcoal chimneys because the burning paper was the smokiest part of getting the fire going. I've never once gotten a complaint from neighbors. In many ways this whole affair is just a bad combination of a long term feud between neighbors combined with a random county official who had the poor judgement to get dragged into the whole thing.

Hi,

I remember Gary recommending heading off any issues with the neighbors by feeding them BBQ.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I remember Gary recommending heading off any issues with the neighbors by feeding them BBQ.

Regards,

See post #6

I have observed (but not personally experienced) that by the time police started getting called in to address neighbor disputes, there is usually already a history of other incidents and ill feeling between those neighbors. Most people don't call the police after the first firecracker or loud party but after the tenth.

My anger over this story isn't directly about the squabble between the neighbors. After all, we'll never know all the details and honestly, I couldn't care less about that. What bugs me is that a basis even exists for someone to report this sort of incident. It shouldn't. If the issue is that this is a commercial operation, that's another matter. But a person should not be provided with a legitimate avenue for complaining that his or her neighbor is bbq'ing. What's next? Complaining that their living room lights are too bright?

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ronnie_suburban wrote:Complaining that their living room lights are too bright?

It happens some neighbor's architectural lighting was too bright. The affected neighbor could read the newspaperf rom the residual lights in bed with the shade closed.

There is always something!

Regards,

A little more information from the local station...

http://wfla.com/2015/07/29/st-pete-bbq- ... ral-video/

So making good smoked meats in your backyard includes stalking your neighbors across the street?