With a unanimous vote, the Crescent City City Council took the first step toward banning most fires on public beaches that are near private property.After a lengthy discussion Tuesday, council directed staff to prepare an ordinance that would ban fires on beaches that face Pebble Beach Drive from the lighthouse almost to Preston Island. The move was made after beachfront property owners complained about fires too close to their property.City Attorney Martha Rice explained the council first began discussing the issue in August but held off on a final decision because a new board was being seated. She explained the city currently hand a ban on the beach running from Front Street to 6th Street, but had nothing in the books regulating fires past 6th Street. The plan first presented would have extended that ban to Battery Point.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');Rice explained the California Fire Code allows recreational fires, but states they must be 25 feet from any structure or vegetation and the code limits the size of the fires. Because the city has never formally adopted the code, however, there was no enforcement mechanism for local authorities.Fire Chief Bill Gillespie said not having enforcement power had handicapped his department.“This definitely has been a process and a lot of discussion,” Gillespie said. “What was proposed by the previous council did take in the fire code. We respond out and the police respond out pretty regularly for fires on the beach throughout the year. If we don’t have a provision adopted into the city’s muni code, it gives us no hammer. It really gives no incentive for a person to put it out.”The ordinance presented to the council would ban fires by anyone within 25 feet of a structure of vegetation on private property. It also limited fires for the general public on private property, which is determines by using that average high-tide line over a period of time. In many cases, the space between the 25 feet barrier and the property line is very small. Fires could also be no bigger than three feet in diameter and two feet high.“It’s a safety net,” Gillespie said. “It provides moving it away from vegetation and it provides a limit on the size of the fire. It allows fires, but it controls the size.”The ordinance would also mandate that fires be completely put out before they are left and would ban the use of coal.After a back and forth between council members, Councilman Blake Inscore suggested moving the ban past the final home to the end of the city limits near Preston Island. Inscore also suggested signage at every access point to the beach.Councilman Beau Smith said in his mind, the council had one choice – allow fires or ban them for everyone.“I’m all or none of this,” Smith said. “If you’re going to limit and say no fires for the public there, there should be no fires for the homeowners, too.”But that idea wasn’t supported by other council members.“In the name of liberty, if I own a property down there, I would like to be able to do whatever I want on that property,” Mayor Pro Tem Alex Campbell said. “I just want people who own beachfront property to be able to utilize it to the best of their extent. They worked hard to get it.”The final debate was where to end the ban. While Inscore suggested going to the city limits, the majority of the council was opposed. The general consensus was since the county allowed fires on their beaches at Preston Island, it would be too confusing to ban burning on some city-owned beaches, while allowing them feet away.The council members finally agreed to end the ban at the access road to Preston Island, allowing burning north of the road, while banning fires to the south.“Signage is going to be the big piece for education,” Inscore said. “Then we’re going to have to enforce this.”The fire ban would only impact the general public. Property owners will still be allowed to have fires that meet the 25-foot distance and size thresholds.“I think what we’ve been talking about is a good compromise between liberty and between the protections we want in place,” Mayor Jason Greenough said.After the 5-0 vote, city staff will prepare an ordinance which will come back to council for approval. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });