Gilpin supervisors look to update burning ordinance

Gilpin Township is considering changes to its decades-old burning ordinance.

The updated ordinance, to be voted on next month, would allow residents more leeway when burning on their property.

Supervisor Charles Stull said at a meeting this week that the township’s original ordinance was passed in 1997, and contains several contradictory phrases and confusing language. The supervisors began revising the ordinance last month.

“A lot of it was focused on preventing weird things,” Stull said of the original ordinance. “One thing was that people weren’t allowed to burn on Mondays … because Monday was considered ‘laundry day’ back in the day. That’s when people would hang out their laundry to dry.”

A draft of a new ordinance will be advertised pending final approval.

It would eliminate Monday burning restrictions, as well as time constraints that prevented people from burning after 7 p.m. The new ordinance restricts burning more generally from dusk to dawn, but makes exception for recreational fires.

The new document also will try to clarify the definitions of different types of fires.

Also this week, township supervisors formed a small committee to coordinate the purchase of a new all-terrain vehicle for the police department for up to $5,000. A man who asked to remain anonymous donated $500 toward the proposed purchase.

The vehicle would help for policing township roads, now that residents are able to ride their own ATVs on many of them thanks to an ordinance adopted last year. Supervisors said 30 ATV permits had been issued to residents taking advantage of the new policy.

“They’re really starting to pour in, now that the weather’s looking nice,” Stull said of the permit applications.

Stull said a police ATV would help should officers need to pursue someone through brush or uneven terrain. He mentioned the idled Allegheny Technologies Inc. plant, where in February one man was arrested and two fled after police said they stole $30,000 worth of copper.

“They were escaping through ways that a typical police vehicle could not follow them and catch them,” Stull said. “It definitely has a lot to do with that, as well.”

Gilpin police could not be reached for comment.