Town attorney says Lady Lake may adopt a complete burn ban; commission could consider ordinance

The town attorney briefed the commission that the town is not preempted from imposing a full ban on burning debris, including garbage, lawn trimmings and trees. The attorney said he contacted the Florida Division of Forestry and that the division provided preferred ordinance language the town could use.

He said the commission has discretion to impose a complete burn ban, although an ordinance could carve out specific authorizations if the Florida Department of Environmental Protection or the Forestry Service were to grant exemptions. The attorney offered to draft an ordinance for the commission to consider at a future meeting.

Mayor and commissioners indicated they would discuss whether to direct staff to draft the ordinance at a later date; no ordinance was introduced or voted on during the Feb. 2 meeting.