Stakeholders, including restaurant business owners and neighbors affected by smoke from barbecue restaurants, will begin to meet and possibly create a city ordinance to manage smoke emissions.
The resolution was proposed by District 3 Council Member Sabino "Pio" Renteria, who said that many residents had reached out and voiced concerns to him about their health and quality of life being affected from smoke emissions from restaurants like Terry Black's Barbecue and La Barbecue.
The resolution suggests requiring restaurants within 100 feet of the nearest residential property line to have a smoke mitigation device, such as a smoke scrubber. Residents that live behind Terry Black's Barbecue on Barton Springs Road said such regulation would still not help them because the smoke travels such far distances.
Many citizens who spoke to council voiced concern that the issue only pertains to certain businesses while many barbecue restaurants operate in Austin without negatively affecting nearby residents.
