NILES — A group of Fulkerson Park residents are asking Niles Township trustees to re-evaluate leaf burning ordinances and possibly enact a total ban on burning in Fulkerson Park to ensure clean air for all residents.

Pat Shaffer, a longtime Fulkerson Park resident, presented the issue to trustees during a Monday night meeting. He told trustees that the burning has become an issue because property lines are close together.

“The smoke does not go up in the air. Instead it drifts to other property lines,” Shaffer said. “Fulkerson Park has about 300 lots, most of which sit on about a quarter acre of land. The close proximity of homes in Fulkerson Park creates air quality hazards when neighbors burn in barrels and on the ground.”

Shaffer said he talked to residents who already deal with health issues that likely are not helped by smoke inhalation.

“I have identified residents of Fulkerson Park who suffer from migraine headaches and also those who suffer from lung issues, both of which are complicated when smoke from leaves or wood come into their property.”

According to information on Michigan.gov, the state began prohibiting open burning of grass, leaves and clippings in 1995, but the website said governing bodies could enact an ordinance authorizing open burning, so long as no other regulations were in violation.

Some municipalities moved to ban burning. Shaffer cited Summit Township’s ban on burning. There, he said residents are not permitted to burn their leaves. They have to obtain a permit to burn in a barrel and neighbors’ complaints can override the permit.

Shaffer also said residents have many options for disposing of their leaves, including working with Michiana Recycling & Disposal or mulching their leaves.

“There are other solutions that I would like you to look into,” Shaffer said.

There were five other residents who also live in Fulkerson Park attended the meeting with Shaffer to show support for his argument.

Township Supervisor Jim Stover said they would present the issue to the township attorney and the public safety committee for review.

He added that the township had heard no other complaints about the issue from other subdivisions in the township.

He said it might take a petition for a special assessment district to move a potential ban forward.

Anita Blumhardt, a Fulkerson Park resident, asked why a ban should cost residents anything.

“First of all, there has to be something done with leaves,” Stover said.

But Blumhardt argued that it should be residents’ responsibilities to do something about their leaves and many already have a plan in place to dispose of the leaves using a service as opposed to burning them. Blumhardt said she pays a couple of extra dollars a month to have 30-gallon bags of leaves picked up and disposed of.

Other residents who spoke up Monday night said those who burn leaves sometimes choose to do so at night or even rake them out to the street to burn them.

Trustees and residents in the audience suggested that those who have an issue with the burning report it to the Niles Township Fire Department, but since residents who burn leaves are not doing anything illegal, Shaffer said there is nothing the fire department can do.

“I have called the fire department many times,” Shaffer said. “I’m not complaining about illegal burning. I am complaining about legal burning the way the law is now.”

Shaffer said if properties in Fulkerson Park were bigger, there would not be an issue.

“If I lived half a mile away, I would say burn your heart out,” Shaffer said. “But in Fulkerson Park, the properties are so condensed that there is no way you cannot affect your neighbors.”

Stover thanked residents for the feedback and said trustees would further research the issue.