Bosque Farms Council nixes burn permits 

BOSQUE FARMS—One local municipality has made changes to its burn ordinance, eliminating the need for burn permits. 

The Bosque Farms Village Council voted 3-1 to remove the requirement for 30-day burn permits in the village. 

Councilor Bryan Burks, who is also a volunteer firefighter with the village, said the updates to the ordinance removed and clarified items as well as set standards for recreational burning. 

“This was drafted in conjunction with the fire department,” Burks said, who joined the meeting via telephone. “This is going to help the department manage fires in the village better than it has been able to in the past.” 

Village resident Lee Wharton said she’d had conversations with a few people who were concerned about not having burn permits issued.  

“I think there should be a record of people who intend to burn,” Wharton told the councilors. “It gives the opportunity to educate a lot of new residents and those new to burning.” 

Mayor Russ Walkup said village code enforcement officer Mike Montoya did some research on the topic and found that both the city of Belen and village of Los Lunas both require residents get permits before burning. He said the permits are only usable when it’s an allowed burn day in the county, which is determined by the Valencia County Fire Department.  

Councilor Ronita Wood asked Burks whether the fire department felt it was important to have permits issued, since crews “go to the fires anyway.” 

Burks said in conversations with both the chief and assistant chief they saw no purpose in the permits. 

“On the fire department side, they have no bearing on how we do the job. People who file for permits already know what to do,” the councilor said. “The difficult properties we have to extinguish have no permit anyway.” 

Burks said since the fire department doesn’t have enforcement authority and the police department doesn’t enforce civil code, there’s really no teeth to the permit. 

“There’s no way to enforce them. The only purpose is to force everyone who is willing to come down to fill out a piece of paper they have to use in the next month,” he said. “If they choose not to, there’s nothing the village can do about it.” 

Wharton countered, saying “then I would suggest the village put something in place, put in fines and enforcement. Don’t allow somebody to burn and cause problems. Put something in the ordinance to take care of it.” 

Burks said he would ask those in the audience to look at Bosque Farms Police Chief Andrew and ask if his officers were willing to write citations. 

Councilor Wood, whose husband, Spencer Wood, served as the village fire chief and a department volunteer for many years, noted firefighters “don’t carry guns. There have been issues in the past when they’ve put fires out.” 

When the fire department is dispatched to a possible illegal burn, Burks said there’s no way for the crew to find out if there’s a permit on file. 

“We determine if the fire is in compliance with the code. If not, we will extinguish it or help the owner,” he said. “If it is in compliance, we say ‘Thank you, have a nice day,’ and tell dispatch they are in compliance.  

“As the process stands, this is enforcing paperwork on the people of the village. It’s an exercise to force people to fill out paperwork.” 

Councilor Tim Baughman asked Chief Owen if it was possible for his officers to cite people burning illegally. The chief said it would be a petty misdemeanor and there was the possibility for firefighters to go through certification in order to issue citations. 

The change to the ordinance took effect five days after its approval on Nov. 16. Residents in the village and in Valencia County can still only burn on days when open burning is allowed.  

To check whether it’s a burn day, call the county-wide burn line at 505-866-2036.