County official urges man to better contain BBQ smoke because of neighbor's repeated complaints

theGRIO REPORT - If you're having a barbecue, people better not be able to tell from the smell if they are standing beyond your property line.

Apparently, if you’re having a barbecue in Pinellas County Florida, people better not be able to tell from the smell if they are standing beyond your property line.

At least, that’s what a Pinellas County environmental specialist, allegedly named Joe Graham, seems to be saying in a video originally posted to Facebook.

Homeowner Scotty Jordan posted the video, which shows the specialist telling Jordan that the smoke from his barbecue must remain inside his property lines or risk violating the county’s air quality rules.

“I can smell it again right now, but I’m on your property,” Graham tells the men in the video. “You’re allowed to have it smell on your property, so that doesn’t count, but when I’m on the street, that’s when it counts.”

The dumbfounded barbecuers stand there in amazement as Graham continues on to tell them to align their barbecues only after checking wind conditions or to buy a new barbecue that it specially designed to create less smoke.

The county does have air quality rules about barbecue smoke, which reads: “Commercial barbecue cookers are not exempt from causing a nuisance odor. If a sufficient number of complaints, representing different households, are reported and an Inspector witnesses the problem, they can issue a Warning Letter.”

However, it’s probably safe to say that a little smoke from your everyday barbecue isn’t going to be sufficient cause for concern, right?

There is not yet any evidence of whether or not the video is real or just recorded by Jordan and his friends for fun, but it definitely has people talking.

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