At an Annual Owners Meeting of Bay Watch III, we were asked about the possibility of obtaining common use grills for our owners and renters. We have followed up on that request as promised at the meeting and have decided to NOT pursue common grills for our Association for several reasons as listed below:
- Safety and Insurance – Grilling raises the risk of fires due to sparks or even explosions in the case of gas grills. The Association cannot be responsible for this risk due to insurance costs.
- Ocean City Fire Code – Section 34-43 (A. Paragraph 16) – Grilling is not permitted with 20’ of any part of the building, cars or boats. Only grills that are UL listed and are “Indoor and Outdoor” grills are allowed at all on decks of the units. A common grill that meets these conditions would not be practical due to the need for electric service to the site. The one grill that we use for the July 4th Annual Picnic is only used when we empty out the parking lot of all cars where cooking will be done. This isn’t practical on a routine basis.
- Maintenance and Appearance – While we are comfortable that owners would properly maintain a common grill, we are also fairly sure that maintenance and routine cleaning would be required for any common grill. We are not budgeted for this expense and a messy grill is not desired by anyone.
The combination of these issues has led us to determine that a common grill is not something that the Board wants to pursue.
Please be sure that any grills that you use in the unit or on the deck meets the Ocean City Fire Code as listed in #2 above. This is for the common safety and security of all owners.