Florida man told he must contain all BBQ smell on his property or else stop BBQing

If you want to barbecue in Pinellas County, Florida, you'll basically need to be Aeolus, Greek god of the winds.

A YouTube video shows a county official confronting two men about the smell of their barbecue following a neighbor's complaint. If they can't contain the smoky scent inside their property lines, he says, they'll have to stop the cookout.

The BBQers aren't interested. "So we're supposed to control the smoke, and the wind, and the way it's blowing?" the cameraman asks incredulously. They argue that the same complaining neighbor has repeatedly called the police on their cookout smells, only to have the cops rule in favor of barbecue every time.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Per the Pinellas County website, operators of excessively smelly backyard cookouts may receive a warning letter, though the official in the video won't specify what further consequences might follow.