THE BAY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT — the folks who bring you “Spare the Air” days — has proposed new changes to regulations governing the use of wood-burning fireplaces and other wood-burning devices, such as wood stoves. The new regulations will cost homeowners thousands of dollars when they sell their homes, so it is a bit surprising to me that there has been little note of BAAQMD’s move in media outlets.

Even more surprising, when I tried to Google the new regulations it became clear that there is a dearth of information available even on the Internet. I was only able to locate a news release dated March 19 that outlined BAAQMD’s plans.

A little history:

In 2008 the Air District adopted regulation 6, rule 3 to regulate the use of wood-burning devices and “Protect Bay Area residents from the harmful health impacts of wood smoke.” Between then and now the regulation has largely been used to prohibit the use of wood-burning devices on certain winter days when levels of particulate matter in the air are particularly high.

Apparently the folks at BAAQMD feel their efforts have not been enough to decrease winter-time air pollution, so now they are proposing further changes. The new proposal, if adopted, will likely increase the number of winter Spare the Air days, thereby increasing the number of days when the use of wood-burning devices is banned.

An awful lot of folks ignore the Spare the Air days and burn wood without regard to the law, as enforcement has been lax. So now the Air District wants to force homeowners to replace wood-burning devices whenever a property is sold or a fireplace is remodeled.

Let me illustrate how this would work. Let’s say you are one of many people who have a traditional fireplace in your home. You enjoy the occasional fire on cold winter nights in your old brick fireplace. You of course are a responsible citizen, so you would never burn wood on a Spare the Air day.

When it comes time to sell your home, under the proposed regulations you will now be required to get rid of your old brick fireplace and install a gas or electric insert. Or say you’re not even selling — you just want to remodel that old fireplace and perhaps add some modern touches. Sorry — you still will also be required to install a gas or electric insert.

I asked a contractor friend of mine recently to approximate how much such an upgrade would cost. He told me the average gas insert costs between $2,500 and $3,500.

Then there is installation. First you will need a natural gas line. You can figure about $1,000 for installation of a gas line if your fireplace is not already plumbed with gas. You will also need to call an electrician, so you can add another $250. This does not begin to cover the cost of actual installation and any chimney requirements for the hotter-burning gas insert.

I have been in the business of helping people to finance their dreams of homeownership for a couple of decades. I can state with a fair amount of certainty that the average person selling their home is not going to be too pleased with the idea of this additional expense.

Furthermore, the reality is that every seller has a bottom line they are expecting to receive upon the sale of their home. If it costs more to sell their home, they are simply going to pass that amount along to the buyer in the form of a higher price.

I get the idea that we need to be conscientious about our environment. I am all for reducing air pollution. I am not for any regulation that takes away freedom of choice and forces additional costs upon homeowners just because some folks ignore Spare the Air days.

What can you do? Call and let your voice be heard. Complete contact information for Air District officials can be found here: www.baaqmd.gov/Contacts.aspx.

Guy Benjamin (CAL BRE License #01014834, NMLS 887909) writes a weekly column for The Herald, offering general information on real estate matters. As it is impossible to address all possibilities and variations, he will try to answer individual questions by readers who contact him at 707-246-0949 or guyb@fairwaymc.com.

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