AUSTIN, Texas – Austin council members are set to discuss cracking down on the amount of smoke barbecue restaurants and food trailers emit at their meeting Thursday.
It's a problem in the Daniel Street neighborhood behind Terry Black's BBQ on Barton Springs, according to homeowner Guy Watts.
Watts says smoke wafting into their neighborhood from the nearby smokestacks is ruining their quality of life and threatening their health.
"They run five smoke stacks 22 hours a day, 7 days a week," said Watts.
Watts says he's lived in Austin for years and the smell is not appetizing.
"You don't smell ribs. It's a campfire. None of us are from California," he pointed out.
Watts tells KVUE the homeowners have been in talks with the owners of Terry Black's BBQ to reach a solution, however he says the problem has not gotten better.
Now a proposal by Austin Council Member Sabino Renteria could cut down on the problem. Renteria wants any restaurant or food truck within 100 feet of homes to install smoke scrubbers, a type of exhaust system.
However, BBQ restaurant and food trailer owners worry the cost of installing a smoke scrubber system could put them out of business.
Scrubber systems can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000, according to Austin pit master John Mueller.
"It shouldn't be a blanket ordinance at all, I think it should be a case by case basis," said Mueller, who has not received any complaints about smoke from his neighbors in east Austin.
In the meantime Watts says they'll continue working with Terry Black's BBQ or file a private nuisance lawsuit to try and clear the air.
KVUE spoke to the owners of Terry Black's BBQ who say they have already spent more than $10,000 installing equipment to cut down on smoke emission.
