A wood-burning sauna is one of life’s simplest pleasures. The crackling wood, the relief from sweating out one’s own toxicity, the primordial power of fire. A quick and easy way to feel new. 

But last year, one squeaky-wheel neighbor got them banned in East Grand Rapids. 

David Stoffer, Michigan’s own master builder of saunas, comes from a family of designers and contractors. He was inspired by a trip to Finland, where he was able to experience Finnish saunas for the first time and where he learned how to build one properly. The barrel sauna he had at home was no longer enough for him. The bench was too low, the shape was not ideal for even heating, and it lacked proper insulation. He came back from his trip, bought a few books, rented a shop from a Finnish friend, and started designing and building proper saunas. 

His first build, the Nordhouse Sauna, has a wood-fired stove. A sauna stove is about the same size as a small grill and runs for about two hours, one to heat it up and another to enjoy. 

He applied with the city to put his newly built sauna in his backyard, and the plans were approved. Then he started having people reach out to him for their own saunas. By March 2023, his company Nightjar Sauna was off and running. 

But just months after he installed his backyard sauna, a neighbor complained to the city. It was one of 20 complaints made to the city regarding the Stoffer’s residence made by this neighbor, including a few over artificial grass that the Stoffers placed after city approval, and wrongly claiming that the Stoffers were burning their sauna for over 50 hours a week, creating plumes of smoke that stunk up the neighborhood. 

The city came out and determined everything Stoffer had built was legal and to code. But the litigious neighbor wasn’t taking no for an answer and asked the city to write a new law to make the sauna illegal, as Stoffer would come to discover through FOIA requests.

Less than a year after the city approved his sauna, Stoffer’s stove sat cold in his backyard.

East Grand Rapids banned wood-burning furnaces back in 2009 to protect more populous areas from particle emissions and nuisance complaints. In December 2023, unbeknownst to Stoffer, the East Grand Rapids city commission introduced an amendment to this wood-burning legislative language, with no direct mention of saunas, but directly implicating the use of a wood-burning stove within Stoffer’s sauna. The neighbors behind the sauna complaints were told about the meeting prior to its occurrence, but Stoffer was not.  

The Stoffers attended the next city council meeting in January 2024 to speak out. Though the ordinance passed, the community was upset enough that the mayor decided to open a “workshop” in which the Stoffers and others put together presentations and speeches to share their perspective. 

Stoffer reported that their materials were not distributed or reviewed at the workshop and that the city regurgitated its previous talking points, none of which came with data or evidence.

I asked Stoffer if anyone came to collect evidence to support the ordinance change, but he said they did not. “I thought they’d bring in a PPM reader or something, but they never did,” he said. 

The explanation letter from the city manager goes on to say, “Those property owners who currently have wood burning saunas need to only comply with the chimney height requirements, not be a nuisance to their neighbors, and observe the operational time limits.” 

So, build tall, have cool neighbors, close up half the year, and we’ll be cool? At the beginning of this letter they stated that this was a neighbor issue, and the city was hesitant to make regulations in response. But they did anyway. The city let a law be written by and for one angry boomer.

A letter from the city was sent to Stoffer stating that his sauna was not to be used now past April 15 and that he needed to raise the chimney height to 15 feet or face a mountain of fines. Meanwhile, Stoffer’s neighbor continued to report him to the city.

Stoffer, rather than spend his hard earned time and money on lawyers fees to fight, is focused on business, building high-quality saunas for his community to enjoy. He had to pay for the crane to take his sauna out after the ordinance approval and wasn’t looking to lose everything on one complaint. (Don’t worry, the original Nordhouse has found a new home in Marquette).

Stoffer is surprised that there was no grandfathering in on these new laws, but as a dutiful citizen, he let his other neighbors in the area with a wood-burning sauna know about the news. When he knocked on their door, the other sauna enthusiasts were immediately fearful, telling Stoffer that their structure was just an outdoor bathroom, worried they’d be caught. As if a sauna is a meth lab or something. 

Stoffer installed an electric sauna in the place of his Nordhouse. He pointed out the irony: “I face fines of over $1,000 if any wood is burned. But I still can burn wood in a solo stove, grill, or bonfire.” 

At least he has a usable sauna. But who knows what sorts of regulations the city will be pressured into writing next.

Devinn Dakohta is a contributing writer for Michigan Enjoyer. Follow her on Instagram @Devinn.Dakohta and X @DevinnDakohta.