Sentinel staff report–
The Citrus Heights City Council on Thursday will consider passing an urgency ordinance seeking to crackdown on illegal fireworks by giving authorities the ability to cite hosts of events where the fireworks were discharged. The ordinance would also ban discharge of all fireworks between the hours of 11 p.m. and 9 a.m.
The ordinance was drafted following council members directing staff at the last council meeting to bring back an emergency ordinance with a “social host” aspect and a time cap on fireworks use, noting resident complaints and issues with fireworks enforcement around the Independence Day holiday.
Police have said enforcement has been difficult, due to the city’s current ordinance only allowing citations to be issued to the individual who personally discharged the firework, with officers arriving to the scene after the fact often being unable to document sufficient evidence to prove who actually ignited the firework.
The draft ordinance specifies that any violators will be guilty of a misdemeanor and allows for administrative fines of $750 for the first violation and $1,000 for any subsequent citations. Another section of the ordinance appears to allow for penalties up to $25,000 “for each day the violation continues.”
Additionally, the ordinance under consideration says repeat violators “may be liable for response costs incurred in responding to the unpermitted discharge or illegal storage of fireworks.”
The ordinance defines response costs as being “those reasonable and necessary costs directly incurred by public safety personnel for a response to an unpermitted discharge or illegal storage of fireworks,” including salaries and benefits paid to public safety employees.
The ordinance also specifies that a host does not need to have been present at the event in order to be deemed responsible for response costs, stating: “This chapter therefore imposes vicarious as well as direct liability upon a responsible person.”
The ordinance exempts from responsibility any host who “initiates contact with law enforcement or fire officials to assist in removing any person from the property or terminating the activity in order to comply with this chapter” as long as the request was made prior to a complaint being lodged about illegal fireworks.
See full draft ordinance: click here
Fireworks labeled “safe and sane” are not banned by the proposed ordinance and will continue to be able to be bought, sold and discharged in Citrus Heights.
If passed by a required four-fifths vote at the council’s upcoming June 24 meeting, the urgency ordinance would take place immediately and be in effect for 45 days, unless further action is taken to extend it.
Public comments for the council’s upcoming meeting can be submitted to cityclerk@citrusheights.net, with up to 250 words, or emailed directly to the city council as a whole at citycouncil@citrusheights.net. Those interested in joining the council meeting via Zoom can find links posted in the council’s agenda packet. (click here)
