Council members set to approve amendment to current firework
ordinance
Gilroy – City Council members are poised to make it more expensive for those caught with illegal fireworks this year.
Police and fire officials confiscated a record number of illegal fireworks, and received more than 200 calls for service in a three-hour period during last year’s Fourth of July celebration and emergency dispatcher phone lines were clogged as residents ignored the city’s safe and sane only ordinance. And just two people were issued criminal citations for the possession of illegal fireworks, prompting city officials to take a tougher stance on enforcement.
Now, City Council members will likely approve an amendment to the current firework ordinance, allowing public officials including police officers, firefighters, city engineers and building inspectors, to issue administrative citations up to $500 for offenders Monday night.
“Administrative citations are a lot easier (to enforce),” said city councilman Dion Bracco. “Someone just has to see the action. They don’t have to catch them red-handed and that has been a problem in the past. With (administrative citations) they’ll be able to do something.”
The previous ordinance dealt simply with safe and sane fireworks. The proposed amendment makes it illegal to ignite “dangerous fireworks” as defined in California law at any time in Gilroy. If approved, police and public officials will have the ability to punish offenders using administrative citations, meaning they don’t have to prove the incident happened – they just have to see it.
“The burden of proof under administrative cites is extremely weak,” said Deputy Fire Marshal Rodger Maggio. “All we need is to have a belief that it occurs, and that typically is done by officer observations. An officer may or may not cite on the spot. They may forward it to the fire marshal who will issue it after the fact.”
Citations range from $100 up to $500 depending upon the severity of the offense and the frequency of the occurrence. Money from the fines will go into the city’s general fund.
“We want this to be a deterrent for illegal fireworks use in the future,” Maggio said. “Five hundred dollars would catch my attention.”
Cities such as Santa Rosa, Napa, Victorville and Chico currently issue administrative citations, with fines up to $1,000.
According to Maggio, most cities who started using administrative citations noticed a major reduction in the use of illegal fireworks after word of the costly penalties spreads.
Last year, firefighters and police confiscated 2,000 more illegal fireworks than they did in 2004, for a record high of 7,349. Two residences went up in flames in 2003 after sparks from a safe and sane firework ignited the bushes outside one home, and an illegal bottle rocket caused a roof to catch fire. Total damages was more than $400,000.
“Our desire is really to impact people in a way that they understand that fireworks are dangerous and they’re a public safety hazard,” said Gilroy police Capt. Jack Robinson. “It allows us more latitude with how we handle things. It doesn’t negate the possibility of us issuing criminal citations. It’s not an absolute in-place-of. It doesn’t replace the laws on the books, what it does is supplement them. The purpose is to gain compliance. We want to make sure that people enjoy the holiday and are safe.”
Property owners who receive administrative citations may appeal in an administrative hearing. The citation goes to the property owner where the offense was observed regardless of who lit the wick.
“It’s the homeowner who is responsible for who is at the party,” Robinson said. “We can’t always control other people. But we can influence others and that’s all we’re asking.”
The philosophy behind using administrative citations is to allow police officers to spend more time on the streets patrolling for offenders and keeps public officials safe who may otherwise have had to enter a potentially violent crowd fueled with alcohol.
“It is becoming increasingly dangerous for firefighter teams on the streets because of the increasing confrontations,” Maggio said. “All the administrative cites do is allow us another tool to curb illegal activity.”
Last year, firefighters patrolling in engines could not enter one neighborhood where illegal fireworks were being set off because residents blocked the entrance of the street with a construction sawhorse. Smoke filled the streets causing poor visibility and for safety reasons, firefighters called in police.
This year firefighters will not patrol the streets in engines. Police will patrol the streets with an additional 12 officers.
City manager Jay Baksa supports the new ordinance on two fronts.
“I think council wins because they are going to be more aggressive about illegal fireworks and from the staff perspective – they (who would be in potentially dangerous situations) are going to be out of harm’s way,” he said.
