Officers will have the option to hand out $750 ticket for first
offense
Gilroy – Residents caught with illegal fireworks will get slapped with fines of up to $750 under a new penalty schedule approved by city leaders this week.
The city’s latest effort to get tough on illegal fireworks received unanimous city council approval Monday night and takes effect immediately, in time for annual Fourth of July celebrations.
The fines will apply generally to fireworks that explode or shoot in the air – basically any not classified as “safe and sane” – and include such items as bottle rockets, roman candles and M-80s.
Anyone caught in possession of or igniting illegal fireworks faces an initial fine of $250, followed by $500 and $750 for repeat offenses. Police can use their discretion to issue a first fine of $750 or arrest a person for the most serious violations.
“We’re serious about this not being a slap on the wrist,” Mayor Al Pinheiro said. “We’re imposing the penalty because we plan to enforce it.”
The new ordinance allows police to overcome the traditional hurdle of “proving possession,” according to Police Sgt. Kurt Svardal. He explained that police are often unable to issue a citation or make an arrest because no one in a group of people will take responsibility for owning illegal fireworks.
“So we end up confiscating them instead,” Svardal said. “Under the administrative citations, it starts to become the property owner’s responsibility and that’s a good way of handling it.”
City Administrator Jay Baksa said the fines, formally known as administrative citations, are preferable to arrests in part because they help avoid confrontations with crowds.
“Without the administrative citation process, the only thing law enforcement could do is actually arrest somebody for it,” Baksa said. “The concern was you might incite more people by going that route. Now all we have to do is observe – we might even tape it through a camera – and issue the citation later on.”
Last July 4, police and fire officials confiscated 7,349 illegal fireworks – a record number – and received more than 200 calls for service in a three-hour period. Emergency dispatcher phone lines were clogged as residents ignored the city’s “safe and sane”- only ordinance. Yet just two people were issued criminal citations for the possession of illegal fireworks, prompting city officials to take a tougher stance on enforcement.
The new fines approved Monday exceed standard penalties for other types of violations. Depending on the number and severity of infractions, the standard fines can be $100, $200 or $500.
Gilroy is the only city in Santa Clara County that allows the sale of fireworks. The city plans to continue allowing vendors to sell “safe and sane” fireworks this year.
