CC 2019-04-23_08d Supplemental No. 1
MEMORANDUM
TO: CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JAMES A. BERGMAN, CITY MANAGER
SUBJECT: SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
AGENDA ITEM 8.d. – APRIL 23, 2019 CITY COUNCIL MEETING
CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
CHAPTER 8.08 OF TITLE 8 OF THE ARROYO GRANDE MUNICIPAL
CODE REGARDING FIREWORKS
DATE: APRIL 23, 2019
Attached is correspondence received regarding the above referenced item.
cc: City Attorney
City Clerk
Public Review Binder
wildfires and injury.
Any reasonable person knows that once the fireworks booth sales are open for business
the discharge of fireworks outside the permitted window of July 4th will occur and once
again our community will be “a war zone.”
Making your support of non-profit fundraising efforts your top priority, effectively ignoring
the health and safety of the majority of the community, is highly objectionable and gutless.
Most California cities have banned fireworks and their non-profits have stepped up to find
other ways to raise needed funds instead of endangering the community by selling
harmful, polluting chemical torches.
We expect our Arroyo Grande Council and Safety Officers to lead the way in the Five
Cities. Of course takes courage on your behalf, but the excuse that there was no time to
research and customize a Social Host ordinance in a way that works for this community is
a disservice to your constituents. Mr. Louis Linney of TNT Fireworks pointed out several
communities that have adopted the Social Host Ordinance successfully since 2004 (see
attachments) but you failed to engage in further discussions with him to customize one for
this community.
This “new” legislation is blatantly toothless and a clear message that you aren't serious
about the validity of the hazards of fireworks. We are asking that you pull this Agenda
Item and revisit the included provisions to reduce the number of sales days and include
the Social Host Ordinance. It’s the right thing to do and we expect our Council members
and Five Cities and A.G. Police Chiefs to step up on behalf of our citizens.
Recommended: Remove current Agenda Item 8.d, re-write the ordinance with teeth, and
revisit at a future date for a vote.
Thank you.
Linda Busek
Jeri Edwards
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INLAND VALLEY
Dai l y Bulleti n
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Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)
July 14, 2004
Section: News
Chino's fines on fireworks helping to limit violations
JOE FLORKOWSKI, STAFF WRITER
CHINO - The city's new system of issuing fines on the spot has proven to be a more effective way to battle illegal
fireworks, city officials said. Rather than confiscate illegal fireworks from people who used them, Chino police
were able to write citations with fines for $1,000, as well as confiscate fireworks this year.
In previous years, Chino officers on the Fourth would not arrest someone for illegal fireworks use because of the
time involved and the circumstances, said Police Chief Gene Hernandez.
Arresting someone ,booking them and filling out the necessary paperwork can take a few hours ,Hernandez said.
"It tended to take personnel out of the field for an extended period of time ,"Hernandez said.
Once somebody is cited and their fireworks were taken away ,the violations usually stopped ,Hernandez said.
"They roll up the tent and go home ,"Hernandez said.
Because of concern over an increasing number of illegal fireworks being used during the Fourth of July, Chino
officials toughened the punishment this year.
During the Fourth of July, 104 people were cited in Chino for using illegal fireworks, which are anything that
explodes or flies in the air. Two people in Chino were also cited for using legal fireworks in areas where fireworks
were not allowed.
In previous years, the focus was on removing illegal fireworks from the street, said Catherine Starkey, Chino's
spokeswoman.
"This year, the focus was to make people personally accountable," Starkey said. "The fines were created to be a
major deterrent."
Chino's administrative fine system allows people to request a hearing to dispute an illegal fireworks citation.
To request a hearing, a person has to send in the citation and pay for the fine within five days of receiving it. If
they win the hearing, they get a refund.
Chino averaged about 25 criminal citations per year for fireworks use in previous years, said Tom Maxham,
division chief for the Chino Fire District.
This year the number of citations was higher because of the number of officers on the street, Maxham said. Chino
deployed nearly all of its officers between 8 and 11 p.m. on the Fourth.
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The amount of the fine and number of officers on the streets had an impact ,Maxham said.
"I think the show of force and the amount of the fine were the significant differences ,"Maxham said.
Joe Florkowski can be reached by e-mail joe .florkowski @ dailybulletin .com or by phone at (909 )483-9391.
(c) 2004 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin .All rights reserved .Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup,
Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
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,N am e bO ime tat
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Alameda Times-Star (CA)
July 7, 2008
Section: News
Fewer illegal fireworks violations ,police say
Kyveli Diener San Mateo County Times
Increased fines and time restrictions in Pacifica and San Bruno may have allowed red, white ,and blue revelers to
enjoy fireworks more comfortably over the Fourth of July. Police from San Bruno and Pacifica -the only two
cities in the county where state -approved fireworks can be used -reported fewer instances of illegal fireworks
use this year compared with Independence Days gone by .Half Moon Bay police also reported fewer incidents this
year.
Capt. Fernando Realyvasquez of the Pacifica Police Department said that fireworks-related arrests on Linda Mar
Beach decreased from 13 last year to two this year .He said the city's new ordinance and the weather were
factors in the decrease ,but he also said that users of illegal fireworks may have stayed away from the beach.
San Bruno police Cmdr .Noreen Hanlon said no one was cited for violating the city's time restrictions but 31
people were cited or arrested for the use of illegal fireworks ,which include bottle rockets ,sky rockets and cherry
bombs .Using illegal fireworks results in a court appearance and a $1 ,000 fine for each offense.
Pacifica 's new ordinance limited the times when people were permitted to shoot their fireworks to between 9 a.m.
and 11 p .m. from June 29 to July 5 .Violators received administrative fine citations of $200 for the first offense,
$400 for the second ,and $1,000 for the third.
The same fines were in place for violators of time constraints in San Bruno ,where fireworks were allowed from
noon to 10 p .m. from June 28 to July 3 and from noon to midnight on July 4.In addition ,people who used legal
fireworks in an unsafe way in San Bruno received a $500 fine on their first offense -up from $100 - and $1,000
for each additional offense.
State-approved fireworks are tested for safety ,ensuring that they do not fire into the air ,explode , "move on the
ground in an uncontrollable fashion," or emit sparks outside of a certain height and circumference .The legal "safe
and sane "fireworks include cone fountains ,base fountains ,spinners and smoke items.
In Half Moon Bay, police arrested six people for misdemeanor possession of illegal fireworks, according to police
Chief Don O'Keefe .Between 75 and 100 pounds of illegal ,Chinese-made fireworks were recovered ,ranging from
mortars to M-80s .State-approved fireworks are not allowed to be used in the city of Half Moon Bay at any time.
Dennis Revel ,spokesman for TNT Fireworks ,helped draft Pacifica 's new ordinance to ensure safety and the
enforcement of fireworks regulations during the holiday .He said TNT Fireworks ,which sold fireworks at 14 stands
in San Bruno and 15 stands in Pacifica ,sells state-approved fireworks in assorted packages.
"Illegal fireworks throughout California (are) a problem ,"Revel said . "It is a problem in a community whether state-
approved fireworks are allowed or not. As a matter of fact ,in communities where state -approved fireworks are not
allowed it 's usually worse .State-approved (fireworks ),by and large ,are used by law-abiding people in a safe and
responsible fashion."
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In Pacifica , the 15 permits for the sale of fireworks must be held by nonprofit organizations , such as Terra Nova
High School, which football coach Bill Gray said has been selling fireworks for decades.
"It is the life's blood of our athletic program, as it is for any other nonprofit group in the city," said Gray, noting that
the sale of legal fireworks brings $17,000 to $25,000 a year to the school. Gray served on the task force with
Revel to create the new Pacifica ordinance, and he noticed results.
"I can tell you that where I was in the city of Pacifica on the Fourth of July and the time leading up to it that it was
very clear that there were far fewer illegal fireworks. You can hear them, you can see them. And in the limited
location where I was there was a lot less," Gray said.
Gray and Revel will meet with police in early August to discuss the success of the new ordinance in Pacifica and
the raised fines in San Bruno.
"A sincere effort was made to educate the populace of the new ordinance," Gray said. "I'm very confident there
was a valid effort to enforce the ordinance. This is the first attempt at this, so there will be some good things, there
will be some bad things, there will be things we need to keep doing and things that need to be fixed."
(c) 2008 Alameda Times-Star, All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by
NewsBank, Inc.
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