MARYSVILLE — The Marysville City Council on Monday took up a fireworks ban but decided to postpone a decision so they would have more time for consideration. The council plans to next take up the issue at its Jan. 25 meeting.
The proposal was introduced shortly after an advisory vote in last November’s election.
Proposition 1 asked the public whether the council should enact a ban. The measure passed 59.25 percent to 40.75 percent, with 10,004 ballots being cast.
The council wasted no time this year, convening for a work session Jan. 4 to hash out a draft ordinance and putting it on the agenda Monday night.
But several council members said they wanted more time, partly out of deference to Councilman Jeff Vaughan, who was out of town, and partly because several members still had concerns.
Newly elected council President Kamille Norton said she wouldn’t support the ordinance as it was written.
“I find it sadly ironic that something that brings neighbors together to celebrate freedom and the birth of this nation is being taken away,” Norton said.
Most law-abiding people would be punished for the actions of a few reckless individuals, she said.
The fireworks measure was proposed after numerous brush fires broke out last summer in the midst of a drought. Many of the fires were believed to have been started by fireworks.
The Independence Day holiday is also one of the busiest days of the year for emergency services.
But Brendan Hart, youth pastor at the Mountain View Assembly of God church in Marysville, said fireworks sales were a source of revenue for the church.
“It has basically our number one fundraiser at the church,” he said, accounting for about half of the youth ministry’s $16,000 budget.
That business would likely go across I-5 to Boom City, a large seasonal fireworks market on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
The proximity of Boom City also would make enforcement more challenging.
Under the previous city code, fireworks can only be set off from 9 a.m. Dec. 31 to 2 a.m. Jan. 1, as well as between 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. July 4. That code was often ignored, and there were numerous reports of fireworks going off in the city in the week leading up to New Year’s Eve.
The new ordinance would make possessing or discharging smaller fireworks without a city-approved permit to be a civil infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $500. Selling them would be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to 90 days in jail. Possessing, selling or discharging larger, commercial-grade fireworks would be a gross misdemeanor, which carries a $5,000 maximum fine and up to a year in jail.
The prohibition would not cover trick or novelty devices, as defined by state law, or road flares or other signalling devices used by motor vehicles, railroads or transportation agencies.
The city may authorize general public displays or displays for religious purposes.
The way state law is written, any ban will not go into effect until early 2017. That’s an allowance that would prevent a business that had spent a lot of money pre-ordering fireworks to suddenly have the rug yanked out from under them shortly before July 4 or Dec. 31.
However, the state House of Representatives is considering a bill, HB 2348, that would remove that one-year waiting period. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing Thursday before the House Committee on Local Government.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
