LYNNWOOD
A majority of Lynnwood residents surveyed say they would not support a Fourth of July fireworks ban, though many are confused about what the existing city laws say they can and cannot do.
Of those queried, 63 percent said existing fireworks regulations are OK, 12 percent thought they were too restrictive and 22 percent said they aren’t restrictive enough, the survey showed.
Council members discussed the survey results during a work session Monday, May 19.
The telephone survey, conducted by Gilmore Research Group March 11 to April 13, questioned 401 randomly selected people and screened them to ensure they live within Lynnwood city limits.
Lynnwood’s City Council agreed last November to commission the survey to gauge citywide sentiment after a contingent of vocal fireworks opponents had urged the council to ban them. The city allows so-called “safe-and-sane” fireworks to be set off on the Fourth of July between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. Bottle rockets, M-80s and other illegal fireworks, which are commonly sold on Indian reservations, are not allowed.
Results show that a majority of city residents know fireworks use is restricted but that many people are still confused about when, where and what kinds of fireworks are allowed. That means “the level of awareness of current regulations is not sufficient,” said Patricia Glazer, vice president of Gilmore Research Group, which coordinated the survey.
When asked how they would change the law, 52 percent said existing law is “fine as it is” and 24 percent said fireworks use should be more restricted.
Councilman Ted Hikel said he was surprised by the findings.
“I expected it to be a 50-50 split,” he said.
When asked whether existing law is effective or not effective in regulating the personal use of fireworks, 38 percent said it’s either somewhat effective (28 percent) or very effective (10 percent). Forty-nine percent said existing law is either not too effective (26 percent) or not effective at all (23 percent).
Asked why they would not support a ban, 54 percent cited the Fourth of July tradition, 27 percent said because fireworks are fun and 30 percent split their response between not all fireworks are a threat and there’s too much government regulation already. Four percent said a ban would be unenforceable.
The survey showed that 48 percent of the residents either were not aware there are existing restrictions on fireworks use (22 percent) or didn’t know whether such restrictions exist (26 percent).
Councilman Mark Smith said this is an issue of public safety and he’ll push for a ban at a future council meeting.
“I think this is an issue where the city needs to lead,” he said.
He cited fire department statistics showing there were 10 fireworks related fires in 2007, 12 in 2006 and six in 2005, though none resulted in injury.
“We were lucky,” he said. “I think the phrase ‘knock on wood’ is appropriate.”
Councilman Jim Smith said he opposes banning fireworks and wondered “why have a survey to see if people want to have fireworks banned or not and then say regardless, we’re going to ban them.
“If we were not going to take this survey seriously, we shouldn’t have spent the money,” he said.
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