ORDINANCE NO. 3183
AN ORDINANCE OF THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF
FULLERTON AMENDING CHAPTER 7. 26 OF THE
FULLERTON MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING SALES,
POSSESSION AND USE OF FIREWORKS
WHEREAS, in 1990 the voters of the City of Fullerton approved Ordinance No. 2747 which repealed the then- existing chapter of the Fullerton Municipal Code which permitted the sale, possession and use of fireworks in the City of Fullerton; and WHEREAS, in 1996, the City Council of the City of Fullerton adopted Ordinance No. 2898 to affirmatively prohibit the sale, possession and use of fireworks in the City of Fullerton, in accordance with Ordinance No. 2747; and
WHEREAS, the ban on fireworks has been difficult for the City of Fullerton to enforce over the years, due to the widespread availability of fireworks, and the legality of such fireworks, in neighboring areas; and
WHEREAS, if abanon "safeandsane"fireworksislifted, publicsafetyofficerscan focustheireffortson illegal, dangerousfireworks, whichsomepeoplehavebeenusingin the City despite the City' s total ban on all fireworks; and WHEREAS, at the time of the passage of Ordinance No. 2747, many cities in Orange Countywere banning fireworks; recently, some cities have lifted those bans, such as Westminster, Huntington Beach, and other cities also presently permit" safe and sane" fireworks, such as Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Stanton and Buena Park; and WHERAS, only" safe and sane" fireworks are sold in California for private use (Cal.
Health & Saf. Code § 12574);
WHEREAS, fireworks are often sold by local civic and youth organizations for fundraising, andtheCity's bancurrentlypreventssuchgroupsfromparticipatinginsuch fundraising activities;
WHEREAS, " safe and sane" fireworks are considered less dangerous to individuals and are less of a risk of causing fire and damage to property, since such fireworks do not fly, explode, shoot projectiles, travel, or leave the ground and such fireworks usually exclude very large firecrackers or other dangerous devices like rockets and aerial shells; and
WHEREAS, the State of California permits citiesto regulateor prohibit by ordinance the sale, use, or discharge of fireworks ( Cal. Health & Saf. Code § 12541); and WHEREAS, according to the American Pyrotechnic Association:'. " Consumption of fireworks in the United States has risen dramatically during the past three decades, from 41 million pounds in 1980 to over 205 million pounds in 2010. During this period of unprecedented growth, fireworks injuries have declined dramatically due to industry safety education efforts and the ever improving quality of its products. Over the most recent decade, this downward injury trend continues even as an increasing number of states & municipalities have relaxed their consumer fireworks laws— in fact the injury rate was 43% lower in 2010 compared to 2000."; and
WHEREAS, there are many unsafe products and activities, which are safe when properly handled or if engaged in properly, and a complete ban on such products or activities is unnecessary and overly intrusive to an ordinary citizen's ability to safely use such products or engage in such activities; and
WHEREAS, fireworks are largely a once-a-year tradition for the Fourth of July, and the freedom to express one's patriotism should not be unnecessarily curtailed simply because some individuals may occasionally be irresponsible in their use of fireworks; and WHEREAS, if the ban cannot be adequatelyenforced, and does not presentlyserve to promote the safety of fireworks use, then it is only fair to law-abiding citizensthat the ban be removed, so that all can safely, and legally, enjoy private fireworks celebrations; NOW, THEREFORE, the People of the City of Fullerton HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 7.26 ( Fireworks Prohibited) of Title 7 ( Public Safety and Morals) of the Fullerton Municipal Code, regarding the use, possession and discharge of fireworks, is herebyrepealedand replacedin its entiretywiththe following:
Chapter 7. 26 FIREWORKS
7.26. 010 Fireworks prohibited except as authorized herein.
It is unlawful for any person to possess, store, to offer for sale, expose to sale, sell at retail, or use or explode any fireworks, except as provided herein. The sale, possession anddischargeof"safeandsane"fireworksforprivatedisplayshallbepermittedwithinthe City, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by ordinance or resolution of the City Council, relating to the following: who may sell such fireworks; the limited dates and timeswhensuchfireworksmaybesoldanddischarged; the manner, location, andany required permits for the sale, storage, possession, discharge and/ or disposal of such fireworks; etc.
ForpurposesofthisChapter, "safeandsane"shallincludethosefireworksbearing the seal of the State Fire Marshal and that are "safe and sane fireworks" within the See htt // www. american o. com/ df/ consum tion- vs- in uries- ra h- 2000- 2010. dfP PYi' P P J g P P provisions of California Health and Safety Code Section 12529, or any successor provision thereto, and/ or any other relevant provisions of State Law relevant thereto, including the California Code of Regulations, State Fire Marshal Regulations or Guidelines, etc.
Notwithstanding the above, the Fire Chief shall have the power to adopt reasonable rules and regulations for the granting of permits for supervised public displays of fireworks by a jurisdiction, fair, association, amusement park, other organizations or for the use of fireworks by artisans in pursuit of their trade. Every such use or display shall be handled by a competent operator approved by the Fire Chief and shall be of such character and so located, discharged or fired so as, in the opinion of the Fire Chief, after proper investigation, not to be hazardous to property or endanger any person.
SECTION 2. Should any section, subsection, clause or provision of this ordinance for any reason be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the final decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, then the remainder of the ordinance shall be deemed valid, it being hereby expressly declared that this ordinance, and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase hereof would have been prepared, proposed, approved, adopted and/ or ratified even if any other section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance were declared invalid.
SECTION 3. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be posted and/ or published in the manner required by law. This ordinance shall become effective immediately from and after its passage.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the voters at the General Municipal Election held on November 6, 2012.
Bruce Whitaker, Mayor
Attest:
da i lams, City Clerk
CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRAR OF VOTERS TO RESULT
OF THE CANVASS OF THE GENERAL ELECTION RETURNS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA)
ss.
COUNTY OF ORANGE )
I, Neal Kelley, Registrarof Voters of OrangeCounty, do hereby certifythe following to be a full, true and correct Statement of the Vote of the election listed below, consolidated with the General Election held on November 6, 2012.
CITY OF FULLERTON
MEMBER OF THE CITY COUNCIL
BRUCE WHITAKER 15, 428
JENNIFER FITZGERALD 15, 116
JAN M. FLORY 12, 829
TRAVIS KIGER 12, 800
RICK ALVAREZ 11, 322
JANE RANDS 8, 871
KITTY JARAMILLO 7, 547
BARRY LEVINSON 7, 359
DON BANKHEAD 7, 322
BRIAN BARTHOLOMEW 6, 298
MATTHEW HAKIM 4, 211
ROBERTA REID 1, 799
MEASURE W
YES 17, 551
NO 27, 253
MEASURE X
YES 24, 067
NO 21, 231
EARLY VOTING BALLOTS CAST: 153
PRECINCT BALLOTS CAST: 24, 829
VOTE- BY- MAIL BALLOTS CAST: 23, 459
TOTAL BALLOTS CAST: 48, 441
1hereby certify that the number of votes cast for each candidate and measure is as set forth above and appears in the Certified Statement of the Vote.
WITNESSmy handandOfficialSealthis21° day ofNovember, 2012.
S
NEA `
Registrar of Voters
Orange County