Addressing Fireworks in our Neighborhoods and Beaches

By Zach Friend, Supervisor, Second District

With summer officially starting the number of complaints for fireworks (and other explosives) begin to increase. Last year, we fielded a number of complaints not just about fireworks but about the noise and level of explosive that were set off. While this issue isn’t unique to our area it has a lot of impacts on our neighborhoods and local beaches.

The largest number of complaints come around July 4th (although fireworks occur throughout the summer) with the majority of calls from the coastal areas of our district including Rio Del Mar, Seacliff and La Selva Beach. We have also begun to receive some complaints in more rural areas including the Santa Cruz Mountains and outside of Corralitos. The exact location of the discharge is often difficult to pinpoint, as the sound reverberates throughout the affected area, but there are some known hotspot locations on state beaches and some county beaches in the unincorporated area.

Different state and local agencies oversee the response to fireworks at beaches and other locations in the county. For example, the Sheriff’s Office and State Parks have tried different enforcement approaches while the County in general has done a significant educational (including paid advertising outreach) to address the issue. Some of this enforcement, specifically along the coast, has caused concerns about increased fireworks activity in the more rural areas. Others have believed that when the enforcement is most directed there is a decline in activity along the coast. Some have contacted my office to express concern about using law enforcement resources for fireworks in general (believing this is a low priority issue or that it shouldn’t be enforced at all because people enjoy seeing the illegal shows).

The County’s position has been that fireworks, even safe and sane fireworks, are illegal in the unincorporated area and there should be enforcement on this issue. Realistically, there are significant barriers to effective enforcement: the difficulty in pinpointing the exact location of the discharge, the delay between the report and arrival of law enforcement (as people that are discharging them often leave the scene), call prioritization (if there are other active calls that officers are on then the won’t be able to respond immediately) and even the accessibility of fireworks sold through other neighboring communities. But the County is still committed to helping to reduce the issue.

Fireworks and some of the noise-based explosives are sold legally in neighboring jurisdictions and often brought illegally into our community and fired off on the beaches, in the neighborhoods and even along the rail corridor and local parks. Over the last few years the County has increased the fines for fireworks (fireworks violations are subject to triple fines around July 4th, which means a citation can cost well over $1,000 after court costs are added on.)

Additionally, working with local community groups and the Sheriff’s Office the County adopted a set of policies and approaches over five years ago that are still in place today. This includes: improved tools of enforcement and better education locally and regionally. Specifically, the plan included:

• Making triple fines for fireworks permanent on July 4th and other holidays (meaning possession of fireworks will cost you well over $1000 in fines and court costs)
• Producing public service announcements and other media outreach to local and regional media outlets about enforcement plans and the danger of fireworks before the summer as well as paid media purchases on social media
• Expanding signage near hot spot neighborhoods about enforcement
• Working with 9-1-1 dispatchers regarding how these calls are handled and also for education to the caller about the best information to provide to ensure proper enforcement
• Working with vacation rental owners and local hotels to educate them about visitors bringing illegal fireworks and also the consequences associated with it (sending letters to all vacation rental owners and hotels and their associations for them to let visitors know about the regulations)
• Increasing police patrols
• Coordination between Central Fire, Sheriff’s Office and State Parks for improved and increased education and enforcement during July 4th and other peak times.

Illegal fireworks activity will continue but the goal is that this approach have a positive impact on the environment and other issues it causes.

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As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to call me at 454-2200 with your questions and comments.