§ 4-2

This chapter shall govern the sale, offer for sale, use, discharge, firing, storage, handling, and use or possession of fireworks. It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, have in their possession, store, fire, set off, discharge or use, or cause or permit to be sold, offered for sale, stored or possessed by such person, fired, set off, discharge or use, any fireworks unless such fireworks are classified as "safe and sane" by the State Fire Marshal (referred to as "safe and sane fireworks" in this chapter) and unless all terms and provision of the State Fireworks Law contained in Part 2 of Division 11 of the Health and Safety Code of the State of California and all provisions of this chapter are complied with. Nothing herein contained shall prohibit the public display of fireworks as authorized by Section 4-2. 107(d) of this chapter subject to the terms and provisions of State Fireworks Law.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Fire Code of the City of Artesia, adopted and found in Title 8, Chapter 7 of this Code, safe and sane fireworks, as defined in Section 12529 of the California Health and Safety Code, may be sold and discharged in the City pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and not otherwise.

(Ord. 103, § 1; Ord. 638, §§ 5, 6; Ord. 26-982, 3/9/2026)

• (a) Violations of this chapter are strict liability offenses regardless of intent or personal knowledge of any other persons engaging in any violation of this chapter. Any person, firm, corporation or other entity that violates any portion of this chapter is subject to the enforcement provisions of Title 1, Chapters 2 and 7 of this Code, unless otherwise stated.

• (b) "Responsible person" as defined in Section 1-7.02 of this Code. For purposes of this chapter, a "responsible person" also includes, but is not limited to, any responsible person who allows, permits, or invites others to gather on a parcel of property that the person owns, possesses, or controls, or who organizes, supervises, officiates, conducts, controls or is otherwise in charge of, an activity on the property, whether or not present during a violation(s), and who shall be liable for such violation(s).

• (c) Responsible Person Liability.

  • (1) A responsible person is strictly liable for any violation of this chapter that occurs during a gathering on property that they own, possess, or control, or in the public right-of-way immediately adjacent to property that the responsible person owns, possesses, or controls, subject to Subsection (c)(4), regardless of whether the responsible person is present at, or has knowledge of, the gathering.

  • (2) A responsible person is subject to administrative citation for any violation under this chapter, regardless of personal intent or awareness of the violations.

  • (3) It shall be unlawful and a responsible person shall be strictly liable when any person sells, possesses, ignites, explodes, projects, or otherwise fires or makes use of fireworks on the property owned by such responsible person or under the control of such responsible person in violation of this chapter, irrespective of whether the responsible person had the intent or knowledge of such violation or otherwise acted negligently.

  • (4) It is a rebuttable assumption that any prohibited act under this chapter conducted in the public right-of-way or any public property by any person is attributable to the responsible person where such violations are conducted immediately adjacent to the responsible person's property.

  • (5) In addition to any other penalties provided by law, any person who commits a violation of this chapter shall be subject to administrative fine(s) in an amount as adopted by Council resolution.

  • (6) A responsible person shall not be in violation of this section or responsible for the acts of others who violate this chapter if they seek immediate assistance from law enforcement or fire officials to report a violation of this chapter and before such violations are witnessed by law enforcement, code enforcement, or City Manager's designee, or fire officials.

• (7) When a responsible person did not sell, possess, ignite, explode, project, or otherwise fire or make use of fireworks on the property, penalties under this chapter may be assessed against both the responsible person and the person who did sell, possess, ignite, explode, project, or otherwise fire or make use of fireworks on the property. Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to limit liability and penalties under any other violations present under this Code, State law, Federal law, or any other applicable law, rule, provision, or regulation.

  • (8) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit liability and penalties under any other violations present under this Code, State law, Federal law, or any other applicable law, rule, provision, or regulation.

• (Ord. 26-982, 3/9/2026)

Pursuant to Section 1714.1(a) of the California Civil Code and to the extent permitted by that and any other applicable law, any act of a minor in the discharge of a firework that results in injury or death to another person or in any injury to the property of another shall be imputed to the parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor for all purposes of civil damages, and the parent or guardian having custody and control shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor for any damages resulting from the minor's act in an amount not to exceed $25,000 or such greater amount as allowed by law. Such damages may include restitution to the person injured or the owner of property whose property has been damaged. (Ord. 638, §§ 5, 12; Ord. 26-982, 3/9/2026)

No person shall offer for sale or sell at retail any fireworks of any kind in the City without having first applied for and received a permit therefor. Permits shall be issued on a first come first serve basis upon approval of permit applications submitted in compliance with Sections 4-2.105 and 4-2.106. No more than 10 permits shall be issued each year.

(Ord. 103, § 2; Ord. 638, § 5; Ord. 10-760, § 1; Ord. 26-982, 3/9/2026)

• (a) Applications for the permits required by the provisions of Section 4-2.104 of this chapter shall be made in writing and shall:

  • (1) Be filed with the City Clerk by the second Tuesday in February of each year;

  • (2) Set forth the proposed location of the fireworks stands applied for;

  • (3) Provide the principal and permanent meeting place of the applicant organization, the address of the meeting place and the day and time of the meeting;

  • (4) Provide the details of the intended charitable use of the proceeds from the sale of fireworks;

  • (5) Be accompanied by an assurance that if the permit is issued to the applicant, the applicant, shall indemnify the City and hold it harmless against any claims or damages related to the permit in a form approved by the City Attorney. Moreover, at the time of the receipt of such permit, the applicant shall deliver to the City Clerk insurance policies in the minimum amounts of $1,000,000 for the bodily injury or death of any one person, $1,000,000 for the bodily injury or death of two or more persons in any one occurrence, and $1,000,0000 for damages to property resulting from any one occurrence. Such policies shall designate the City an additional insured;

  • (6) Include the applicants State Board of Equalization resale number;

  • (7) Include the applicants retail fireworks license issued by the State Fire Marshal; and

  • (8) Include the signature of an authorized representative of the applicant attesting under penalty of perjury that the information contained in the application is true and correct. If there are any errors, omissions, or misstatements made on an application, then the City may, within its sole and absolute discretion, revoke a permit or deny the issuance of any future fireworks stand permit for that group or organization.

• (b) Each application must be accompanied by:

  • (1) A permit application fee of $150, or such other amount as set by the City Council by resolution;

  • (2) Written approval from the landowner that the stand may operate at the selected location and a copy of the agreement with the fireworks supplier;

  • (3) A diagram showing the exact location of the stand in relation to adjacent streets and any other structures on the lot or adjacent lots, and on-site traffic circulation;

  • (4) An application for a miscellaneous building permit for location and erection of a temporary structure, accompanied by the requisite permit fees as determined by a separate resolution of the City Council;

  • (5) An application for an electrical permit for any stand using an electrical power source other than a portable generator, accompanied by the requisite permit fees as determined by separate resolution of the City Council; and

• (6) Be accompanied by a deposit of $150 to cover the cost of removing all litter and cleaning up the vacated location of the fireworks stand on or before 12:00 noon on July 18th. If the property is cleaned up and litter removed by then, the City will refund the deposit to the permit holder. If not, the City will cause the litter to be removed and the property to be cleaned up at the expense of the permittee. If litter removal and cleanup cost is less than the deposit, the City will refund the difference to the permittee. If the cost is greater, the permittee shall pay the difference to the City.

• (Ord. 103, §§ 2a, 2b, 2c; Ord. 149, §§ 2, 3; Ord. 514, § 1; Ord. 638, § 5; Ord. 10-760, § 2; Ord. 22-920, § 3; Ord. 24-965, 1/13/2025; Ord. 26-982, 3/9/2026)

• (a) The permits required by the provisions of Section 4-2.104 of this chapter may be issued or denied in the discretion of the City and subject to other reasonable conditions as the City determines is necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare. The following qualifications must be met in addition to other requirements set forth in this chapter or in the State Fireworks Code, before a permit may be issued:

  • (1) The City Clerk may issue permits to those organizations determined to be responsible, and organized and existing primarily for veteran, patriotic, welfare, civic betterment, or charitable purposes. Each organization shall have been organized and established in the City's postal area for a minimum of one year continuously preceding the filing of the application for the permit.

  • (2) The applicant must be an organization that meets at least three of the following criteria:

    • (i) Has its principal and permanent meeting place in the City;

    • (ii) Has a bona fide membership with at least 40% of members who either reside in the City, are employed in the City, or are owners or operators of a business or other establishment located in the City;

    • (iii) Provides substantial services to organizations located in the City or to persons residing in the City.

    • (iv) Is a non-profit organization or tax-exempt association as recognized by the State of California or the Internal Revenue Code with 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6) designation.

• (b) In addition to the requirements set forth in Sections 4-2.105 and 4-2.106, applications for permits required by the provisions of Section 4-2.104 of this chapter shall be accompanied by:

  • (1) If applicable, a complete list of the organization's members' names, addresses and telephone numbers and other such necessary information declaring if members are employed in the City, or are owners or operators of a business or other establishment located in the City, as of the date of the application.

  • (2) Evidence of the organization providing substantial services to organizations located in the City or to persons residing in the City in the form of a narrative summary of the organizations work within the City.

  • (3) If applicable, copies of the non-profit's Articles of Incorporation, Articles of Association, Trust Indenture, Constitution, or other enabling document. Bylaws may be considered an organizing document only if they are properly structured (includes name, purpose, signatures, and intent to form an organization).

  • (4) Any organization selected to sell fireworks at the Artesia Towne Center shall pay a commensurate amount of rent to the City as determined by the City Manager or designee for the allotted space. Such rent amount shall be paid to the City as a condition precedent to receiving a permit.

• (c) There shall be no more than one stand per permittee. Only one permit shall be issued for any parent, principal, or master group or organization unless the City Council finds in a given case, because of the circumstances of the stand location or other factors, the intent of this chapter will not be defeated by issuing more than one permit. The intent of this requirement is to limit applicants, who otherwise qualify, to one permit as to each such parent or principal group or organization and to eliminate any one principal or parent group or association from having permits issued to associate, derivative, ancillary, subsidiary or support groups or entities. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit more than one group or organization meeting all qualifications specified in this chapter from jointly applying for a fireworks permit. In such case, however, only a single permit will be issued.

• (d) Applicants for such permits shall be notified by the City Clerk of the granting or denial of their permit applications on or before April 1st of each calendar year.

• (Ord. 103, § 2d; Ord. 638, §§ 5, 7; Ord. 10-760, § 3; Ord. 22-920, § 4; Ord. 24-965, 1/13/2025; Ord. 26-982, 3/9/2026)

• (a) Safe and sane fireworks, as defined in Section 12529 of the California Health and Safety Code, may be sold, fired, set off, discharged or used in the City only during the period beginning at 12:00 noon on June 28 and ending at 9:00 p.m. on July 4 of each year. This time period shall be known as the "fireworks sales and discharge period." During the fireworks sales and discharge period, no fireworks shall be sold or discharged before 7:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. on any day, except that fireworks shall not be sold after 9:00 p.m. on July 4th and shall not be discharged after 10:00 p.m. on July 4th.

• (b) No person shall at any time sell, fire, set off, discharge or use a firework, including, but not limited to, safe and sane fireworks, within City parks or on any lot or parcel of land owned by the City, including, but not limited to, property occupied by the Artesia City Hall, the Artesia Historical Museum, the Historic Fire Station, the Artesia Water Tower, City-owned parking lots, and on other City-owned properties in the City.

• (c) Except as provided in Subsection (d) below, no person shall possess, store, transport, buy, offer to buy, sell, offer to sell, give, receive, fire, set off, discharge or use any firework not classified as safe and sane by the State Fire Marshal.

• (d) Exceptions. Notwithstanding the immediately preceding sentence, the sale of fireworks is permitted at the Artesia Towne Center as provided in Subsection (a), above. Moreover, the discharge of fireworks is permitted on a City sidewalk or street during the period provided in Subsection (a), above. The discharge of fireworks is also may be permitted in a City park or on City-owned property in the following instances:

  • (1) When conducted as part of a properly permitted public display of fireworks, as that term is defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 12524, or successor provision thereto. The City Council may contract with any person or business entity to provide such display for the benefit of the City upon terms and conditions deemed appropriate by the City Council;

  • (2) When conducted in connection with a film, television or theatrical production occurring within the City for which written permission of the City Manager, and any required permit, have been obtained;

  • (3) When conducted in connection with any educational demonstration being provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department; or

(4) When conducted for any other purpose expressly authorized by law.

(Ord. 103, § 1; Ord. 638, §§ 5, 8; Ord. 696, § 2; Ord. 22-920, § 5; Ord. 26-982, 3/9/2026)

The following provisions shall govern the use of fireworks stands:

• (a) Only organizations permitted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall operate the stand for which the permit was issued or share or otherwise participate in the profits of the operation of such stand.

• (b) No person, other than individuals who are members of the permittee organization, or the wives, husbands, or adult children of such members, shall sell or otherwise participate in the sale of fireworks at such stands.

• (c) No person shall be paid any consideration for selling or otherwise participating in the sale of fireworks at such stands.

• (d) Sale of safe and sane fireworks shall be permitted only from within temporary fireworks stands, and such sales from any other building or structure are hereby prohibited. Such temporary stands shall be subject to the following:

  • (1) Fireworks stands shall not be located within 25 feet of any other building nor within 100 feet of any gasoline pump.

  • (2) Fireworks stands need not comply with the provisions of the Building Code of the City; provided, however, all stands shall be erected under the supervision of the Building Inspector who shall require that the stands be constructed in such a manner which will reasonably insure the safety of the attendants and patrons. Building and electrical permits shall be required, and inspections shall be made before such stands are used.

  • (3) No stand shall have a floor area in excess of 260 square feet.

  • (4) Each stand in excess of 24 feet in length shall have at least two exits, and each stand in excess of 40 feet in length shall have at least three exits spaced approximately equal distances apart; provided, however, in no case shall the distance between exits exceed 24 feet.

  • (5) Each stand shall be provided with two, two-and-one-half-gallon "soda and acid" type fire extinguishers in good working order and easily accessible for use in case of fire.

  • (6) No fireworks stand shall be located in a City park or on City-owned property unless as expressly authorized herein.

• (e) All weeds and combustible materials shall be cleared from the location of such stands a distance of at least 20 feet surrounding the stand.

• (f) "No Smoking" signs shall be prominently displayed on such fireworks stands.

• (g) Each stand shall have an adult watchman in attendance and in charge thereof when the stand is not being used for the sale or dispensing of fireworks.

• (h) Sales of fireworks shall not begin before 12:00 noon on June 28th and shall not continue after 9:00 p.m. on July 4th. During such sales period, fireworks shall not be sold before 7:00 a.m. nor after 10:00 p.m. on any day, except that no sales shall continue past 9:00 p.m. on July 4th.

• (i) Each permittee shall remove or cause the removal of graffiti on a permittee's stand within 24 hours of permittee's actual or constructive notice of such graffiti, or within 24 hours of receipt of oral or written notice from the City of graffiti on the stand.

• (j) All unsold stock and accompanying litter shall be removed from the location of such stands on or before 12:00 noon on July 6th.

• (k) Fireworks stands shall be removed from their temporary locations on or before 12:00 noon on July 11th, and all accompanying litter shall be cleared from such locations on or before such time and date.

(l) No fireworks shall be sold to a person who is under the age of 16 years. (Ord. 103, §§ 2e, 2f, 2g; Ord. 638, §§ 5, 9, 10; Ord. 696, § 3; Ord. 07-722, § 2; Ord. 10-760, § 4; Ord. 22-920, § 6; Ord. 26-982, 3/9/2026)

It is unlawful for any person to sell, provide, or distribute fireworks to a retail seller of safe and sane fireworks, on the condition that the retail seller of such fireworks shall sell or distribute such fireworks only from a fireworks stand location in which the provider has any interest, option or lease, or in any other manner to restrict the location of such fireworks stand. (Ord. 555, § 2; Ord. 26-982, 3/9/2026)

Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be subject to the punishment set forth in Chapter 2 of Title 1 of this Code. In addition, after one warning has been issued for a violation of this chapter, any subsequent violation for the same or similar offense shall subject the permittee to the suspension of the sale of fireworks for a period of 12 hours during which the stand would otherwise be open. Any third violation shall subject the permittee to revocation of the permit for the remaining sales period in that calendar year.

(Ord. 103, § 2i; Ord. 555, § 1; Ord. 638, §§ 5, 11; Ord. 10-760, § 5; Ord. 26-982, 3/9/2026)