Kingsburg Municipal Code Ch. 8.08 Fireworks

The city of Kingsburg hereby regulates the sale, use and display of fireworks, as defined by state law and this chapter, to the full extent not expressly or impliedly prohibited by state or federal law. The invalidity of any of the following sections, or portions thereof, shall not affect the remaining provisions.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement)

For the purpose of these sections, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used herein are defined as follows:

"Continuous permit list" means all eligible organizations which successfully obtained and operated fireworks stands with continuous permits for same in calendar year 2001.

"Dangerous fireworks" means any fireworks specified as such in the State Fireworks Law, Sections 12500, et seq., of the Health and Safety Code of the State, and such other fireworks as may be determined to be dangerous by the State Fire Marshal.

"Eligible organization" means any local "not for profit" charitable, religious, civic, service or patriotic group or organization which has been in existence within the city and has held regularly constituted meetings within the city throughout one full year preceding an application for the permit required by this chapter.

"Rotating permit list" means all eligible organizations on the waiting list referenced in subsection G of Section 8.08.040 of this chapter as of five o'clock p.m. on September 28, 2001. These organizations shall be placed on the rotating list in the same order to receive any available fireworks stand permit(s) on this list. The remainder of the rotating list eligibility order shall be determined among all other eligible organizations desiring to sell safe and sane fireworks in the city which filed at City Hall between eight o'clock a.m. October 1, 2001 and five o'clock p.m. March 1, 2002 a completed "interest application" provided by the city clerk's office, based on the sequence resulting from a public drawing among those organizations to be conducted by the city clerk at City Hall at five o'clock p.m. on March 7, 2002. The number of available rotating permits shall be the balance of the total number of permits authorized by the fireworks ordinance after deducting those to be issued to the continuous permit list. The maximum term for rotating permits shall be three successive calendar years for any one organization.

"Safe and sane fireworks" means and includes any fireworks not designated as "dangerous fireworks," except that, in any case, only end fuses may be used.

"Stand" means any building, counter, or other structure of a temporary nature used in the sale or offering for sale of fireworks pursuant to a permit duly issued.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement)

A. Except as otherwise authorized herein, it shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale any fireworks of any kind in the city. With a permit issued pursuant to these provisions, persons are authorized to sell or offer for sale only safe and sane fireworks in the city in compliance with and subject to the provisions hereof. Except for safe and sane fireworks, it shall be unlawful to use or display any other fireworks in the city unless a special permit for such express purpose has been issued pursuant to Section 8.08.120.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement)

Permits to sell safe and sane fireworks shall be issued by the city clerk's office upon application therefore, only to eligible organizations and only after such organizations have met all the applicable requirements set forth in this section.

A. Any eligible organization desiring to sell safe and sane fireworks in the city shall make an application therefore on or after January 1 each year at the city fire department.

B. Such application shall be signed by a bona fide officer of the eligible organization, wherein the officer, as authorized agent on behalf of the organization and its officers, agents and/or employees, shall agree to abide by state laws and administrative regulations and all the stipulations of this code and the permit if permission to operate a fireworks stand shall be granted to the organization.

C. Completed applications shall be returned to the fire department no later than five o'clock p.m. on the first regular business day in May of each year. Any eligible organization making an application for such permit to sell safe and sane fireworks which fails to return the completed application prior to five o'clock p.m. on the first regular business day in May shall not be issued a permit to sell safe and sane fireworks.

D. All eligible organizations shall obtain and submit to the fire department as part of the completed application the following completed forms supplied by the fire department:

1. The property owner's release form signed by the property owner authorizing permission to erect a fireworks stand on his/her property;

2. The fireworks storage form indicating where the fireworks will be stored when not in the approved stand;

3. The State Fire Marshal's license to sell safe and sane fireworks;

4. A copy of the temporary seller's permit issued by the State Board of Equalization; and

5. The certificate of insurance required by Section 8.08.070.

E. When all the application requirements have been completed, and the fireworks stand location has been approved, the fire department shall authorize the erection of a fireworks stand and shall notify the city clerk's office to issue a permit to the qualified organization. Each qualified organization shall pay to the city the sum prescribed by appropriate city resolution or ordinance. Each permit shall be for only one stand per eligible organization and shall be forwarded to the fire department for delivery as set forth in subsection F of this section.

F. Permits will be effective only when delivered by the fire department after the final inspection of the stand shows compliance with all requirements of this chapter.

G. If any organization which, in the previous year, obtained and held a fireworks permit shall fail to successfully complete the application process by five o'clock p.m. on the first regular business day in May, or if additional permits are authorized pursuant to Section 8.08.090, the next existing eligible organization at the top of the waiting list kept by the fire department shall be notified and shall have thirty (30) days to meet all of the requirements set forth in this section.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement)

Fireworks stands will be allowed only on property in the city which is not currently zoned for any residential use. An exception may be allowed where the property is currently zoned for residential use but is designated on an adopted general or specific plan for a future nonresidential use. Public safety, ingress, egress and adequate parking will be additional factors considered by the fire department before approving any site for fireworks sales.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement)

It shall be unlawful for any eligible organization to which a permit has been issued:

A. To sell or offer for sale any fireworks within a distance of one hundred (100) feet of any pump or dispensing device for gasoline or other flammable liquids, or within thirty (30) feet of any building, or less than ten (10) feet from any public roadway or back of curb;

B. To employ in the sale of fireworks any person under the age of eighteen (18) years;

C. To fail to clear all flammable or burnable materials within thirty (30) feet from any fireworks stand and to maintain such condition during the period prescribed for the sale of fireworks;

D. To allow smoking within twenty-five (25) feet of any stand or to fail to post "No Smoking" signs with such wording in red letters not less than two inches in height on a white background on all sides of any such stand;

E. To fail to have immediately available within the stand a certified fire extinguisher or other fire extinguishing device of a type approved by the fire department;

F. To sell fireworks earlier than twelve o'clock (12:00) p.m. on June 28 or later than twelve o'clock (12:00) p.m. on July 6 of any year;

G. To fail to dismantle and completely remove any stand where fireworks are sold or offered for sale promptly after the close of sales but in no event later than five o'clock p.m. on July 6 of any year; and

H. To obtain or use more than one permit for one stand per year.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement)

Prior to the issuance of a permit, the eligible organization shall procure a certificate of insurance acceptable to the city. The certificate shall name the city, and its officers, agents, and employees, as additional insureds in the amount of no less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) combined bodily injury and property damage for each occurrence. The certificate shall specify the time, location, and dates to be covered by the policy. The certificate shall be provided to the fire department no later than five o'clock p.m. on the first regular business day in May of the subject year or at such other time as the fire chief may allow.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement)

There shall be allowed eight fireworks stand permits in the city, plus one additional permit when the city population reaches thirteen thousand (13,000), plus one additional permit thereafter for every three thousand (3,000) of additional population in the city. The city population shall be determined based on annual population figures provided to the city by the state as of January 1 of each year.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement; Ord. 2002-01 § 1, 2002)

Notwithstanding anything in the fireworks ordinance or the ordinance codified in this section to the contrary, the method of issuance of fireworks stand permits to eligible organizations beginning calendar year 2003 shall be as follows:

A. For each fireworks stand permit sought, whether continuous or rotating, the interested eligible organization must file a separate "interest" application with the city clerk in January of the calendar year in which the permit is to be issued. A separate "permit to sell" application, together with an approved fireworks stand permit issued for that calendar year, must be obtained in accordance with the fireworks ordinance application process as amended by the ordinance codified in this section.

B. Only one fireworks stand permit may be issued to any eligible organization in any calendar year except as expressly authorized by subsection C of this section.

C. On or before February 10 of the calendar year in which permits are to be issued, those organizations filing an "interest application" as described in subsection A of this section shall be placed upon one of two permit lists as follows:

1. Continuous Permit List. All eligible organizations which successfully obtained and operated fireworks stands with continuous permits for same in the prior calendar year shall be placed on this list. Each such organization shall have priority in issuance for the same number of continuous permits that organization obtained in that prior year. In no event shall the total of such continuous permits exceed the number of those permits successfully obtained and operated in the prior year. Any continuous permit which is expressly waived, not applied for, not obtained or revoked, shall reduce the number of annually available continuous permits accordingly with a corresponding increase of the number of annually available rotating permits.

2. Rotating Permit List. All eligible organizations which successfully obtained and operated fireworks stands with rotating permits for same in the prior calendar year shall be placed in priority order on this list for not to exceed three successive years per organization. Any remaining available rotating permits shall be issued to the other remaining eligible organizations which filed timely "interest" applications based on the sequence resulting from a public drawing to be conducted at City Hall by the city clerk on or before February 10 of that calendar year. The number of available rotating permits shall be the balance of the permits authorized by the fireworks ordinance after issuance of the permits to the continuous permit list.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement; Ord. 2002-01 § 3, 2002)

A. Suspension. Violation of Section 8.08.060(G) will result in a suspension of equal number of days the following year or next issuance of a permit to sale or offer for sale fireworks within the city and at a minimum of one day suspension. Violation of all other portions of Section 8.08.060, except as listed under "Revocation" below, will result in a suspension of operation until the violation has been corrected and approved by the fire department. Any suspensions lasting more than one day will require the fireworks booth to be emptied of product and the product stored in an approved storage facility. During suspensions lasting less than one day, the fireworks booth will be closed but monitored by a responsible party continuously.

B. Revocation. Any violation of this chapter or other city laws, or the terms and conditions of the permit, or state laws or administrative rules or regulations, or safety rules of the fire department shall be grounds for the immediate revocation of the permit. All officers, agents and employees of the eligible organization shall be responsible for compliance with all the provisions of this chapter. Any eligible organizations issued a permit which is subsequently revoked in the calendar year issued shall be ineligible for a fireworks stand permit in the next following calendar year. Violation of Section 8.08.060(B) and (D) will result in immediate revocation of an organizations permit. Disregard for the conditions of "Suspension" will result in revocation of an organizations permit.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement)

Notwithstanding anything in the fireworks ordinance or this chapter to the contrary, starting in calendar year 2002 and continuing thereafter, no fireworks stand permit shall be issued to any eligible organization unless at least one of the organization's designated responsible adults has certified he/she attended a "fireworks stand operator seminar" conducted after January 1 of that calendar year by a responsible member of the fireworks industry approved by the city fire chief.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement; Ord. 2002-01 § 4, 2002)

Subsection G of Section 8.08.040 of this chapter is hereby repealed; and any permit not successfully applied for in any calendar year shall not be available for issuance again until the following calendar year.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement; Ord. 2002-01 § 6, 2002)

The city manager and fire chief may/shall promulgate and enforce additional rules, regulations and forms consistent with the purposes of these sections. The city manager, fire chief, police chief, and/or building official and/or their authorized deputies or designees may/shall enforce the provisions hereof consistent with law.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement; Ord. 2002-01 § 5, 2002)

Except as expressly or impliedly modified, superseded or deleted by the foregoing provisions of the ordinance codified in this section, all other provisions, terms and conditions of the fireworks ordinance shall continue and remain in full force and effect.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement; Ord. 2002-01 § 9, 2002)

The provisions of this chapter shall be construed consistent with (and so as not to conflict with) the State Fireworks Law and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(Amended during 5-08 supplement)