With Fourth of July around the corner, San Juan Bautista City Council approved on June 29 the fines for illegal fireworks and to allow its private security provider to enforce its fireworks ordinance. The resolution was approved in a 4-0 vote with Councilwoman Mary Edge absent.
The fines are the same as those San Benito County Board of Supervisors recently approved for illegal fireworks—$1,000 for the first offense; $2,500 and $5,000 for repeat offenders.
According to the agenda packet, Level 1 Security will add three security officers on July 2-4 from 5 p.m. to midnight. The council approved a budget of $6,000 for the additional enforcement.
City Manager Don Reynolds said the city will also place four camera trailers strategically in the city to help with enforcing. The trailers cost about $2,800.
“[Fireworks] are such a great threat that the California League of Cities is sponsoring a special workshop for city managers to see how cities could best be ready to handle this situation,” Reynolds said. “Which includes regulating firework usage and ordinances, patrolling and issuing fines, disposing of fireworks and education.”
Reynolds said the city, unlike San Benito County and Hollister, has an ordinance that bans use of all fireworks.
City code 5-16-100 states, “It shall be unlawful for any person to ignite, fire off, cause to be exploded or explode any fire cracker, squib, bomb, rocket, Roman Candle, or other fireworks within the city, except at such times and places the City Council may by order designate and permit.”
Despite the code, the city said it would only issue citations for illegal fireworks and not safe and sane ones. Hollister Fire Department Battalion Chief Charlie Bedolla defined safe and sane fireworks as those which do not go airborne beyond 15 feet. He also said the fire department would not enforce the ban of safe and sane fireworks because he understands the city is okay with them.
The sale of safe and sane fireworks is legal. Reynolds said in past years, the City Council had passed ordinances allowing the use of safe and safe fireworks for Fourth of July.
Councilmembers Scott Freels and John Freeman said they were concerned that the city allows the sale of safe and sane fireworks but not using them.
“I don’t want to be in that position where we are going to tell people they can’t use legal fireworks,” Freels said.
Reynolds set himself a deadline of Dec. 31 to make any changes to the fireworks ordinance in order to be ready for 2022.
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