There will be no additional “safe and sane” fireworks booths in Hollister for at least the next few summers as the city council on Tuesday amended an ordinance to raise the population threshold at which more stands would be permitted.
City Clerk Geri Johnson, who presented a report to the council, said the fire department and fireworks companies “have determined that there’s really no other space within the city to put another fireworks stand” based on the current popluation numbers. She said adding more fireworks stands would dilute the profits of the 12 nonprofits that count on fireworks sales revenue each year. “This is mostly to make sure we don’t have to add another fireworks stand for the next couple of years,” she said.
The last time a new booth was approved locally was in 2002. “Additional booths,” Johnson said in a written report, “would cut into the current, already low, profit margin of these existing booths.”
The ordinance revision limits the number of local fireworks booths to 12 until or unless the city’s population exceeds 50,000, at which time one additional permit can be issued for each additional 7,500 residents in Hollister.
The following nonprofits had fireworks booths in Hollister in 2014:
- Abundant Life Foursquare Church
- Apostolic Faith Church
- Baler Band Boosters
- Baler Football Boosters
- New Life Fellowship
- Community Food Bank
- Hollister Downtown Association
- Hollister Elks Lodge #1436
- Hollister Exchange Club
- Hollister Little League
- Hollister Youth Football & Cheer
- Nan Pipestem Wildlife Rehab Center