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Council advances first reading of proposed fireworks rules including age and extinguishing requirements
Summary
Councilman Robert Cohen presented a proposed ordinance (bill 25-053) to revise fireworks rules in the city, including requirements that an adult be present and that a source to extinguish fires be on hand; the proposal was put on for first reading.
Councilman Robert Cohen on June 17 brought forward a proposed ordinance to revise the city's fireworks rules, and the council approved a first reading of the measure.
Cohen said the topic had been discussed twice by successive councils and he wanted a definitive up-or-down vote rather than repeated postponement. He proposed adding two specific requirements to existing fireworks rules: that a person lighting fireworks be an adult “18 or over,” and that they keep “a source of extinguishing any fires caused by the lighting ... within 10 feet” of the ignition area. Cohen described those items as “in line with the current ... open burning policy the fire department has.”
City staff read the ordinance title aloud as bill 25‑053 and the clerk recorded a first reading; no final vote was taken. Council and staff noted the proposal will come back for a second reading and final adoption in a future meeting if the council chooses to advance it.
There was no public testimony recorded on the ordinance in the meeting minutes or transcript. Council members were told the proposed changes are consistent with existing fire department practices but that the bill represents a local ordinance change that will be subject to a future vote.
Because the measure received a first reading, it will return to the council for the required second and final reading before adoption.
