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Burton vendor asks Harvey County for conditional-use permit to operate fireworks stand
Summary
Residents asked the board to allow a fireworks stand on county land near Burton and urged a conditional-use process; county planning staff said applicants must apply by April 4 to meet the May 6 hearing and that existing county resolution (Feb. 2015) currently prohibits fireworks stands unless changed.
Michelle Green, a Hutchinson resident speaking on behalf of a Burton property owner, asked the Harvey County Board of Commissioners on April 1 to allow a temporary fireworks stand on county-zoned property just outside Burton.
Green said the business would use a locked shipping-container unit on a gravel lot at Arrow H Welding and that the seller has run retail fireworks for 27 years. “We make sure everything's perfect before we do it. We've never, knock on wood, had any issues or incidents,” Green said. She asked for a permit window from June 29 through July 5 so the stand could conduct an after-sale and reduce unsold inventory.
The request matters because county resolutions and zoning rules currently prohibit fireworks stands. Planning staff member Karen told the commissioners the existing ban was established by a resolution passed in February 2015 and noted that the county’s regulations had not been updated to match that resolution. Karen said fireworks stands in the county would require approval through a conditional-use process and added that “if they got the application in by April 4, which is this Friday at 5PM, they could still make the May 6 meeting.”
Commissioners and staff also discussed safety and logistics mentioned by Green: the proposed site is a metal building with a large gravel lot; the container would be locked and monitored by cameras, and excess inventory would be stored in a secured, anchored trailer. Green said the vendor needs to place an order for fireworks before the end of the month to receive product by May and requested permission to place the container before May 1 to allow anchoring and electrical hookup.
No formal action was taken at the April 1 meeting. Commissioners said they would review the resolution and regulatory language and consult with planning and the county attorney. One commissioner suggested the matter be placed on an agenda for further discussion; staff said additional input would be sought from emergency management, the fire marshal, and law enforcement as part of the conditional-use review.
If the applicant files a conditional-use application by April 4, planning staff indicated the earliest practical hearing would be the planning commission meeting on May 6. The county did not set a fee at the public meeting; Green said she hoped for a permit fee “not too expensive.”
The board closed public comment and directed staff to coordinate next steps with the applicant and affected county offices. No vote, permit, or amendment to the county resolution was made at the April 1 meeting.
