University Heights council sends fireworks ordinance back to safety committee after heated debate

A University Heights City Council proposal to amend the city fire code to permit short, professional fireworks displays was sent back to the safety committee Tuesday after council members and residents raised concerns about notification, limits and impacts on vulnerable neighbors.

The measure, ordinance 2025-06, would amend Chapter 1615 of the city fire code to create a permitting pathway for professional fireworks displays. At a public-safety hearing and again at Tuesday’s council meeting, supporters from John Carroll University said they want to run a brief, professionally handled show and to improve communications with nearby residents.

Rory O'Neil, alumni director at John Carroll University, apologized for last year’s communication failures and said the university supports “short controlled displays that have ample warning, that have a strict yet fair permitting process.” O'Neil told council the university is proposing a seven‑minute professional show and named Pirate Technical as the company it intends to hire.

Why it matters: council members said the city must balance the university’s interest in continuing a long‑standing display with concerns raised by residents — including veterans with PTSD, pet owners and people who said they were startled by last year’s show — and with the need for clear notification and staff review.

Council debate focused on three recurring themes: (1) notification and outreach standards; (2) whether to limit the number, length or timing of permitted displays; and (3) whether the ordinance, as drafted, effectively singles out the university as the only place where permitted displays could occur.

Mayor Michael Brennan said the aim of recent state law changes had been to let municipalities restore “the prior status quo,” and urged council to finalize a code that matches that intent. Several council members said the ordinance before them lacked required limits and notification language. "If the council had done its job and had reinstated the fireworks ordinance to the pre state interference status quo, there would have been no controversy," Brennan said during debate.

Councilman King and others pressed for specific notification rules — minimum days’ notice, postcard or direct-mail requirements, and use of city email lists and social channels. Councilwoman Weiser said she would not support the ordinance in its current form and moved to send it back to the safety committee with instructions to draft additional restrictions; Mayor Brennan seconded that motion. The referral passed on a recorded roll call (tally: five in favor, one opposed). The council did not take a final vote on the ordinance because a separate motion to approve it lacked a second.

What happens next: the ordinance will return to the safety committee for reworking; city staff said John Carroll would be notified so university representatives can attend further committee discussion.

Public comment: testimony at the meeting and at the prior safety committee meeting included strong views on both sides. O'Neil said the university will “work with the city council here for a list of houses and properties around John Carroll that would be reasonable to … communicate [to] via postcard,” and that the university will use city assets such as email lists, Facebook groups and the mayor’s newsletter. Residents who spoke at the public meeting cited anxiety and health impacts tied to loud displays; several asked for strict limits or for a ban.

Council members and staff also discussed enforcement and permitting mechanics, but no new permit form or timeline was adopted at the meeting.