County updates fireworks sale policy to match new Kansas law, shortens application window and waives repeat public notices

McPherson County commissioners on April 21 updated the county fireworks sales policy to match changes enacted in Kansas Senate Bill 199 and to ease recurring operators’ public-notice requirements.

John Kinsing, planning, zoning and environment administrator, told the board the new state law extends the allowable seasonal sales window; the county policy now sets sales dates from June 20 through July 7. Kinsing also proposed moving the county application deadline from June 7 to May 29 to avoid conflicts with Memorial Day and to give staff time to process requests.

Kinsing described an additional local change: operators that have given the required public notice (a 1,000-foot notification) in a prior consecutive year can waive that public-notice step in subsequent consecutive years unless they change ownership or location. “All of the operators that I spoke with…were doing it. They were getting the responses back. Nobody got any responses back,” he said, summarizing operator feedback.

The board also noted that Senate Bill 199 allows permanent retail fireworks facilities, but Kinsing said any request for a permanent site would require Planning Board review to determine appropriate zoning; the county did not adopt permanent-stand provisions in this update.

Commissioners moved to adopt the updated policy, including the sale dates and the consecutive-year public-notice waiver; the motion passed by voice vote.

Why it matters: The changes align county rules with state statute and reduce paperwork for recurring vendors while preserving notice requirements in the event of ownership or location changes.

Ending: Kinsing said about 13 applicants operated outside city limits last year and that the county expects to proceed to phase-in changes and to route any permanent-stand proposals to the Planning Board for zoning review.