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Crescent City council introduces fireworks ordinance to align local code with state law; 65% of fines remitted to state fire marshal
Summary
Council introduced Ordinance 852 to update Chapter 8.22 (fireworks) to clarify citations, cost-sharing and cleanup language; the ordinance does not change the definition of illegal fireworks but specifies that 65% of administrative fines collected will be remitted to the state fire marshal to cover disposal costs.
The Crescent City Council voted to waive full reading and introduce Ordinance 852, an update to Chapter 8.22 of the Crescent City Municipal Code that aligns local fireworks enforcement with state law and clarifies administrative fines and cost-sharing.
City Attorney Rice presented the amendments as largely technical cleanup and one required update: state law now requires that 65% of administrative fines collected for illegal fireworks be remitted to the state fire marshal to cover disposal costs. "Our ordinance essentially follows the state fire marshal's model ordinance," Rice said, and staff recommended several wording cleanups to reconcile references and cost-share language.
Rice and staff emphasized the change is not intended to create stricter prohibitions on types of fireworks; the ordinance retains the existing definition of illegal fireworks but provides the administrative mechanism for fines of $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000 for possession, use or sale of illegal items and clarifies remittance of 65% of those fines. Rice said the update is part of a multiagency effort with Del Norte County and the harbor district to reduce injuries and dangerous fireworks activity following a serious incident last year.
Police leadership briefed the council on enforcement realities: administrative fines are a tool that can reduce burden on the criminal justice system and allow on-the-spot enforcement, but staffing and evidence challenges on high-call nights remain. The council discussed outreach and joint enforcement planning; staff said a fuller report on joint city/county/harbor strategies and public-information plans will likely come back in early April.
Councilmember motioned to waive the full reading and introduce Ordinance 852; the motion passed on a unanimous roll-call (Dooley: yes; Greenough: yes; Tinkler: yes; Wright: yes; Altman: yes). Staff said the county and harbor have taken similar steps and that the ordinance will provide an administrative enforcement option in addition to criminal citations where applicable.
