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Bluff council delays local fire-restrictions ordinance over fireworks and penalty concerns
Summary
The Bluff Town Council on May 19 agreed to research state preemption and penalty language and to table a proposed local fire-restrictions ordinance after members raised concerns about including fireworks prohibitions and stiff criminal penalties in the draft.
The Bluff Town Council on May 19 agreed to delay action on a proposed local fire-restrictions ordinance after members raised legal and enforcement concerns about language in the draft that would regulate fireworks and carry criminal penalties.
Council members pressed staff on whether municipalities can enact broader fireworks restrictions than state law allows and questioned draft penalties that in places appeared to include misdemeanor fines and jail time. “I think it’s pretty stiff for violating this,” a committee member said of the draft sanctions, noting the highest penalty they found in state law was typically a lesser infraction rather than a class B misdemeanor.
Town Manager Aaron Nelson told the council the ordinance includes a severability clause so that, if a court or the state law preempts a particular section (for example the fireworks language), the rest of the ordinance would remain in force. “That’s why that severability clause is included,” he said, adding it preserves enforceable provisions even if one part is later found invalid.
After discussion the chair proposed two options: remove the fireworks section now and adopt the rest of the ordinance, or postpone adoption to allow staff and council members to research state statute, local precedent and comparative penalty levels. The council agreed to table the ordinance and directed staff to examine how other municipalities handle fireworks timing and enforcement and to check whether the draft fines align with neighboring towns’ ordinances.
Council members emphasized the public-safety rationale for local restrictions tied to the closed fire season (the draft ties local rules to the state’s June 1–Oct. 31 closed season) while noting the need to avoid conflict with state preemption. Staff said they would return with legal findings and suggested penalty alternatives and that Gary (a resident who spoke earlier) and others could help locate examples from other towns.
The council did not vote on the ordinance on May 19 and set research and revision as the next step before any formal adoption.
