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Council approves three of four fireworks‑stand permits, conditions one application
Summary
After debate about public safety, pet/veteran impacts and nonprofit benefit, Huntington Park council approved permits for three nonprofit fireworks booths and placed a clerical/ownership condition on a fourth. The Huntington Park Police Officers Association reported roughly $40,000 in gross sales and about $12,000 net profit for its explorer program last year.
The Huntington Park City Council voted to approve three of four nonprofit fireworks‑stand permit applications for July, approving two local organizations and the Huntington Park Police Officers Association while placing a condition on another applicant to correct property‑permission paperwork before a permit would be finalized.
Staff presented four applications and recommended permits under the city’s franchise process. Council members debated whether organizations from outside the city should be allowed to fundraise here, whether the public health and quality‑of‑life costs (noise, air quality, impacts on pets and veterans) outweigh benefits, and what the actual fundraising returns are for nonprofits that run stands.
During the discussion a representative associated with the Huntington Park Police Officers Association said their booth posted gross sales of about $40,000 last year and “our profit came out to about $12,000,” money they said goes to the police explorers program for trips and competitions.
Council members also questioned the accuracy of application materials for one organization (Southeast Church Services) and cited a property‑permission form that appeared to be for another entity; staff and council made passage contingent on corrected paperwork. The council directed staff to collect nonprofit sales reports (franchise tax board filings) after the events to document actual fundraising.
The council’s roll call recorded votes as follows: Council member Martis — yes; Council member Macias — yes; Council member Flores — no; Vice Mayor Sanabria — yes; Mayor Martinez — yes. The motion with the conditional paperwork requirement carried 4–1.
Why it matters: supporters argued these booths provide tangible funds for local groups, including the police explorers program; critics said the broader community cost (noise, animal stress, veteran PTSD and air quality) and the potential for outside groups to profit in the city require stricter vetting or alternative fundraising approaches.
What comes next: staff will require the corrected application materials for the conditional permit and will follow up on franchise tax board sales reports from the nonprofits after the holiday period as part of the permit compliance process.
