Fireworks restrictions measure fails to get a vote in Merced City Council meeting
Fans of legal fireworks can breathe a sigh of relief after an initiative to limit “Safe and Sane” fireworks sales and discharge around the July 4 holiday failed to get a vote at Monday’s Merced City Council meeting.
The changes would have limited selling legal fireworks by 23 hours, according to staff reports.
Currently, hours of operation for 2020 fireworks stands are:
- June 28: noon to 10:30 p.m.
- June 29 through July 2: 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
- July 3 - 4: 6 a.m. to midnight
- July 5: 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
- July 6: 6 a.m. to noon
The fireworks ordinance would have limited legal fireworks stands’ hours of operation to
- June 28: noon to 10 p.m.
- June 29 - July 5: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- July 6: 8 a.m. to noon
The ordinance would also have limited the discharge of safe and sane fireworks to:
- June 28: noon to 10 p.m.
- June 29 - July 5: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- July 6: 8 a.m. to noon
In 2017, the City Council pushed for the creation of an illegal fireworks task force, Deputy Fire Chief Casey Wilson said.
A year later, the task force directed a “Celebrate Safe” campaign designed to reduce sales and discharge of illegal fireworks in favor of “Safe and Sane” fireworks that are sold in today’s non-profit fundraising fireworks booths.
The task force recommended the changes as another way of further spreading awareness of the dangers of fireworks and the effects they have on vulnerable people and pets — specifically noise issues.
The ordinance would have also aligned with Merced County and other jurisdictions’ rules regarding safe and sane fireworks, according to city staff.
But City Council members questioned how much the changes would actually help with the noise issues. “The past couple of years (it’s been) about illegal fireworks,” said Councilmember Anthony Martinez. “Now we’re going after safe and sane?”
Representatives of organizations that fundraise with the safe and sane fireworks sales, like Merced Marching 100, also pushed back on the changes, claiming it cuts into significant selling hours. The changes would have limited sales of fireworks that often aren’t deemed the noise problem, they said.
City, police and fire officials agreed at the meeting that the mortars and other large fireworks being bought illegally were the real problem, and that the sales and discharge restrictions may not address the noise concerns.
At the end of a public hearing on the matter, none of the council members motioned for a vote, killing the measure.
Eliminating train horns
The City Council also discussed a feasibility study looking into creating silent zones around the BNSF railroad tracks.
The study, a City Council initiative for several years, looked at ways to modify the crossings, and possibly eliminate a couple crossings, to prevent collisions and decrease noise pollution.
The quiet zones would eliminate requirements for trains to blow their horn when approaching and moving through the city. The proposal wouldn’t apply to the Amtrak, which would still blow its horn as it approaches and leaves the station.
The noise from BNSF trains ranges around 90 decibels, or just under a car horn 10 feet away. That’s in hearing loss range, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Setting up the quiet zones also means updating each crossing to include heavy signage, a raised median to avoid gate-crossers, and possibly a chain-link fence — an expensive add-on.
“It shouldn’t be controversial to add safety measures,” Mayor Mike Murphy said.
Several council members were in favor of the changes, but wanted more information, including statistics and plans to fund the safety measures, which could cost between $175,000 and $400,000 per crossing.
The City Council voted 6-1 in favor of bringing the issue back to the agenda at the second February meeting.
Councilmember Fernando Echevarria voted against the measure after claiming train horns increase safety by warning motorists, and that he wasn’t presented with enough information to support eliminating the nuisance.