EDITOR’S NOTE — This has been corrected to read that the ban, as envisioned now, would prohibit discharge of all consumer fireworks including sparklers and “non-explosive” novelty devices such as pop-its.
SEQUIM — Voters in the city of Sequim will tell the City Council whether they want to ban consumer fireworks in an advisory vote in November.
The Sequim City Council on Monday unanimously approved putting an advisory vote before registered voters within the Sequim city limits on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
The vote will ask residents whether to ban discharging fireworks year-round. If voters approve a ban, the council tentatively would act to ban all fireworks by July 4, 2018.
However, the proposal would not include prohibiting sales. Four groups, usually local churches/service groups, sell fireworks in tents in an allotted time from June 28 through July 5.
Sequim city staff recommended a full ban of fireworks, including sales and discharging them, following other jurisdictions such as the city of Kirkland.
City Attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross said that from other jurisdictions’ perspective, banning sales was key in an effective ban.
“[They say] you are essentially setting people up for failure and there are a certain amount of challenges you’ll face already because of the number of isolated county jurisdictions between peninsulas within city limits,” she said.
City Councilman Ted Miller, who has urged banning the discharge of fireworks in city limits before, disagreed with Nelson-Gross, saying the City Council has the right to ban discharging, selling and/or any combination of those.
“I do not believe fireworks are dangerous per se,” Miller said. “They are dangerous in a highly dense population like Sequim. I don’t believe they should be banned in rural areas.”
He added that the city shouldn’t restrict sales tax revenue either.
“It’s perfectly legal to own and buy firearms in city limits but walk by the high school and shoot one and see what happens. It’s the same way with fireworks.
“If you ban fireworks, the fact that you’re buying here doesn’t mean you can shoot them off here. You have to go outside city limits.”
City Councilwoman Pamela Leonard-Ray said she favored sending the vote to the public because most people who purchase items in Sequim live outside of city limits and “I don’t like taking away the opportunity for people who live outside of the city to purchase safe fireworks.”
“I appreciate that we are letting residents of the city decide on this,” she said.
City Councilwoman Candace Pratt questioned fellow council members’ recommendation, saying, “It seems dysfunctional to allow sales of fireworks.
“It’s a grand assumption that everyone who is buying fireworks lives outside of town,” she said.
City council members discussed the topic in June but couldn’t come to a consensus. They directed city staff July 11 to write up a proposal for the ballot for the council to consider.
Pastor Dave Westman was one of the local fireworks retailers on hand for the meeting. His church, Sequim Worship Center, has sold fireworks as a fundraiser for the Royal Rangers for more than 40 years.
Westman said he understands city council members’ concerns and that “they are just trying to put to bed what’s been talked about for all these years.”
Westman said he wouldn’t personally vote for it, saying fireworks aren’t a right but a freedom.
“It’s not something that warrants putting a limit on,” he said.
Nelson-Gross said the ban, as envisioned now, would prohibit discharge of all consumer fireworks including sparklers and “non-explosive” novelty devices such as pop-its.
The Port Angeles City Council voted in March 2015 to ban the use of personal fireworks year-round. The ban went into effect this summer.
Port Townsend banned consumer fireworks in 2003. Consumer fireworks are allowed for the Fourth of July in Clallam County from June 29 through July 5.
Nelson-Gross said the city of Port Angeles received 36 complaints about illegal fireworks this year while Sequim received eight calls.
“When a ban is in place, residents are more likely to complain,” City Manager Charlie Bush said.
The council had asked for a cost estimate for a public fireworks display if residents choose to ban the discharge of consumer fireworks.
Nelson-Gross said it would cost between $11,000 and $30,000 for a public fireworks display depending on the size of the mortars, length of the display and if the fireworks are discharged from a barge.
Nelson-Gross said if the city did host a public fireworks show, it would likely be on land at a park.
She said for security, signage and other costs, the city would need to budget about $25,000 for a 20-minute show.
No decision was made on a public display.
The Sequim Irrigation Festival’s logging show in May hosts the Sequim-Dungeness area’s only public fireworks display annually.
Nelson-Gross said because of the high number of issues being put on the November ballot, placing the fireworks ban question on the ballot would cost about $1,600. An additional $2,100 would pay for inclusion in a general election voters guide coordinated by the Clallam County Auditor.
City council members appointed a sub-committee of Ted Miller, John Miller and Bob Lake to meet today to determine if the city would want the issue in the voters guide.
If so, they would need to seek locals to form pro and con committees and write their argument for or against by Aug. 16. A rebuttal from both sides would be due by Aug. 19.
For more information on the vote, contact the city of Sequim at 360-683-4139 or visit www.sequimwa.gov.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
