County council considers repealing fireworks restrictions

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The Clark County Council is considering the repeal of a December ordinance that put restrictions on the types of fireworks legal for use in the county, in a move made possible with a new member of council voting differently than her predecessor.

On Feb. 2, the council will host a virtual public hearing on a potential repeal of the ordinance, voted in 3-2 by council on Dec. 1. The ordinance restricts approved fireworks usable in the county to those following a “safe and sane” designation, which a release for the hearing states are ones that fly, explode or travel no more than 1 foot into the air or no more than 6 feet on the ground.

The restrictions apply to unincorporated parts of Clark County, as municipalities across the county have their own fireworks code.

That ordinance has yet to take effect, as it would be a year from the approval date before the changes would be on the book. The county received hundreds of public comments ahead of the December vote, with a majority opposing the restrictions.

During a Jan. 6 “council time” meeting council approved putting a potential repeal to a public hearing. The motion passed 3-2, with newly-elected councilor Karen Bowerman being among the “yes” votes. Bowerman has taken the seat left by former councilor John Blom, who lost in the 2020 August primary election and who had voted to approve the ordinance under the repeal consideration.

During council time, those in opposition of bringing the repeal to a public hearing stated their case, which largely focused on the potential for any action coming up to a vote of the people rather than council action. Councilor Julie Olson said a petition for a referendum on the ordinance had been circulating, which upon gaining enough signatures would put the repeal of the ordinance on the ballot.

“I think if the ordinance is so bad, and there’s so much support to overturn it, that gathering those signatures would be reasonable, and having it on the ballot would be reasonable,” Olson said. 



Councilor Temple Lentz said that last year when council was considering changes to the county’s fireworks laws, a majority was in favor of putting those changes to a citizens’ vote, though it was discovered council itself could not take the action to put it on the ballot. 

Though Councilor Gary Medvigy said he agreed with Olson’s statements on letting the public make the decision on a repeal of the ordinance, he ultimately was in favor of council action to “get back to the status quo” of before the December ordinance was approved. He said that delaying action on a potential repeal would lead to those in favor of the ordinance “essentially no time” for their own referendum against the repeal.

Medvigy noted his initial reluctance to move forward with December’s ordinance was in part due to restrictions in place due to COVID-19, which he said stifled public participation in making policy.

Clark County Council Chair Eileen Quiring O’Brien noted the shift in council consensus following Bowerman’s election.

“If the public is so inclined that they want to place more restrictions on fireworks, it would perhaps be incumbent on them to bring forward a referendum, gather the signatures, pay for the campaign and make it known in the community,” Clark County Council Chair Eileen Quiring O’Brien said, “but with the majority of the council not wanting to not actually wanting to make this more restrictive, I think it’s incumbent upon us to undo what was done in December.”