The Signal Hill City Council agreed to a resolution on Tuesday, March 22, imposing fines ranging from $1,000 to $80,000 for possessing, storing, selling, displaying or setting off fireworks in Signal Hill.
The council also agreed to amend the City’s ordinance on fireworks to implicate anyone who “hosts” a social gathering or other use of illegal fireworks on their property.
The City defines a “host” as a person in charge of a private property, including an owner, tenant, landlord or property manager who “supervises, officiates, conducts, controls or is otherwise in charge of the activity on the property.”
The property owner doesn’t have to be present during the use of illegal fireworks to be cited, City Manager Hannah Shin-Heydorn said. If they rented a home, and there was fireworks use, they would be “deemed responsible.”
“This would allow an enforcement officer to cite not only an individual observed discharging illegal fireworks, but also a person who hosts an activity or is a person in charge of private property,” Shin-Heydorn said.
Only one person would be fined—the individual in violation or the property owner. Violators would not be given a warning before being fined, Shin-Heydorn said.
However, she noted that if a host immediately calls the Signal Hill Police Department (SHPD) when they observe illegal fireworks use on their property, they would not be in violation of the code.
Individuals or hosts will be charged a fine of $1,000 for a first-time offense involving less than 100 pounds of fireworks, plus $250 for fireworks disposal, for a total of $1,250.
The fine and disposal amounts charged increase by the number of offenses per year and the weight of the fireworks involved.
“Depending on how many pounds of fireworks you’re caught with, the fine will change,” Shin-Heydorn said.
A third-time offense within a year for less than 100 pounds of fireworks will result in a $3,000 fine plus a $1,000 disposal fee.
The highest amount the City would charge is $30,000 for a third-time offense within a year for more than 5,000 pounds of fireworks, plus a $50,000 disposal charge, totaling $80,000.
Signal Hill based its fine and fee structure on a template by the State Fire Marshal, which regulates all fireworks use in California.
SHPD has received an increasing number of service calls related to fireworks over the past five years, particularly during the summer months, Shin-Heydorn said.
From less than 50 fireworks-related service calls per year between 2017 and 2019, SHPD received 167 such calls in 2020 and 93 in 2021.
“This is an undercount of the numbers that we actually receive,” Shin-Heydorn noted, adding that some service calls report gunshots that turn out to be pyrotechnics.
The consequences of these calls include lengthening 911 emergency response times, damaging neighboring property and increasing the chance of fire-related personal injury, she said.
SHPD Police Captain Richard Rocchi said all service calls don’t necessarily result in citations.
“It does become difficult by the time we get there,” Rocchi said. “But I know our officers were aggressively looking for violators over the last few years because we knew this was a major complaint.”
He added that SHPD has been able to track down violators later and confiscate “a lot” of illegal fireworks during traffic stops.
Vice Mayor Tina Hansen said fireworks don’t just go off on Independence Day but “day after day” leading up to the holiday and following it.
“It is a huge problem,” Hansen said. “If it was just the Fourth of July, maybe people could live with that.”
The council will consider the resolution again during its April 12 meeting before finalizing adoption. If adopted, the amended ordinance will go into effect May 13, in advance of the July 4 holiday.
The City would also launch a campaign on May 2 to educate residents on the policy changes, including its new steep financial penalties and how property owners can be implicated. The City would advertise through its social media, newsletter and an insert in water bills, Shin-Heydorn said.
“Please don’t utilize illegal fireworks in the City of Signal Hill,” she said.
