Before this week, no one had ever tried to sell the type of explosive, shooting fireworks prohibited by
When people apply for a permit to operate a fireworks tent, the city will issue a parking lot vendor permit, a tent permit and a business license, but the city doesn’t ask for specifics, Gisbert said.
“Typically, in the past, when they’ve said ‘fireworks’ they’ve been the type that the city considers legal,” Gisbert said.
There are two vendors operating several tents in
But on Monday, city officials learned of eight tents selling the prohibited fireworks. On Tuesday, they moved to stop those sales, but the operators pointed them to a loophole in the statute that allows for the sale and possession of such fireworks if they are to used for agriculture purposes such as scaring birds from crops.
Those tents are operated by Extreme Fireworks. Owner Greg Lord declined to comment for this report.
Customers have to sign a waiver stating they intend to use the fireworks for agricultural purposes, Gisbert said. That doesn’t mean that’s actually what they’re going to do.
“I don’t know if anyone who is visiting here who is trying to scare off birds or fish,” he said.
There’s no local ordinance specifically prohibiting such fireworks, and attorneys for the city and Extreme Fireworks have agreed to disagree on how the
The city warned those tent operators to stop selling the offending fireworks, but Gisbert isn’t certain whether he has legal authority to do any more than that.
Police resources are limited due the number of visitors during the holiday weekend, so the city isn’t going after the operators or the customers who buy them, Gisbert said.
“I don’t have the resources to shut them down,” Gisbert said.
It’s too late to resolve the issue before the holiday, but Gisbert said he plans to have it resolved before the next event.