Union City Council Votes To Increase Fireworks Fines

UNION CITY, CA -- The Union City Council has approved making violations of the city’s fireworks rules misdemeanors and increasing fines of up to $1,000 per violation, which is 10 times more than the current $100.

According to a report in the Mercury-News, the ordinance -- which was unanimously supported by the City Council on Tuesday -- also puts in place new liability for property owners, who could be fined up to $1,000 for letting illegal fireworks be set off on their property.

The city also plans to cut back the time that legal “safe and sane” fireworks are allowed to be used by one hour on the Fourth of July, cutting back the curfew from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Under previous rules, fireworks were allowed to be set off until 10 p.m. on most days they could be sold, and up to 11 p.m. on July 4. In the past, people setting off illegal fireworks or violating the city’s rules for safe and sane firework use in the past were issued fines of $100 on the first offense, $200 for a second offense within a year, and $500 for the third offense within a year.

In 2021, the city issued 29 citations for fireworks from June 28 through July 4, nine of which were for safe and sane violations, municipal data show. In prior years, the total number of citations for fireworks violations has varied widely, with 11 in 2020, zero in 2019, 16 in 2018, five in 2017 and four in 2016, according to city records.

Under the new rules, the police department, as well as city code enforcement officers or building officials, could issue up to $1,000 citations for a first offense, though officials emphasized that the decision whether to issue a citation would be at the discretion of the person issuing the ticket.