Kent City Council delays fireworks ban vote for more discussion

The Kent City Council’s vote on a potential fireworks ban turned out to be a dud.

The council voted 6-0 on Tuesday night to delay a scheduled vote on a fireworks ban. Instead, the council will further discuss the proposed ordinance at a Jan. 19 council workshop.

Kent voters approved a ban in an advisory vote to the council on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. A total of 10,430 (62.59 percent) favored a ban while 6,233 (37.41 percent) opposed it. The ban would prohibit the sale, possession and discharge of consumer fireworks.

“I made this motion so that the entire council can have an opportunity to discuss the actual ordinance before us,” Council President Dana Ralph said about removing the action item from the agenda to postpone a vote. “We did put an advisory vote on the ballot and that vote strongly favored a ban. I am not trying to disregard that vote, I would just like the entire council to have the opportunity to talk about the details before going forward. …We need to do this right and make an ordinance that best fits the city.”

The council’s Public Safety Committee voted 2-1 last week to recommend the full seven-member council approve the ordinance to ban fireworks, except for permitted public displays such as at Lake Meridian Park. Kent’s current city code allows people to purchase and possess legal fireworks from June 28 to July 4, but fireworks can only be discharged from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on July 4. Violators of the code must pay a $250 fine.

Numerous complaints from residents to the council over the last few years about fireworks going off in their neighborhoods before, during and after the Fourth of July caused the council to consider a ban and ask for the advisory vote.

“Regardless of whether we vote on this tonight (Tuesday), the first meeting in January or a meeting in June, the ordinance would not go into effect until 2017,” Ralph said. “We do have a significant amount of time to pass the ordinance.”

State law allows fireworks sales and use on certain hours between June 28 and July 5. According to state law, any ordinance a city adopts that is more restrictive than the state shall have an effective date no sooner than one year after its adoption. So any ban passed in the next seven months in Kent won’t take effect until 2017.

Councilman Jim Berrios initially had issues with delaying the vote. He said the council’s been looking at what to do about fireworks since several people approached the council in July 2014 about their concerns that fireworks end up on their roofs or in their yards. He chairs the Public Safety Committee that has thoroughly looked into the issue and approved a fireworks ban ordinance last week.

“Given the fact that we are missing one of our council members – Dennis Higgins had serious roof leaks tonight so he’s not here – I will yield to that point to hold discussion on the ordinance (until January),” Berrios said. “The only reason I am yielding is if I push for this ordinance tonight, I don’t think we will have enough votes given the challenges that we have with the number of folks that are up here.”

Councilman Les Thomas voted against the ban at the committee meeting. Bill Boyce and Ralph want further discussion before a vote. Brenda Fincher has said she favors a ban, as does Debora Ranniger. Tina Budell, who replaces Ranniger in January, also has said she favors a ban.

Three residents, including Budell, spoke in support of a ban during the public comment section of the council meeting. One resident spoke against it.