Seaside City Council postpones vote on fireworks ban.

For more than 40 years, Seaside summers have meant roadside stands peddling snakes, spinners and snappers—thanks to city laws allowing the sale and use of legal fireworks.

On March 5, the Seaside City Council considered ending that tradition. But after a lengthy period of public comment both for and against a fireworks ban, the council made no decision, and Mayor Ralph Rubio suggested convening a task force to discuss the perennial issue.

“It’s been on the agenda three to four times over the past few years, and there’s been no resolution,” Rubio says. “There needs to be a better understanding of what the goals are: Do we want an outright ban, or are there interim solutions?”

Seaside Fire Chief Jerry Wombacher, who wrote the report recommending a ban, states the city receives “numerous complaints” about fireworks. Police and fire officers in a special fireworks enforcement unit—which costs the cash-strapped city about $2,500 per year—confiscated hundreds of pounds of illegal pyrotechnics and made several arrests last summer, according to the report.

Even legal fireworks can pose public safety risks, especially during peak fire season. Last summer, as Big Sur burned, Seaside residents popped off sparklers despite urgings from the governor, the local air district and county officials to hold off.

In mid-February, Monterey scrapped this year’s July 4 fireworks display due to budget constraints and safety concerns. While Monterey has historically hosted the big boom show, Seaside is currently one of only five cities in the county allowing the sale of legal fireworks to the general public. The others are Marina, Soledad, Gonzales and Greenfield.

Under Seaside’s current law, up to 13 nonprofit groups are permitted to sell so-called “safe and sane” fireworks at free-standing booths. The eight groups grandfathered in for 2009 include four churches, the Kiwanis Club, the Aquatics Club, the Parade of Champions and Raiders Youth Football.

The city is unlikely to implement a ban this summer because of the hardship it would put on nonprofits, Rubio says: “For many of them, it’s their major fundraiser for the year.”