Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor Warren Slocum, District 4
Supervisor Don Horsley, District 3
Subject: Adoption of Ordinance Amending Chapter 5.28 of the Ordinance Code
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt an ordinance amending Chapter 5.28 of the County's Ordinance Code, known as the San Mateo County Fireworks Ordinance ("Fireworks Ordinance"), previously introduced on May 4, 2021, and waive the reading of the Ordinance in its entirety.
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BACKGROUND:
The Fireworks Ordinance bans the possession, storage, sale, use, and/or explosion of all fireworks in the unincorporated areas of the County, except where authorized by permit. The enforcement provisions, which have remained unchanged for the past 35 years, require an update in advance of the upcoming Fourth of July holiday.
A. Injuries and Property Damage
According to statistics published by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2019, the most recent year for which statistics are available, there were an estimated 10,000 injuries caused by fireworks throughout the United States, and 73% of those injuries occurred during the one-month period between June 21, 2019 and July 21, 2019. Children under the age of 15 accounted for 36% of all fireworks-related injuries, with children under the age of 4 suffering the highest per capita rate of emergency department-related injuries.
Unpermitted fireworks also pose a fire risk at a time when the State and County are recovering from one of the most devastating fire seasons on record. In 2020, according to Cal Fire, nearly 10,000 fires burned over 4.2 million acres, which is more than 4% of the State's roughly 100 million acres of land, making 2020 the largest wildfire season recorded in California's modern history. The CZU Lightening Complex fires burned nearly 90,000 acres of land in San Mateo County and Santa Cruz County, damaging or destroying over...
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