The Juneau Assembly will postpone a proposed ordinance restricting fireworks use in the capital city until April 2017.
During the next six months, the Juneau Police Department is encouraged to enforce the use of fireworks under the city’s disturbing the peace code.
Assembly member Jerry Nankervis motioned to postpone the ordinance at the assembly’s work session Monday evening.
The draft ordinance would restrict the use and possession of fireworks to holidays, such as New Year’s and the Fourth of July.
The city should focus on enforcing a previously passed noise ordinance, which fireworks would fall under, Nankervis said.
“If there hasn’t been any enforcement action under the current ordinance that the (police) could cite for fireworks,” he said. “I don’t know why we would expect there would be any different action under a fireworks specific ordinance.”
The assembly passed the noise ordinance in 2014, which amended the disturbing the peace code. The amendment defined “unreasonable noise,” and included factors like proximity to residential areas and the time of day.
The use of fireworks within residential neighborhoods has been a contentious issue in Juneau for years.
Nearly 40 people weighed in on the issue last month when the city hosted two public meetings on the issue, according to meeting documents.
City Clerk Laurie Sica said the city has received about 150 emails from residents. Most of those emails are from the same people who provide additional comments later on.
Police Chief Bryce Johnson said his department has received almost 60 calls this year regarding fireworks. Of those calls, there was only one arrest.
He says fireworks are a quality of life issue, not a safety issue.
“The fireworks are a lower priority for us. We’re going to go to (a) domestic violence (call), other things that occur first,” he said. “Our policy is if there’s a two-hour gap between when the call comes in and when we’re available to respond, we’re not going to respond to the call.”
The ordinance wasn’t officially introduced to the Juneau Assembly and was under consideration.
