Public hearing set for July 24 at 1 p.m.
EVERETT — Should the sale, possession and use of fireworks be banned in unincorporated urban areas of Snohomish County?
The public can weigh in at a hearing at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 24 at the County Campus before a similar question is set to appear on November’s ballot.
The County Council is recommending to have the ballot measure be a nonbinding advisory proposition, a device sometimes used to gauge public opinion on important or controversial issues.
Council members can use the vote result to help inform them on whether or not to impose an actual fireworks ban. If they do impose one, state law wouldn’t allow a ban to take effect until July 4, 2021 at the earliest.
“Truthfully, I’m not big on advisory votes,” County Councilman Sam Low said last week at a meeting discussing the measure.
“We were all hired to make tough decisions,” Low said. “But there’s always an exception to the rule. This would be a good exception.”
His colleagues agreed, but proposed two amendments to the wording of the original question. First was to insert the phrase “urban growth areas” between “unincorporated” and “…of Snohomish County.”
Some example urban growth areas are a sizable chunk north of Snohomish city limits; most of the land around Mill Creek, including along Cathcart Way; and southwest unincorporated Lake Stevens.
The second was striking the words “sale” and “possession” (of fireworks) from the original version of the question, banning only discharge.There have been lots of complaints about fireworks being set off, said Councilman Nate Nehring, whose representative area includes Marysville, “but I haven’t heard of any issue with the sale and possession of fireworks.”
For Low, the issue is deeply personal. Errant fireworks destroyed his family’s home when he was 17.
“I’m not for banning fireworks, but in the same breath I’m aware that some citizens want relief in certain areas,” Low said. “I do understand a lot of the disagreements … It’s why I’m supporting (having a measure go to a vote).”
Councilman Terry Ryan, whose representative area includes Mill Creek, said it’s “literally like a war zone” in certain neighborhoods on the Fourth of July.
“It’s not reasonable anymore,” Ryan said. “So I think it’s reasonable, now, to let citizens have their say.”
The public hearing will be July 24 at 1 p.m. at the County Campus in Everett. It will be in the Henry M. Jackson Board Room on the eighth floor of the Robert J. Drewel Building (Administration Building East), 3000 Rockefeller Ave.
Speakers would be asked to sign up at the meeting to speak at the podium, and each person is given a couple minutes to speak.
In unincorporated county, fireworks are only legal to be used on the Fourth of July. It is illegal to discharge fireworks for New Year’s Eve in unincorporated county.
Discharging fireworks is fully banned in the cities of Brier, Edmonds, Everett, Gold Bar, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mill Creek, Mountlake
Terrace, Mukilteo and Woodway. It’s also illegal to discharge fireworks in any state or county park or on federal land, including those managed by the Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service.
South Snohomish County Fire separately petitioned the county to set a fireworks ban in its fire district. The council chose to go forward on the larger countywide vote in lieu of South Snohomish County Fire’s request.
The countywide measure would appear on ballots for all residents. The county could work to identify the voters living in unincorporated Snohomish County affected by the measure to gauge voters’ wishes. Concerns on voter confusion scuttled a similar ballot measure proposed in 2016, resulting in a 3-2 vote. Two councilmembers who voted no in 2016 happen to no longer be on the council.
The proposed council ordinance number for this year’s effort is 19-039.
