News

‘Restrictive’ fireworks plan mulled by Orono council

Posted on Sept. 29, 2011, at 1:30 a.m.

Orono’s town council began the process of creating a fireworks ordinance proposal for town citizens at Monday afternoon’s council meeting in the Orono Town Office.

Town Manager Sophie Wilson presented the initial framework for the ordinance that would restrict the use and sale but not possession of fireworks in the town of Orono, specifically including the University of Maine.

Initial framework for the Orono ordinance includes fines for illegal use of consumer fireworks as well as sale of fireworks.

Consumer fireworks consist of explosives such as sparklers and M-80s. The large-scale fireworks that illuminate the night sky on the Fourth of July will remain illegal for the average resident, meaning “The Cruel Mistress,” “Dark Night” and “Triple Diamonds,” advertised on bigfireworks.com, are still off-limits.

The council requested that Wilson develop a framework for the ordinance with the most restrictive language possible so the council can then listen to residents of Orono to determine what needs to be removed from the ordinance and discuss other concerns.

“My understanding is that the council wanted language that prohibited both the sale and the use [of fireworks],” Wilson said to the council at the meeting. “The idea being that we were going to get public comment and then you can change your minds based on what the community wanted.”

The initial framework for Orono’s fireworks ordinance is based on the ordinance passed in Portland and suited to fit the needs of the town of Orono.

“I borrowed liberally from Portland and tried to tweak it for our needs,” Wilson explained to council at the meeting. “I tried to embed it with the ordinance that we already have and then I tried to tie it back to the statute.”

On Sept. 20, the Portland Press Herald reported that the city council unanimously banned “the sale, possession and use of fireworks within city limits” in order to respond “to a new state law legalizing fireworks that will take effect Jan. 1.”

The Portland City Council established fines of up to $500 for selling fireworks within the city limits and of $200 to $400 for possessing them.

If a resident wishes to use, display or sell fireworks in the town of Orono, he or she will have to apply for a permit. In order to obtain a permit, the resident must possess the required licenses and training fireworks technicians must go through.

The initial framework also included language requiring that the applicant also list the town of Orono as an additional insured party. This would prevent an insurance company or anyone else from coming after the town of Orono if something were to go wrong at a fireworks display.

The proposal specifically includes the University of Maine under the jurisdiction of this ordinance.

“There is language continued throughout this that specifically includes the university,” Wilson pointed out to the council. “The university has indicated to us that they are fine with not being a place of sale or use.”

The council discussed the ordinance for a brief period and raised concerns over the framework that Wilson is going to address. The council also raised concerns over restrictions on how fireworks must be stored, specifically with regards to the safety hazards presented by storing explosive materials, and concerns over how to deal with people who would violate the new ordinance.

Another concern the council discussed is how to develop intent-to-sell laws. That will be addressed at its Oct. 3 meeting.

The council’s plan is to open up the ordinance for public comment and further development once there is an initial draft.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 29th, 2011, 1:30 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.