Carroll County Planning and Zoning Administrator, Carl Wilburn, sat in with the Carroll County Board of Supervisors Monday morning during their discussion on the sale and use of fireworks throughout the county. Senate File 489 allows for the sale of fireworks in permanent or temporary structures throughout the state, but also gives municipalities and counties the power to regulate both sales and use. Supervisors say this has definitely been a hot topic across the state, but that there just hasn’t been enough time to research the new law, the options available to them and then to make any necessary ordinance changes. So even though no decisions have been made, they all worked to gather more information to be able to regulate sale and use in the future. Wilburn says some things just make sense when discussing sales, such as limiting sales locations.
Wilburn did make a recommendation based on the short amount of time allotted as well as the fact that all of the supervisors believe this is a topic that will be revisited by the state when they convene again next year.
The discussion also turned to regulation of use. The county policy matched the previous state law on fireworks that limited consumer use to novelty items such as sparklers, snakes and caps. Display fireworks are addressed through permits that must be approved by the supervisors before they can be used. But now that the state law has changed to include first and second-class consumer fireworks, the supervisors have another decision to make on allowed use. Wilburn explained how the changes may affect the rural and unincorporated areas of Carroll County and Dean Schettler adds what he has already seen in years past.
The supervisors did not take any action on either sale or use of fireworks at this time, and will be revisiting the topic again in the near future. The City of Carroll has already decided to prohibit the use of first and second-class fireworks within the city limits. Lake City and Lake View will be allowing use within city limits as defined by the state law, the details of which can be found below. The Denison City Council held a special meeting last Thursday afternoon and has decided to allow use beginning on Friday June 30 to Sunday, July 8 from 1 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with the exception on July 4 where they can be used until 11 p.m. For the New Year’s holiday, Denison residents can use fireworks from 1 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. beginning Dec. 24 through Dec. 30 and from 1 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. Breda and Templeton have not made firm decisions, but leaders have stated they will likely remain prohibited this year until there is more time to delve into any proposed changes.
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State regulations for the sale of fireworks
Permanent Structures
June 1 through July 8
Dec. 10 through Jan. 3
Temporary Structures
June 13 through July 8
First and second-class fireworks now allowed under state law include roman candles, bottle rockets, firecrackers and like items along with the novelty items.
Iowa State law on hours of allowable use:
9 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 1 through July 8
9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dec. 10 through Jan. 3
9 a.m. to 11 p.m. July 4 and the preceding Saturday and Sunday
9 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. New Year’s Eve
9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays preceding and following
