Bigger, louder fireworks in Wichita? City may let that happen

Next Independence Day, you might be able to set off much bigger fireworks without breaking the law in Wichita.

The City Council decided Tuesday to consider easing up on the city’s fireworks ordinance, which is significantly stricter than state law and the rules of surrounding communities.

The battle line is between residents who enjoy putting on or watching large displays of fireworks in their neighborhoods, and those who complain about the noise, rattled windows and scared pets.

The public appears to be about evenly split.

In a recent survey, 246 residents said they wanted the city to lighten up on fireworks rules; 217 said they support the current ordinance or want to ban fireworks completely.

A proposal to loosen fireworks regulations will come to the council next month, allowing members Janet Miller and Lavonta Williams to vote on it before their terms expire in January.

Wichita now restricts fireworks sales to novelty items such as hand-held sparklers and small-scale “fountains” that emit a shower of sparks less than 6 feet tall.

State law allows pretty much all fireworks, including firecrackers, Roman candles, skyrockets and airburst mortar shells. Bottle rockets are about the only thing banned by state law, said Wichita fire Chief Tammy Snow.

Rules in the cities surrounding Wichita generally mirror the state law, Snow said.

“This has placed the city of Wichita on what we call an island,” Snow said.

She said that creates enforcement problems, because residents can easily cross city limits and buy more powerful fireworks to take home.

Also, Snow said, Wichita’s ordinance requires that police officers or firefighters actually see someone using or possessing illegal fireworks before they can write a ticket.

“This becomes difficult for us to accomplish,” Snow said. “People can just set the fireworks down on a public right of way and say, ‘No, they’re not mine.’”

And when fireworks enthusiasts see a big red truck coming their way, “Everybody disperses and leaves things sitting there,” Snow said.

Mayor Jeff Longwell made the strongest pitch for change.

“We need to align ourselves with the surrounding area and the state of Kansas,” he said. “The lines are totally blurred between the Maizes and Wichita and Haysville and Wichita,” he said. “It just gets too confusing. I think it’s impossible.”

Miller argued that the city should keep its unique ordinance.

“I think we have too many fireworks as it is,” she said. “Every time fireworks season rolls around, my inbox fills up” with complaints.

She said the fire and police departments might have more luck catching illegal fireworks users if they patrolled in regular fleet cars instead of their fire trucks and police cruisers.

“Using the logic that we can’t enforce an ordinance is not logic at all,” Miller said.

In the end, the council decided to have city staff draft a looser fireworks ordinance and continue the debate at a regular meeting.

How that vote might go is up in the air.

Council member Pete Meitzner pretty much sided with Longwell Tuesday while James Clendenin said he was leaning more toward Miller’s position.

The others didn’t take a strong position one way or the other.

This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 1:08 PM with the headline "Bigger, louder fireworks in Wichita? City may let that happen."