After years of struggling to curb illegal fireworks, Stanton’s new Fourth of July drone program has resulted in nearly $1 million in citations issued to 18 people. All the fines are being appealed, but unless the city dismisses them, officials say they expect the property owners to pay up.
“You can take out a loan, right? You can borrow the money against something that you might own,” Stanton Mayor David Shawver said in a recent interview. “I think probably one of the simplest ways would be to come in with a payment plan, which the city has done in the past, to where they make it affordable over a period of time so that the person can pay it.”
Hearings at which people can protest the fines have already begun, and the next one is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Stanton City Hall. The administrative hearings are not open to the public, according to the city’s Public Safety Director, Jim Wren.
Stanton uses Turbo Data Systems to process citations, and its certified administrative hearing officers conduct the hearings, he said.
According to city records, the majority of citations are in the tens of thousands of dollars range, but three are upwards of $100,000 – with the costliest fine at $300,000.
Property owners are responsible for the citation regardless of whether they were on the property at the time of the alleged illegal fireworks activity.
From July 1 to July 4 between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. Stanton residents are allowed to spark up safe and sane fireworks on residential properties, according to Shawver. But, he said, “Anything that explodes or leaves the ground is usually illegal.”
Back in April, Stanton’s city council approved a social host ordinance, meaning that property owners are legally responsible for any illegal fireworks activity that occurs on their property.
Shawver said the city warned residents three months in advance of the Fourth of July holiday restrictions by posting on social media, mailing property owners, and posting flyers in areas with historically high concentrations of illegal firework activity.
“I truly believe that we got the attention of everybody in our community and know that we’re serious about protecting human life, the quality of life and to make the 4th of July an enjoyable safe activity,” he said.
For decades, large explosive fireworks have filled Stanton’s sky around the Fourth of July. Before this year’s drone program, enforcement relied on Orange County sheriff’s deputies witnessing a person lighting an illegal firework before a citation could be issued, according to OCSD spokesperson Sgt Gerard McCann.
Stanton’s 3.1 square miles is home to roughly 38,000 people with a median household income of about $81,000, according to Census data, and a roughly 60% employment rate. About 50% of Stanton’s residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. In Orange County, a household income of roughly $95,000 or less is considered low income, according to a state housing report.
Blocks away from city hall, Stanton resident Jose Fernandez received the $300,000 citation. He said he filed an appeal with the city and added that he didn’t have anything to do with illegal fireworks activity. He declined to discuss the topic further.
Two of Fernandez’s neighbors also received illegal fireworks citations: one for $1,000 and the other for $55,000.
Down the street, 57-year-old Fermin Ayala said he welcomes the Fourth of July fireworks.
“It’s like having this Disneyland next to your door,” he said. “This block is always (lit with) fireworks like left and right. This corner, that corner, always a bunch of fireworks. So you don’t have to spend any money, you just get out, sit down and enjoy the fireworks.”
Fermin Ayala said he likes watching all the fireworks on July 4th from his home on Cedar Street in Stanton. But several of his neighbors received citations for illegal fireworks. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)While some Stanton residents revel in loud and large fireworks illuminating the sky, others are left shaken and injured.
Lin Landgren, the vice president of Stanton’s Hynes Estates Neighborhood Association, has called the equestrian community home for over six decades. She said safe and sane fireworks had been a regular part of holiday celebrations in Stanton for decades, but over the last five years she noticed illegal fireworks activity was becoming “out of control.”
This year, illegal fireworks activity led to two horse injuries, Landgren said.
“They were bucking and throwing shoes. Two horses thrashed so bad that they were taken to the hospital the following day,” she said.
Though she wasn’t in Stanton for this year’s Fourth of July holiday, she heard from neighbors about the illegal fireworks. “Everybody is really upset about the amount of fireworks going off in our neighborhood. We’d like to be able to curb that,” Landren said.
Illegal fireworks activities led to horse injuries over the July 4th holiday this year, said Lin Landgren, vice president of Stanton’s Hynes Estates Neighborhood Association. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)She is happy about Stanton’s new drone program but thinks some of the fines are excessive.
Illegal fireworks can lead to serious injuries and death. In nearby Buena Park, an 8-year-old girl died from a fireworks explosion on the Fourth of July.
Some other Southern California cities have responded to illegal fireworks activity by issuing citations during the Fourth of July, but the fines don’t compare to Stanton’s.
In nearby Brea, the Fourth of July drone program led to the city issuing one citation for $500, according to spokesperson Chris Haddad.
While neighboring Anaheim received roughly 400 calls related to fireworks activity, the city issued zero illegal fireworks citations on the Fourth of July, according to spokesperson Esther Kwon. There, illegal fireworks fines begin at $1,000 for the first offense.
Shawver said cities from up and down the state have contacted his office to learn more about the drone program in Stanton, which he said he’s confident the city will carry out again next year.
While he said the main goal of the program was to keep the people and animals of Stanton safe, accountability is another factor.
“I think we made true believers out of other people with the citations. … you know, when you threaten somebody and you don’t follow it through, then there’s no accountability. If you don’t have accountability, then what’s the point of doing it? And so I think accountability is probably the most important part of this program,” Shawver said.
“I think human life is probably the most important consideration of what we did or why we (did) it.”
OC resident hit with $300K fine for illegal fireworks in July 4 crackdown
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