Speaker 0: Communication from Councilwoman Mongeau. Councilwoman Dan Diaz, Councilwoman Price, Councilmember Your UNGA recommendation to direct city manager and the Fireworks Committee to develop a fireworks free neighborhood incentive program and waive the fees of all submitted and approved block party applications for this upcoming July 4th, 2021 holiday.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Member.
Speaker 1: Thank you. Many of you know, I'm very passionate about reducing the illegal and dangerous fireworks that continue to go across our city. It is completely inappropriate, the lengths that individuals go to to break the law and really terrorize our neighbors, our veterans, our pets and our families. I want to appreciate the fireworks task force and all the work that so many councilmembers have done on this important issue. I also appreciate the staff that are bringing forward several additional recommendations that we as council heard from the community as potential ways to solve this issue. But I also think it important to know that peer pressure is a huge component of keeping people safe. And I think it's important to find opportunities where if you have a neighbor who lights off illegal fireworks, it can be challenging identifying which neighbor it is because you're just one person. However, should you be able to coordinate an outdoor event, such as a event like a block party where at the end of the evening, when the block party ends, many neighbors are still gathered together and sit on a lawn with their lawn chairs and gather and chat. Then perhaps when the first illegal firework goes off on your neighboring street, there are more eyes and more witnesses and more coordination of exactly which house these illegal fireworks are coming from. Therefore, we would be able to give better reports to our law enforcement partners who would then be able to target specific houses on their calls for service. Additionally, we believe that this will help in the reluctance see for individuals to serve as witnesses because they don't want to have retaliation from the individual who is already terrorizing the community. If they're willing to terrorize the community, why wouldn't they be willing to terrorize me? But this then brings forward a group of individuals that can serve as witnesses to ensure that the individual who thinks it appropriate to terrorize neighbors with illegal fireworks is brought to justice. And a lot of these individuals who bring forward illegal fireworks have thousands upon thousands of dollars of firework inventory that they pedal to the community. I'm very proud of our fire department and our police department and their partnerships for investigations to get these fireworks off the streets in advance of 4th of July. The fireworks have really become a year round issue, and we thought that at least as a start for 4th of July, as the economy starts to reopen and neighbors may be thinking that they want to engage and engage in this illegal activity, perhaps they might take another look if they knew their neighbors were signing to do a commitment to not allow illegal fireworks at their local block party and that their neighbors would be gathering and watching to support that commitment for this and other programs like Prosecutor Albert's ability to tag the property that has the illegal fireworks with the fines and fees. I think that this is a step in the right direction. Many have asked about the number of block parties and if we've seen in the past that those blocks are the individuals who do set up illegal fireworks are the individuals who don't . And our our aspect has been that it has mostly been safe neighborhood community events that provide an alternative to both the safe and sane and illegal fireworks that are both illegal in the city of Long Beach. I'm proud that my community is a very involved community, and more than 50% of the block parties in the city, depending on the year, have been in our district. And in talking to a lot of the neighbors that have been terrorized by these fireworks, a majority of them do not happen in our district. So we think that this is potentially one of those solutions. I appreciate the neighbors who brought forward these ideas and I appreciate the council members who have signed on to this item so that we can partner with our community to be the eyes and ears of our police and fire to put people on notice that illegal fireworks will not be tolerated in the city of Long Beach. Thank you.
Speaker 2: All right. The mayor stepped away. Is there a second? I know you might have cued up, but I don't have the phone. They're second on this.
Speaker 1: I'll second it.
Speaker 2: Okay. Second to price. I want to go out and get your comments now.
Speaker 1: Sure. Thank you. Councilman Mongo, I am so grateful that you brought this item forward. I think it's a fantastic idea. It's a very creative way for us to look at this issue. I'm very proud to support the item. We as a council have pushed very hard for the past few years to increase penalties and consequences for violations, as well as education to ensure that everyone is aware of this issue. I know that our council office has put forth thousands of dollars, I think probably about $6,000 in educational videos and other outreach efforts to get the community informed about the laws that are on the books and the consequences. And I think the idea of peer pressure or our peer incentives to follow the law is a really good one and it's incredibly creative related to the work of fireworks in general. I was wondering if city staff is going to be providing an update for us on the citywide fireworks committee and what the statuses and perhaps a rundown of what we expect to see in terms of fireworks prevention and education leading up to the 4th of July. I don't know if there's anyone on the call now that is prepared to answer that question, but I just want to make a couple more comments and then I'll turn it over to staff to see if anyone can answer that question. And I'm also curious to know if with the professional shows that were canceled, were there more professional level fireworks available to citizens last year? Because I definitely felt like there were. And so I'd love to hear back from the city staff on those two areas in terms of our status updates. Yes, councilman. This is Linda Tatum. And I've been working with an interdepartmental working group on this item since last summer. After the fourth one, the council directed us to take a look at some of those really critical issues and impacts from the fireworks. And we are in the process of completing a report that would would be issued to the council within the next couple of weeks. The idea we were shooting for is to get it out a couple of weeks prior to the July 4th holiday. So council can get a really good picture of the the outreach. They are a very substantial outreach effort that's that kicked off last week. You'll start to see some of the results of that. We also will be bringing to the council next week an ordinance that, per the council's direction, increases the penalties for fireworks through an administrative citation. We have also we're also working to enhance the functionality of the the the prosecutors portal by offering an additional option. And that is through go Long Beach for residents that want to report there. And we're also going to be reporting out with the number of confiscations of fireworks activity because PD has actually been pretty vigilant in that area as well. So it'll be a pretty comprehensive reporting out of all of those activities that the staff has been engaged in since the since the formation of the interdepartmental working group last summer regarding professional fireworks. Right now, the one that we strongly suspect will go forward is the one at the down in the marina, but we're not sure about the other, the proposal for a potential second fireworks show in the downtown area.
Speaker 5: And Councilmember, this is Tom. I think part of the question, too, was, are we seeing more fireworks in the hands of individuals because of COVID? And I think the answer is absolutely yes. I don't know where they're coming from, whether that's, you know, because they're professional or not. But what we're hearing on the illegal side is there's a lot more fireworks out there. It is incredibly profitable for people to deal with the illegal trade of fireworks, so much so that a number of groups are getting involved in that because the demand is so high for people to purchase them. So we do have our P.D. forces working on that as part of the money that you set aside. And we'll be talking a lot more about fireworks next week when we bring you the urgency ordinance.
Speaker 1: Got it. Thank you very much to both of you. And see, I stuck my question in at the tail end of my comments. So they didn't cut you off at the five minute mark? Like that's my new strategy. I'll ask all my questions, I'll make all my comments and then ask my questions at the end. I'm working at Councilman Super now. I've figured out an end run in the system. Thank you.
Speaker 2: All right. Thank you. Council members and data.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Vice Mayor, and thank you. Thank you very much for bringing this forward. Councilmember Mongo. This is obviously, as you know, very, very important to me as well. Some of the highest calls that we receive, especially during the holidays, such as 4th of July, are regarding our fireworks. Not only are fireworks dangerous, but they also disrupt many of our residents, in particular Lee, our elderly, our very young children and residents dealing with trauma from and different forms of PTSD. And then and let's not forget how much they affect on our our dogs and cats. And that.
Speaker 2: Was it.
Speaker 1: Oh, sorry. I thank you, guys. Vice Mayor, you're not muted. Thank you. So, yes, so they they also affect a lot our our furry, furry babies. And that also breaks my heart. I know I get a lot of calls from my residents, ongoing calls starting early, early like in early April and pass, you know, 4th of July . So I'm really looking forward to next week and seeing what we can do about that. I truly understand that people want to celebrate with family and they want to celebrate their holidays as they should. However, it should be done in the safest manner possible, and I'm eager to learn more about what would a program like this with having in a sentence can do for our communities? Because CD1 is definitely a victim of illegal fireworks and the hardship of enforcement. We have, as you know, we have laws that prohibit illegal fireworks. It's just the enforcement that has been very difficult, which is why I'm really excited that the community has come together to to work with city staff and us here on council to bring forward solutions that may help alleviate that. So I am in full support of this item.
Speaker 2: All right. Thank you, Councilmember sorrow.
Speaker 1: And thank you, Vice Mayor and thank you, councilman member Mongo, for bringing this item forward. You know, I'm always open to as many possible ways and figuring out how do we stop all of these illegal fireworks that keeps happening. But I'm also wondering how many fireworks occur late at night, and I'm wondering if there's ways the block parties often end at 7 p.m.. Is there consider maybe is there consideration to extending it so that there could actually be a time when people are lighting out these fireworks, if there are actually be, you know, parties where people are witnessing and paying watch. Right. So I'm wondering if we did extend the time, how late we could go so that we could actually activate members to keep a lookout on on who's doing it and so forth. So that's one question I have. And I think the other and the other question I have is, is there going to be a limit? I'm just wondering, what are the numbers when the fees are way for these block parties? What's the number that we can give out? Right. Because I didn't see a cost. I'm just wondering what would be the limit? And it'll be first come, first serve in the way the process might roll out. So thank you.
Speaker 2: I think those are some questions for staff.
Speaker 1: So this is Linda Tatum again. I'll take the first question first, which is regarding the number of permits. We've done a little bit of research. And what we've discovered is that in the previous years, we've had about 70 applications for block parties. So what we're estimating is that with this offer of a free permit, that number may potentially be kicked up some. So we're looking at around 100. However, we're not going to put a hard cap on it because I think we see this as a as a pilot program. And we'd like to get a feel for what the potential impacts of these of the free permits are so that we can see whether or not they really make a difference in terms of the number of calls. So at this point in time, we don't plan to have a hard cap on them. I think the if there is a potential limit, it would be based upon police's ability to to enforce them if they do have any issues with enforcement. So in the past, my understanding is that at a certain level, police will intervene and just suggest that they are beginning to get stretched thin with coverage of the enforcement. But we're just hopeful that we can have a really good number and that this effort is successful. So we're not looking at a hard limit. And in terms of extending the hours, I don't know if police's on the line. I think the only concern that we would have regarding that is the potential for enforcement. But I really can't speak to the PD's ability to enforce after dark because obviously there will be a lot of other activities happening in the city. So the concern is the ability for police to provide just regular security and protection in addition to the potential exceedingly high number of block parties. So if PD is on the line and could respond to that, that would be helpful.
Speaker 2: Yes. Thank you, Linda. Deputy Chief Michael Lewis here. And it is obviously a very busy day for us and will be, especially with the increase of a significant number of block parties arise. I know that the permit hours, I believe, is as established at 7:00 at night, which obviously it starts to get dark at seven. So pressure on staffing and resources, not just from the police department, but other city department increases as the night progresses, especially after it gets darker. So I appreciate some consideration for the number of block parties to prove that that will definitely help. Thank you and clarity before we move on. Councilwoman Tara, was was there friendly for Councilwoman Mongeau to respond to or no?
Speaker 1: No. It was just questions for staff. Thank you.
Speaker 2: Okay. Next, we have Councilman Miranda.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Mary. And I totally agree with all the comments made by my colleagues. It seems that every year fireworks is becoming more and more invasive in our communities. And this is a process. It's one that I hope will determine whether or not we continue with this project. But I think more than anything else, we need we need to enhance our our policing of fireworks, especially at night is it's a cosmic missile. Brought that up. My district crosses the L.A. River now that I know that as well, councilmember and wise mayor, where, you know, we have a lot of fireworks off on the river. Sometimes they sound like they have a stick of dynamite and they're so loud. And cars and car alarms and dogs are are frightened and escape. And when they escape, they create other problems in the community. I had one in my district not too long ago that we ended tragically because of fireworks that went off. So totally supportive of this item and I'm looking forward to how we can even strengthen that even more and make it less of a nuisance in our communities. Thank you.
Speaker 2: All right. I don't have anyone else. Is there any public comment on this item?
Speaker 0: No, there's no public comment.
Speaker 2: Okay. All right. Well, let's go ahead and have our roll call vote with.
Speaker 0: District one.
Speaker 1: I.
Speaker 0: District two.
Speaker 1: I.
Speaker 0: District three.
Speaker 1: I.
Speaker 0: District four.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 0: District five by district six.
Speaker 1: I am.
Speaker 0: District seven.
Speaker 2: By.
Speaker 0: District eight.
Speaker 3: By.
Speaker 0: District nine.
Speaker 2: Right. Very much, Karis. Now we will go on to item 13, please.
Recommendation to direct City Manager, the Fireworks Committee, and all applicable departments to develop a Fireworks-Free Neighborhood Incentive Program targeting the key holidays where illegal fireworks are most in use (New Year’s Eve and the 4th of July) with short term goals set for the upcoming 4th of July holiday; and

Waive the fees of all submitted and approved block party applications for this upcoming July 4, 2021 holiday as a way to further incentivize the commitment by the organizers and neighbors that it will be a fireworks-free event.