On November 26, 2019, the City Council of the City of Garden Grove adopted Ordinance No. 2911 amending regulations pertaining to the permitting and operation of fireworks and temporary fireworks stand permits. Pursuant to these regulations, any qualified organization wishing to operate a temporary fireworks stand within the city is required to submit an application for a permit for review by the Finance Director or his/her designee, along with of a permit fee in an amount established by City Council resolution.  The purpose of the permit fee is to recover the City’s costs associated with the review, processing, and evaluation of applications for a temporary fireworks stand permit.

The Finance Department analyzed the administrative process and calculated the total cost for processing a fireworks stand permit to be $1,420.00. The comprehensive process involves multiple steps, from meeting and corresponding with the requester, reviewing the application, validating the organization’s eligibility, and processing the business license, to coordinating safety meetings and a logistics meeting with other parties such as the Orange County Fire Authority.  The administrative process is designed to ensure the City performs its due diligence to provide all necessary safety measures, and ultimately issues a permit to qualified applicants.  Prior to Ordinance No. 2911, the fireworks stand permit fee was set at $500 by the City’s municipal code.  To reduce the financial impact on the vendors, and achieve partial cost recovery, staff recommends setting the fireworks stand permit fee at $1,000, subject to future changes as determined necessary by the City Council.

The proposed fee is well within the fee range established by the adjacent cities, such as Westminster ($1,145, plus a $200 refundable clean-up deposit), Buena Park ($1,000, plus a $200 refundable clean-up deposit), and Villa Park ($1,700).  The importance of the City’s Firework Stand Permit application administrative process entails ensuring the City is not issuing a permit to an organization that does not fall into the requirements of the Garden Grove Municipal Code Section 5.28.020, among others.  Thorough checks and research is necessary to confirm the applicants have provided the required documentation, and have completed the application according to the City’s code. The extensive administrative process ensures the City is allowing only valid, non-profit organizations, whose charitable activity primarily benefits the Garden Grove community, to operate a fireworks stand in our City.

In 2019, the City issued 37 fireworks stand permits.  It is estimated that the cost of issuing 37 permits in 2020 will be approximately $52,540.00.  With the proposed fee of $1,000.00, $37,000.00 will be recovered, achieving 70 percent cost recovery.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Conduct a public hearing to receive testimony; and

•  Adopt the attached Resolution establishing the City of Garden Grove Fireworks Stand Permit Fee.