Supervisors Discuss Limiting Commercial Firework Shows

The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors is hoping county residents will provide feedback on how to best control commercial fireworks displays from waking people up and scaring livestock.
On Monday, the supervisors discussed a proposed change to county laws that could limit the hours that event venues can shoot fireworks and could require them to apply for a permit.
Board president Jeff Busby said a public hearing will be held at July 2 at 5 p.m. at the Lafayette County Chancery Building to discuss the proposed changes.
“We have some event venues in the county that are putting on commercial fireworks displays at 10 at night or later,” Busby said Monday. “People have complained it’s waking them up and disturbing and scaring their horses and livestock.”
Busby said the ordinance would not affect individual residents from shooting fireworks at their homes.
The ordinance addresses only Class C fireworks—commercial firework shows. The type of fireworks people purchase during Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve are Class B fireworks and there are no limits or restrictions being suggested for Class B fireworks.
“We’re holding the public hearing so we know how big of a problem this is,” Busby said. “I have to take a look at it and see what we can do. It won’t be solved overnight but we have to start somewhere, and that’s what the public hearing is for. Right now, we just have an outline of what we’d like to see happen, but that can change.”
Along with limiting days and hours to shoot the commercial fireworks, Busby said another idea being discussed is requiring a $100 permit where event venues would inform the county of when the firework shows were being held, where and at what time so that a county firetruck could possibly standby, especially during the dry seasons.
“Right now they’re shooting off these commercial fireworks and the fire department doesn’t know about it,” he said. “It’s a safety issue.”
If eventually approved, the proposed ordinance would only affect land in the county and not inside the city limits of Oxford, Abbeville or Taylor.

By Alyssa Schnugg, HottyToddy.com staff reporter. She can be reached at alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com.