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Township Council Set To Vote on Mandating ‘Quiet’ Fireworks Use By Private Organizations

The Township Council is set to act on an ordinance amendment that would prohibit the use of loud fireworks by private organizations.


The Township Council is moving closer to voting on an ordinance amendment prohibiting the use of traditional loud fireworks by private businesses and organizations.

Responding to complaints from residents about the noise, Mayor Phil Kramer last year asked Township Manager Robert Vornlocker to look into the availability of “quiet” fireworks.

That research will probably lead to an amendment to the township’s noise ordinance being introduced at the council’s Feb. 28 meeting, Vornlocker said.

Kramer said the idea was given the thumbs-up on Feb. 14 by the Township Council’s Public Safety Committee, which is comprised of council members, the police chief and a representative from the township’s Bureau of Fire Prevention.

“They have no problem with it,” he said. “Fire Prevention deals with fireworks, so they are the experts.”

He said the amendment would prohibit private businesses and organizations from using fireworks that have a “report” or “salute,” which are terms for the noise they make.

Vornlocker said the most complaints about loud fireworks are generated by events at The Palace at Somerset Park and the Ukrainian Cultural Center, both on Davidson Avenue.

Kramer said the proposed ordinance amendment is a reflection of the reality of modern living.

“It isn’t like things used to be,” he said. “People are living closer together, tighter together, and we can get in each others’ ways more, so things we used to do, we have to think twice about.”

“So we want to allow fireworks, but give the courtesy to the people who live nearby,” he said.

Councilwoman Roz Sherman (D-Ward 2) said she was looking forward to the amendment. Residents of Somerset Run, which is in Sherman’s ward, have also complained about the fireworks’ noise.

 

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