Neighbor is using fireworks at night.

Hi, I live in Florida and I'm having a problem with my neighbor who likes to shoot fireworks off at night.

I'm curious if they are actually breaking the law or not. I've looked up the state statutes regarding fireworks and I've run into an ambiguity (as far as I can comprehend it).

Here is a link to the full text of the Florida statute chapter concerning fireworks:

http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0791/ch0791.htm

Here is the parts I'm having trouble with:

791.012 Minimum fireworks safety standards. -- The outdoor display of fireworks in this state shall be governed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1123, Code for Fireworks Display, 1995 Edition, approved by the American National Standards Institute. Any state, county, or municipal law, rule, or ordinance may provide for more stringent regulations for the outdoor display of fireworks, but in no event may any such law, rule, or ordinance provide for less stringent regulations for the outdoor display of fireworks. The division shall promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of this section. The Code for Fireworks Display shall not govern the display of any fireworks on private, residential property and shall not govern the display of those items included under s. 791.01(4)(b) and (c) and authorized for sale thereunder.

As I have indicated in bold, this section states that, "The outdoor display of fireworks in this state shall be governed by the ... Code for Fireworks Display". But then it says, "The Code for Fireworks Display shall not govern the display of any fireworks on private, residential property.

Later on in the chapter, this text is found:

791.02 Sale of fireworks regulated; rules and regulations. --
(1) Except as hereinafter provided it is unlawful for any person, firm, copartnership, or corporation to offer for sale, expose for sale, sell at retail, or use or explode any fireworks; provided that the board of county commissioners shall have power to adopt reasonable rules and regulations for the granting of permits for supervised public display of fireworks by fair associations, amusement parks, and other organizations or groups of individuals when such public display is to take place outside of any municipality; provided, further, that the governing body of any municipality shall have power to adopt reasonable rules and regulations for the granting of permits for supervised public display of fireworks within the boundaries of any municipality. Every such display shall be handled by a competent operator to be approved by the chiefs of the police and fire departments of the municipality in which the display is to be held, and shall be of such a character, and so located, discharged, or fired as in the opinion of the chief of the fire department, after proper inspection, shall not be hazardous to property or endanger any person. Application for permits shall be made in writing at least 15 days in advance of the date of the display. After such privilege shall have been granted, sales, possession, use, and distribution of fireworks for such display shall be lawful for that purpose only. No permit granted hereunder shall be transferable.

So now here it says that, "it is unlawful for any person ... to ... use or explode any fireworks", unless they are granted a permit to do so (which is only good for each incident) and have a "competent operator" who has been "approved by the chiefs of police and fire departments.

So my confusion lies in the fact that in one section it says that no one can use or explode fireworks (unless granted a permit), but another section says that the code for fireworks display doesn't apply to fireworks on private property.

Can anyone clear up this ambiguity for me? Are my neighbors breaking the law? Thanks for any help! I'd love to be able to go to sleep without having to worry about hearing explosions next door.

I did a search with the words florida fireworks law and it appears that while it is legal to sell fireworks it is illegal to use them except for "agricultural" purposes. Weird...

Yeah, I thought it was kinda weird too. At the bottom of the statute chapter it states:

791.07 Agricultural and fish hatchery use. -- Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the importation, purchase, sale, or use of fireworks used or to be used solely and exclusively in frightening birds from agricultural works and fish hatcheries; and such use shall be governed entirely by the rules prescribed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

I guess it could be usefull to keep birds away.

May I ask, where did you do this search (was it this forum, or google, etc.), and could you provide a link to where you read that it would be illegal? Thanks.

Here's a good newspaper article. I just searched on Yahoo. Should be able to do it anywhere. Apparently the law is a joke and rarely enforced but it looks like someone could be fined $1000...

www.stpetersburgtimes.com/2002/07/01/Floridian/The_ruse_before_the_f.shtml

Thanks for that link. I'm hoping that the police will take this matter into serious consideration because it's not the fourth of July. If it were, I wouldn't care, it'd be expected. But they are setting off loud and disturbing fireworks almost every other week and we're 2 months away from July 4. And, they've been doing this for a few months now. Grrrr...

Did you happen to call the police and report this or did I just miss that answer in your post(s)? Disturbing the peace may also apply.

dequeendistress, I have not yet called the police on this matter, although I believe other people in my neighborhood may have, as I have seen multiple patrol cars slowly driving down our street after the fireworks have gone off.

I want to find out about the legality of the fireworks on private property before I notify the police.

I also tried to look up any public nuisance laws, but didn't find much except this:

http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0823/SEC01.HTM&Title=->2003->Ch0823->Section%2001

Which states:

823.01 Nuisances; penalty.--All nuisances that tend to annoy the community, injure the health of the citizens in general, or corrupt the public morals are misdemeanors of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.083, except that a violation of s. 823.10 is a felony of the third degree.

The text, "tend to annoy the community", seems pretty broad to me, so I'm not sure how easily this could be applied or defended. I'll do a search on "disturbing the peace" and see what I can find.

Would you happen to know how the fireworks statues apply to this situation? Do they alow them to use fireworks since they are on thier own "private, residential property", or do they still need to seek a permit to do so?

Does their "own private property" fall within the jursidictaion of the municipality...in other words, if within the city limits, what does the city oridinance state? Your ability to research this will be severly limited if your don't check into your LOCAL ordinances as well.

dequeendistress, thier property is most definately within city limits (we're pretty much right in the center). I'll try to research the city ordinances. Thanks for that advice.

Ok, I think I just found my answer. Please let me know if I've got the right idea here:

791.012 states that, "Any state, county, or municipal law, rule, or ordinance may provide for more stringent regulations". And then, later on, 719.02 provides that, "it is unlawful for any person ... to ... use or explode any fireworks". And since 719.02 is a "more stringent" state law, it overrides the statement in 791.012 that "The Code for Fireworks Display shall not govern the display of any fireworks on private, residential property".

Did I get it?

Looks like you are "getting it". Best of luck in your quest for peaceful enjoyment of your accommodations