07 Oct San Pablo Moves to Overhaul Illegal Fireworks Ordinance

The chart shows calls for service related to fireworks received in San Pablo by year from 2020 through Oct. 1, 2025. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

San Pablo residents are about to take on more responsibility and face increased fines for illegal firework use in the city, even if they weren’t the ones to set them off.

Council members on Monday gave first approval to an overhaul of its fireworks ordinance that would make property owners and other “hosts” liable for illegal firework use. Violators could also be responsible for response costs associated with the use.

“The amendment increases accountability, holds property owners responsible, holds tenants responsible, and gives the Police Department stronger tools for code enforcement and policing,” said Police Chief Brian Bubar.

The ordinance, set to be formally approved Oct. 20, comes after the Police Department reported an increase in firework use over the last two years and challenges with enforcing the current ordinance.

Council members prohibited firework use, possession, and sales in 2021, treating it as a public nuisance. Bubar said that made the ordinance difficult to enforce because alleged violators first had the chance to “abate their nuisance.”

Known as a “host liability,” the department took inspiration from the city of Citrus Heights’ ordinance, a jurisdiction in Sacramento County that dealt with similar enforcement challenges because of the issue of abatement. Citrus Heights’ new approach helped pull in more than $300,000 in fines within months of it going into effect, with $25,000 alone from one landlord whose tenants lit off the fireworks.

Bubar said the intent is not to “just generally apply” the ordinance to anyone in the area, but to “leverage [the department’s] technology” to correctly identify alleged violators. That includes using ShotSpotter, a tool that can detect fireworks and gunshots, cameras, and drones, said Bubar.

Hosts would be liable “regardless of” their intent, knowledge, negligence, or “lack thereof” in committing the wrongful act, the ordinance says.

The ordinance defines a “host” as: an owner of any private residential or non-residential real property in the city; any person who has the right to occupy public or private property under a lease, permit, license, rental agreement, or contract; or a person who hosts, organizes, supervises, officiates, conducts, or accepts responsibility for a gathering on public or private property.

Like that in Citrus Heights, San Pablo’s ordinance would also make hosts liable for violations that occur on public streets, sidewalks, and parks near private property.

Under the ordinance, first-time violators would be fined $1,000 for each discharge. If someone is found to violate the ordinance a second time in one year, they would face a fine of $2,500 plus potential reimbursement for public safety personnel costs.

In 2020, San Pablo reported a 403% increase in calls for service from fireworks from 2019. Police Department data shows that calls for service decreased over the next three years, but jumped again by 10.59% in 2024.

The department has already reported at least a 3.3% increase for 2025. About 85% of those — or 133 calls for service — occurred from mid-June through the Fourth of July weekend. But Bubar noted that a “vast majority of community do not report fireworks violations.”

Bubar and council members Rita Xavier and Abel Pineda acknowledged the risks associated with fireworks.

“These are essentially explosives,” said Pineda. “If it misfires or doesn’t go up … it will blow up in your face. People have lost limbs; people have lost their lives.”

Two San Pablo residents died in a fireworks explosion in Yolo County alongside five others on July 1. Days later, NFL player Najee Harris and others were injured in a separate incident in Antioch while the group was lighting off fireworks.

The Contra Costa Fire Protection District responded to 83 fires as part of Fourth of July celebrations this year.

The Bay Area jurisdictions of Livermore, Pacifica, San Jose and Sonoma County have social host ordinances for illegal fireworks use. Unincorporated Contra Costa County areas also cite responsible parties for illegal fireworks, even if they did not light them.

In 2021, the neighboring Richmond City Council rejected a staff-backed ordinance that would have extended liability to similar parties.

Council members gave first approval to the ordinance in a 4-0 vote. Council member Patricia Ponce was absent.

If approved at the next meeting, the ordinance would go into effect on Nov. 19.