STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – Independence Day is just a couple of weeks away, and while it is generally a time to celebrate America, it also brings many safety hazards and noise, which the city of Sterling Heights is working to address.
“Every single year we get hundreds of phone calls from our residents calling for noise complaints,” Dale Dwojakowski, the city’s assistant city manager, said on Friday. “Their house is literally shaking.”
The city has launched an initiative called “Safe Celebrations Start Local,” which supports state legislation in Lansing that would give cities greater local authority to establish fireworks regulations.
Current state law, adopted back in 2011, allows fireworks to be lit 11 days a year, including between 11 a.m. and 11:45 p.m. from June 29 through July 4, and precludes cities from setting their own regulations.
Dwojakowski says it’s not about banning fireworks, but things have gotten out of hand.
Complaints have ranged from people lighting fireworks late at night, shooting them at others, and scaring veterans who have PTSD.
“They launch fireworks pretty much throughout the entire summer, which becomes troublesome not only for the noise complaints every single night, but then how do you even police it when we have calls every single day, every single night,” Dwojakowski said. “We had well over 1,200 calls to police alone, and a lot of those indicated that they were a war veteran suffering from PTSD, and their house was literally shaking.”
Sterling Heights has been in contact with the area’s six state reps and three state senators about this. Potential changes could include:
- Reducing the number of state-mandated days when consumer fireworks are permitted.
- Establishing local setback requirements for safer use.
- Setting reasonable limits on allowable times.
- Creating additional safety measures that reflect local community needs.
“If there’s a rural community and people want to light off fireworks, you know, that city should be able to say, that’s fine with us, we have no problem with it,” Dwojakowski said. “But in Sterling Heights, we’re not a rural community. We’re a city of almost 140,000 people packed into 36 square miles.”
“We’re just asking for some common sense,” Dwojakowski added, “Let the local municipalities have a voice in what fireworks looks like in their city. That’s all we’re asking for.”