Property owners are now on the hook for tenants’ poor fireworks decisions

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The Fourth of July is coming soon, and that means that hundreds of people in Lompoc will likely be detonating fireworks in every sector of town. Many of these people rent the space they live in.

In a December 2024 Lompoc City Council meeting, the police chief reported that “From June 1 to July 25 (2024), public safety dispatchers received 733 calls regarding fireworks, up from 324 in 2023, Chief Kevin Martin told the council last summer. Calls for service on July 4, numbered 257, up from 141 a year earlier, Martin said. Of that number, 136 involved fireworks matters, compared with 51 in 2023,” according to Noozhawk reporting (“Lompoc Looks to Launch Aerial Monitoring in Fireworks Crackdown,” Dec. 25, 2024).

That’s a big increase for a city the size of Lompoc.

The Lompoc municipal code specifically prohibits people to “discharge, project, or otherwise fire or make use of any safe and sane fireworks on, over, or in any public street, sidewalk alley, park, or parking area, without prior written permission of the fire chief,” and to “possess, store, sell, display, ignite, discharge, project, or otherwise fire or make use of dangerous fireworks anywhere in the city at any time.”

“Dangerous fireworks” are defined as those that explode or fly through the air; safe and sane are those that don’t explode or leave the ground.

So, who is responsible when a renter is shooting off fireworks? Well, the municipal code says, “the person in control of a property (parcel owner) shall be in violation of this chapter if any person sells, possesses, ignites, explodes, projects, or otherwise fires or makes use of fireworks on the property in violation of this chapter, regardless of the intent, knowledge, or negligence of the person in control of the property.”

In the past, someone who directly identified the person violating the ordinance had to make a complaint to the city before any enforcement action could be taken—that has changed this year.

Fire Chief Brian Fallon said the city would hire Overwatch Aero based in Solvang to help identify those responsible for the flurry of illegal fireworks. “What the aircraft does is it does pinpoint the parcel as well as the illegal activity that’s taking place on that property,” according to Noozhawk reporting. He said that Santa Maria has conducted a similar effort and reported a 70 percent recovery rate on fines.

Owners of apartment buildings, mobile home parks, and single-family rental homes should take note: You will be held responsible for the actions of your tenants if they are igniting illegal fireworks. The fines related to the “possession, use, storage, sale, or display of dangerous fireworks” start at $1,500 for the first offense and up to $3,500 for subsequent violations in one year.

So, if you own a rental property, it would be best to inform your tenants that the use of fireworks on your property isn’t allowed unless you the owner are willing to pay the penalty.

Maybe this year will be a little quieter than years past. If so, it’s worth the cost of collecting the information. If not, then collecting the fines will be more than enough to pay for the added surveillance and may be enough to prevent illegal discharges next year after property owners pay the fines.

Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to letters@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Jun 12-22, 2025.