[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Weisenberg 9-8-2003 by Ord.
No. 03-03. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following terms shall have the meanings ascribed unless
a contrary meaning is expressly set forth in the text.
The law enacted July 11, 2022, P.L. 762, No. 74, as amended,
and codified as 3 Pa.C.S.A. § 1101 et seq.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Acceptable to Township Supervisors.
The ignition, launching or detonation of fireworks.
Any combustible or explosive composition or any substance
or combination of substances or, except as hereinafter provided, any
article prepared for the purpose of producing a visible or an audible
effect by combustion, explosion, deflagration or detonation, and shall
include blank cartridges and toy cannons in which explosives are used,
the type of balloons which require fire underneath to propel the same,
firecrackers, torpedoes, skyrockets, roman candles, aerial fireworks,
or other fireworks of like construction, and any fireworks containing
any explosive or flammable compound or any tablets or other device
containing an explosive substance.
That permit issued by Township Board of Supervisors for a
display of fireworks.
Any person, copartnership, association, corporation, limited
partnership, limited-liability partnership, limited-liability company,
joint venture or similar entity that secures a fireworks permit.
Any person, copartnership, association, corporation, limited
partnership, limited -liability partnership, limited-liability company,
joint venture or similar entity that applies for a fireworks permit.
The Township of Weisenberg.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Weisenberg.
Sparklers;
Automobile flares;
Toy pistols;
Toy canes;
Toy guns;
Other devices in which paper caps containing 0.25 grains (16.0
mg) or less of explosive compound are used; provided, however, such
devices are constructed so that the hand cannot come in contact with
the cap when in place for the explosion;
Toy pistol paper caps which contain less than 0.20 grains of
explosive mixture; and
Toy cannons which operate on the principle of mixing calcium
carbide, weighing less than 0.1 of an ounce, and water in the reservoir
of the cannon and in which ignition results upon the creation of a
spark.
A.
Except as set forth, it shall be unlawful for:
(1)
Any person, copartnership, association or corporation to store, offer
for sale, expose for sale, sell at retail, or use, explode or discharge
any fireworks in the Township.
(2)
A common carrier or a common carrier by motor vehicle, as defined
in 66 Pa.C.S.A. § 102 (relating to definitions), or contract
carrier by motor vehicle, as defined in 66 Pa.C.S.A. § 2501(b)
(relating to declaration of policy and definitions) to accept fireworks
for delivery to a person in the Township unless the consignor of such
fireworks has evidence from the consignee that a fireworks permit
for their use has been issued by the Township Supervisors.
B.
The sale and use of unregulated fireworks shall be permitted at all
times; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be deemed
to permit or otherwise authorize any breach of the peace.
C.
Every display of fireworks shall be of such a character and so located,
arranged, discharged and fired in such a manner that, in the opinion
of the Chief of the Fire Department or such other officer as may be
designated by the Township Supervisors after proper inspection, shall
not be or present a hazard to property or endanger any person.
A.
A fireworks permit shall be required for all displays of fireworks.
No permit shall be required for the use, purchase or distribution
of unregulated fireworks. No display of fireworks requiring the issuance
of a permit shall be commenced until a fireworks permit for such display
has been issued by the Township Supervisors.
B.
Application for a fireworks permit shall be made on forms prepared and provided by the Township, shall be accompanied by an adequate description of the proposed display of fireworks, and shall be accompanied by the required fee as prescribed in § 259-4A.
C.
Application for a fireworks permit shall be made by the person conducting
the fireworks display. All applications for a fireworks permit shall
be submitted to the Township Supervisors at least 15 days in advance
of the date of the fireworks display. The application shall require
that the person or business entity applying for a fireworks permit
shall produce a valid registration with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Attorney General (such registration as required pursuant to 37 Pa.
Code Chapter 711).
D.
The applicant shall provide in writing the location of the fireworks
display, the types of fireworks proposed to be used, and any additional
information as may be required by the Township Supervisors.
E.
The Township Supervisors shall examine or cause to be examined all
applications for fireworks permits and amendments thereto within five
days after filing. If the application does not conform to the requirements
of all pertinent statutes, ordinances and regulations, the Board of
Supervisors shall reject the application and, in writing, state the
reasons therefor. If the Township Supervisors is satisfied that the
proposed firework display conforms to the requirements of this chapter
and all laws and regulations applicable thereto, the Board of Supervisors
shall issue a fireworks permit listing any conditions attached by
the Board of Supervisors, the date(s) for which the permit is valid,
and any extension date(s) in the event of unfavorable weather. A fireworks
permit is not transferable.
F.
The Township Supervisors shall, pursuant to 46 Pa. Code § 15.60(12),
retain copies of permits issued and related applications for fireworks
display(s) as fire records for three years after the expiration, revocation,
or date of issuance.
A.
The Township Supervisors shall determine the fee to be charged for
each permit issued by resolution which may from time to time be amended
to revise the fees.
B.
The applicant must demonstrate that adequate parking and traffic
control will be available for the event.
C.
Unless otherwise approved by the Township Supervisors, event signs
shall be directional only, with the name of the event and a directional
arrow. A sign shall not exceed eight square feet per side. The location
of said signage is to be determined by the Township Supervisors. Signs
may be erected no more than 24 hours in advance of the day the event
starts and must be removed by 5:00 p.m. the day after the event concludes.
D.
The Township Supervisors may add any conditions deemed necessary
and appropriate by the Township Supervisors to address safety concerns.
E.
Prior to issuance of a permit, the applicant shall provide a certificate
of liability insurance naming the Township of Weisenberg as an additional
insured. The insurance shall be in an amount not less than $1,000,000.
F.
Fire protection.
[Added 9-11-2006 by Ord.
No. 06-04]
(1)
The applicant shall be responsible for, and shall pay, all charges
related to fire protection, including the presence of a fire truck
at the event, whether such charge is imposed by a volunteer fire company
or a municipality.
(2)
An escrow deposit to secure payment of the required amount shall
be required and the Supervisors shall determine the amount of the
escrow.
The permittee shall:
A.
If, by reason of unfavorable weather, the fireworks display for which
a fireworks permit has been issued does not take place, the person
to whom such permit was issued may, within 24 hours, request the Township
Supervisors to extend the duration of the fireworks permit from the
originally fixed date of said fireworks display to an established
rain date as set forth in the fireworks permit or such other date
as may be approved by the Township Supervisors. In making a request
for the extension of the duration of a fireworks permit, the permittee
shall set forth, under oath, the fact that such display was not made,
giving the reason therefor.
B.
Upon receipt of a request for a continuance, the Township Supervisors
may, if it believes or knows the facts stated therein to be true,
automatically extend the provisions of said permit to the rain date
as fixed in the original permit application or such other date as
may be approved by the Supervisors.
C.
Such extension of time shall be granted by the Township Supervisors
without the payment of any additional fee and without requiring any
bond other than the one given for the original permit, the provisions
of which shall extend to and cover all damages which may be caused
by reason of the said display taking place at such extended date in
the same manner and to the same extent as if such display had taken
place at the date originally fixed in the permit.
A.
After notice to the permittee and an opportunity to be heard (within
five days of the date of the notice), the Township Supervisors may
revoke a fireworks permit or approval issued under the provisions
of this chapter in the case of:
B.
Appeals from any suspension, revocation or denial of a permit may
be made to the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas pursuant to the
provisions of the Local Agency Law, 2 Pa.C.S.A. § 751 et
seq.
C.
In the event that a fireworks permit or application therefor has
been denied, suspended or revoked, no part of the application/permit
fee shall be refunded.
Unfired fireworks and trash remaining after the conclusion of
the display for which the fireworks permit was issued shall be immediately
disposed of by the permittee in an approved, safe manner.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit any resident
wholesaler, dealer or jobber to sell at wholesale such fireworks as
are not herein prohibited or the sale of any kind of fireworks, provided
the same are to be shipped directly out of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
or are to be used by a person holding a permit from any municipality
at the display covered by the permit, or when used as authorized by
a permit for agricultural purposes in connection with the raising
of crops and the protection of crops from bird and animal damage,
or the use of fireworks by railroads or other transportation agencies
for signal purposes or illumination, or when used in quarrying or
for blasting or other industrial use, or the sale of blank cartridges
for a show or theater, or for signal or ceremonial purposes in athletics
or sports, or for use by military organizations or organizations composed
of veterans of the United States Army or Navy.
Any law enforcement official of the Township Police Department
shall seize, take, remove, or cause to be removed at the expense of
the owner all fireworks offered or exposed for display or sale, stored,
held, or used, discharged, or expended in violation of this chapter
and the Act.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person, copartnership, association or corporation violating
any term, condition or provision hereof or the Act shall, upon being
found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of
not more than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys'
fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this chapter.
If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the
Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules
of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a
separate offense. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the
Township are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including
injunction, to enforce compliance herewith. The penalties imposed
under this section shall be in addition to any other penalty imposed
by any other section of the Township of Weisenberg Code.
This chapter shall not apply to any person who is beyond the
legal power of the Township to impose the provisions of this chapter,
under either the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution
or Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This chapter shall not
affect violations of any other ordinance, code or regulation existing
prior to the effective date hereof, and any such violation shall be
governed and shall continue to be punishable to the full extent of
the law under the provisions of those ordinances, codes or regulations
in effect at the time the violation was committed.
The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any provision,
sentence, clause, section or part thereof shall, for any reason, be
found to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such unconstitutional,
illegal, or invalid provision, sentence, clause, section or part thereof
shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences,
clauses, sections or parts thereof. It is hereby declared to be the
intent of the Township Supervisors that this chapter would have been
adopted had such unconstitutional, illegal or invalid provision, sentence,
clause, section or part thereof not been included herein.
The provisions of this chapter shall become effective on the
fifth day following enactment.
Any ordinance, in part or in whole, conflicting or inconsistent
with the provisions of this chapter shall be, and the same are, hereby
repealed insofar as the same may conflict with or be inconsistent
with the terms of this chapter.
