Residents in the City of Brier will get to have their say on whether to totally ban fireworks in the City this fall.

The November General Election will have an advisory ballot measure asking citizens if they want fireworks totally banned in Brier.

Mayor Bob Colinas was the person who pushed for the ballot measure, which was approved by the City Council. In his 10 years as Mayor, Colinas said that fireworks have always been an issue brought up by residents.

More people seem to support the right to continue to use legal fireworks, Colinas said, but other residents have expressed their concerns to him. The City is not being charged extra to place the advisory measure on the ballot, so Colinas thought it would be a good idea to ask the community for its opinion.

“This year with the dry weather, there were concerns,” Colinas said. “At the same time, there are residents who support our ability to use legal fireworks and celebrate the Fourth of July.”

Both Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace ban all fireworks. Lynnwood’s ban went into effect this year for the first time. Fireworks are legal in Bothell and unincorporated Snohomish County, which also border Brier. Colinas noted that what gets residents upset are the use of illegal fireworks.

Any ban enacted by the City has to be passed a year in advance, so if the Brier City Council were to act to ban fireworks, the earliest a ban could be in effect for the July 4 holiday would be in 2017.

Brier Police received 17 complaints about fireworks in 2015, down from 19 in 2014 and up from 10 in 2013. Lynnwood received 102 calls about fireworks, while Mountlake Terrace had 67 and Edmonds received 86 in 2015.

“It’s a great opportunity to poll the community,” Colinas said. “It’s another good way to get a sense of how the community feels.”

– By David Pan