City Appeals Fireworks Ruling

The fireworks battle continues to be explosive. City Council voted on August 2 to appeal a Superior Court ruling that the Parks and Recreation Department must follow state environmental guidelines when issuing permits for fireworks shows.

The city and the organization that puts on the annual July 4 fireworks show in La Jolla were sued by environmental attorney Marco Gonzalez, who successfully contented that the city does not follow its own municipality code when issuing such permits.

Environmentalists believe debris from the fireworks harm sea life in the nearby marine sanctuary.

Organizers of fireworks displays claim the extra cost of complying with state environmental laws will put them out of business.

And lastly, the city argued that since the ruling could apply to all types of permits beyond fireworks, city staff workload would increase severely.

A hearing is scheduled August 31 before Judge Linda Quinn.

City News Service contributed to this report.