00-13 - Oy � .
TOWN OF PROSPER, TEXAS
ORDINANCE NO. 0 0 -13
AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF PROSPER, TEXAS, PROHIBITING
FIREWORKS; PROVIDING FOR DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING EXCEPTIONS;
PROVIDING REQUIREMENTS FOR A PERMIT AND BOND FOR PUBLIC
DISPLAYS; DECLARING FIREWORKS TO BE A PUBLIC NUISANCE;
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, SAVINGS AND PENALTY CLAUSES;
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE
PUBLICATION OF THE CAPTION HEREOF.
WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of Prosper, Texas ("Town Council") has
investigated and determined that it would be in the best interest of the Town of Prosper, Texas
("Prosper") and its inhabitants to prohibit fireworks within Prosper; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council finds that it will be advantageous, beneficial and in the
best interest of the citizens of Prosper to prohibit fireworks.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN
OF PROSPER, TEXAS:
SECTION 1: Findings Incorporated. The findings set forth above are incorporated into
the body of this Ordinance as if fully set forth herein.
SECTION 2: Definitions. For purposes of this Ordinance, the following definitions
shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
"Person" means a natural person (individual), corporate, company, association,
partnership, firm, limited liability company, joint venture, joint stock company or association,
and other such entity.
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"Fireworks" means any combustible or explosive composition, or any substance or
combination of substances, or device prepared for the purpose of producing a visible or audible
effect or pyrotechnic display of combustion, explosion, deflagration, or detonation, and shall
include, but not be limited to the following: blank cartridges, toy pistols, toy cannons, toy canes,
or toy guns in which explosives are used, fire crackers, torpedoes, sky rockets, bottle rockets,
Roman candles, Daygo bombs, sparklers, cannon crackers, squibs, fire balloons, star shells,
gerbs, or any other device by whatever name, of like construction, and any devices containing
any explosive or flammable compound, or any tablet or other device containing an explosive
substance whether herein specifically designated and defined or not. The term fireworks shall
not include any auto flares, paper caps containing not in excess of an average of 0.25 of a gram
of explosive content per cap, or toy pistols, toy guns, toy canes or other devices using such caps.
"Town Fire Chief" means Prosper's Town Fire Chief or his designee.
"Town Mayor" means Prosper's Town Mayor or his designee.
SECTION 3: Fireworks Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture,
assemble, store, transport, receive, keep, sell, offer or have in their possession with the intent to
sell, use, discharge, cause to be discharged, ignite, detonate, fire or otherwise set in action any
fireworks of any description.
SECTION 4: Exceptions. This Ordinance shall not apply to signal flares and torpedoes
of the type and kind commonly used by any railroad and which signal flares and torpedoes are
received by and stored or transported by any such railroad for use in railroad operation; nor shall
this article apply to any marine signal flare or rocket of the type and kind commonly carried by a
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vessel at sea for its own use and which signal flares or rockets are transported or received or
stored for use only as ship's stores; nor shall this Ordinance apply to signal flares or rockets for
military or police use.
SECTION 5: Requiring Permits and Bond for Public Displays. The Town Mayor shall
have power to adopt reasonable rules and regulations for the granting of permits for supervised
public displays of fireworks by a jurisdiction, fair association, amusement park, other
organizations, or for the use of fireworks by artisans in pursuit of their trade. Every such display
shall be handled by a competent operator approved by the Town Mayor, and shall be of such
character and so located, discharged, or fire so as not to be hazardous to property and/or endanger
any person. Applications for such permits shall be made in writing at least ten (10) days in
advance of the date of the display to the Town Mayor and the State Fire Marshal's office and
shall contain an approved bond in an amount adequate to protect any permittee against claims
arising from damage to person and/or property as a result of the display. After such privilege
shall be granted, sale, possession, use and distribution of fireworks for such display shall be
lawful for that purpose only. No permit granted hereunder shall be transferable. Any fireworks
that remain unfired after the display is concluded shall be immediately removed from the Town,
or shall be disposed of in a way safe for the particular type of fireworks remaining.
SECTION 6: Fireworks Declared a Public Nuisance. The presence of any fireworks
within the Town in violation of this Ordinance is hereby declared to be a common and public
nuisance. The Town Fire Chief is directed and required to seize and cause to be safely destroyed
any fireworks found within the Town in violation of this Ordinance. Any member of the Fire
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Department of the Town, or any police officer of the Town, or any other duly constituted peace
officer is empowered to stop the transportation of and detain any fireworks found being
transported illegally or to close any building where fireworks are found stored illegally until the
Town Fire Chief can be notified in order that said fireworks may be seized and destroyed in
accordance with the terms of this Ordinance. Notwithstanding any penal provision of this
Ordinance, the Town attorney is authorized to file suit on behalf of the Town or the Town Fire
Chief, or both, for injunctive relief as may be necessary to prevent unlawful storage,
transportation, keeping or use of fireworks within the Town and to aid the Town Fire Chief in the
discharge of his duties, and to particularly prevent any person from interfering with the seizure
and destruction of such fireworks. It shall not, however, be necessary to obtain any such
injunctive relief as a prerequisite to such seizure and destruction. The Town Fire Chief or any
member of the fire prevention division of the Town is hereby authorized, at reasonable times, to
enter any building where the unlawful presence of fireworks is suspected in order to inspect the
building for the presence of such fireworks.
SECTION 7: Penalty. Any person, firm, corporation or business entity violating this
Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined a
sum not exceeding Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00). Each continuing day's violation under
this Ordinance shall constitute a separate offense. The penal provisions imposed under this
Ordinance shall not preclude Prosper from filing suit to enjoin the violation. Prosper retains all
legal rights and remedies available to it pursuant to local, state and federal law.
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SECTION 8: Territoral Applicability. This Ordinance shall be applicable and in force
throughout the incorporated territory of the Town within its corporate city limits, and within the
extraterritorial jurisdiction of the Town being the area immediately adjacent and continuous with
the corporate limits of the Town and extending for a distance outside the corporate limits for a
distance as established by the laws of the State of Texas, provided that this Ordinance shall not
apply within any portion of this extraterritorial jurisdiction which is contained within the territory
of any other municipal corporation.
SECTION 9: Savings/Repealing Clause. All provisions of any ordinance in conflict
with this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent they are in conflict; but such repeal shall
not abate any pending prosecution for violation of the repealed ordinance, nor shall the repeal
prevent a prosecution from being commenced for any violation if occurring prior to the repeal of
the ordinance. Any remaining portions of said ordinances shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 10: Severability. Should any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase
of this Ordinance be declared unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, it
is expressly provided that any and all remaining portions of this Ordinance shall remain in full
force and effect. Prosper hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each
section, subsection, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections,
subsections, sentences, clauses, and phrases be declared unconstitutional or invalid.
SECTION 11: Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective from and after its
adoption and publication as required by law.
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DULY PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF
PROSPER, TEXAS on this 11th day of
ATTESTED TO AND
CORRECTLY RECORDED BY:
S I EY A
Town Secretary
6t
JIM DUNMIRE, MAYOR PRO—TEM
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
ABERNATHY, ROEDER, BOYD,
& JOPLIN, P.C.
RICHARD M. ABERNATHY
REBECCA BREWER
Town Attorneys
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 4-14-0 in the MJqrMY 03.3r1er Gamtte
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