Quiet, please: Indiana resident, council at odds over fireworks noise

LEBANON, Ind. — An Indiana man wants the city where he lives to be a quieter one this Fourth of July, and he thinks he’s found a way to reduce the noise from fireworks — through a 141-year-old ordinance.

Scott Allen asked the city council in Lebanon, Indiana, about 30 miles northwest of Indianapolis, on Monday to clarify how noise ordinances apply to the use of fireworks. After enduring an evening of “what sounded like cannon shots” outside his house on a recent Saturday night, Allen did some research of city records and found an 1875 ordinance that prohibits “any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise which disturbs the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or which causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area.”

Lebanon is among dozens of cities, small towns and states across the country with unusual laws pertaining to fireworks. Some — like Spokane, Washington and several cities in Montana — prohibit even possessing them. Others, like Florida, have loopholes that inspire unique approaches to celebrating the holiday. In the Sunshine State — where fireworks are ostensibly illegal — under a measure passed nearly 60 years ago, the explosives can be purchased by farms and fish hatcheries, according to the Tampa Bay Times. So vendors have for years gotten around the general prohibition by simply asking customers to sign a form saying they’re buying under an agricultural or other exemption.

Lebanon, Indiana’s ordinance requires permission from the local board of public works and safety to detonate any explosives. It also directs that fireworks may only be used on the Fourth of July, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Presidents Day.

“I wanted to get some clarification from the board,” Allen told the Lebanon, Indiana Reporter. “Is it that we are not enforcing the ordinances on the books, or do we need to look at tightening the ordinances so they are up to date?”

Allen said a call to police left him unsatisfied, as we was told fireworks may be used until midnight on weekends.

“We all know this starts the second week of June and goes until they run out,” Allen said. “To me, it is unacceptable.”

Lebanon Police Department Chief Tyson Warmoth said he sympathized with Allen’s predicament, but added that state law permits a more liberal use of fireworks than the city’s 1875 ordinance controls. Many more fireworks are legal now than back then.

Controlling the use of even legal fireworks is a challenge, Warmoth said.

“If it’s past 10 o’clock on a weekday, we’ll go to the house where we know the fireworks are originating,” Warmoth said. Identifying that location isn’t always possible, he said.

“This is something we have dealt with every single year,” Warmoth said. “We will deal with it next year.

“You can pass ordinances, but you can’t control behavior,” he added.

Warmoth told Allen, “I understand your frustrations; I feel it more than you.”

Mayor Matt Gentry named Councilman Cory Kutz to a committee that will study updates to the city’s noise ordinance.

Nearby Whitestown and Indianapolis are updating their fireworks ordinances, Kutz said, and Lebanon should do the same.

The Lebanon, Indiana Reporter contributed to this story.