Northlake residents will soon be able to celebrate Independence Day and New Year’s Eve with fireworks in their own driveways, making the town one of the few municipalities in North Texas to permit the practice.
The Northlake Town Council adopted an ordinance at its Sept. 24 meeting allowing residents to use ground-based fireworks on July 4 and Dec. 31.
Under the ordinance, fireworks must remain on the resident’s property, and any debris or trash must be cleaned up by noon the following day.
Fireworks may be discharged until 11:59 p.m. on both holidays. The council could consider adding more dates in the future.
The ordinance applies only to ground-based fireworks, meaning aerial fireworks that launch into the sky and explode will remain prohibited.
Residents must also discharge fireworks on their driveways rather than in the street, where fireworks use remains illegal under state law.
Northlake’s reversal of the fireworks ban will make them the only municipality in southern Denton County that will allow the use of fireworks within city limits.
Council thoroughly discussed the proposed ordinance, and ended up voting to approve it, but not without some consideration to continue the ban.
“Not a single town in North Texas allows fireworks. What surprises me is we have several individuals that want to reverse that trend and make Northlake the outlier,” said council member Michael Ganz. “We have people with open acreage and livestock, and I think we’re opening a can of worms… do we want to be the outlier town that allows fireworks.”
Council member Alex Holmes was adamant about adding restrictions to the ordinance to ensure Northlake didn’t become the site of fireworks tourism – people traveling to the town to shoot off fireworks.
She acknowledge fireworks are dangerous, but said restricting them to one’s own property will prevent large fires and only risking the property of the person using the fireworks.
“Personal responsibility will always come with fireworks,” said Northlake Mayor Brian Montini. “If you burn your foot or your finger, you have to learn like you learn not to touch a hot stove.”
Part of the ordinance was the ability to disallow fireworks when a burn ban is in effect. The ordinance says that the county can declare a burn ban or the council can do so at the council meeting prior to July 4.
“Historically, looking at dry summers we’ve had, we have a pretty good idea about a week out if it’s going to be safe or not,” said Holmes.
The town is also looking to do a co-sponsored firework show with Hilltop Truck Park, which has big plans to expand after being annexed into the Town of Northlake.
