City tweaks system for reporting illegal fireworks

San Jose leaders are revising the process for reporting illegal fireworks, and this time complainants will be required to provide evidence such as video to trigger enforcement.

The overhaul was prompted by public outcry this summer when several residents in the Blossom Hill neighborhood complained they were wrongly cited for allegedly setting off fireworks after neighbors called a hotline to report them.

The fire department ultimately ended up tossing 45 citations that had been issued without any video or photographic evidence.

One family received two citations totaling $1,200, and one person hired an attorney after getting a citation addressed only to “Resident.” Neighbors were also outraged about having to pay fines upfront in order to challenge them.

District 10 Councilman Johnny Khamis, who has tried for several years to crack down on banned pyrotechnics throughout the city, said in an interview last week that residents still will have to pay the tickets before they get a hearing, but anyone filing a fireworks complaint online will be required to submit evidence.

“If you don’t put evidence like a video or you’re not willing to testify… there will be some kind of disclaimer, like we may not pursue this if you don’t fill out the proper fields,” Khamis said.

In September, the City Council directed staff to look into dropping the requirement to pay fines before appeals.

But then-San Jose Fire Chief Curtis Jacobson said in a memo that waiving the requirement “would likely significantly increase the number of requests for appeal hearings,” which currently make up 3.5 percent of all administrative citations issued.

According to the memo, “107 appeal hearings have been requested out of the 3,016 administrative citations issued” over the past year.

“The current program is run with a lean and efficient staffing model, and the current staffing levels would not be able to absorb an increase in workload,” Jacobson wrote.

The city, meanwhile, is setting up a telephone hotline this New Year’s Eve that residents can call to report illegal fireworks.

Khamis said the hotline will also be open next year during the Fourth of July and Lunar New Year periods.

Police also will more closely monitor areas that typically receive a higher number of complaints.

“They’re going to catalog complaints to find out where all the hot zones are and do more patrols for the areas that experience more calls,” he added.

The hotline will be available for the holiday season from Dec. 18-Jan. 1 for Christmas New Year’s celebrations, Feb. 1-18 for Tet/ Lunar New Year and June 1-July 8 for Fourth of July.