North Perry Village to allow fireworks, will abide by HB172
Jun. 25—North Perry Village will abide by a new state law that permits consumer-grade fireworks to be set off on or around specific holidays each year.
House Bill 172, which takes effect on July 1, also gives community governments the chance to opt out of following the law either partially or completely.
Governmental bodies, such as township trustee boards or city or village councils, must approve legislation confirming and specifying opt-out decisions before the July 1 implementation of HB 172.
However, North Perry intends to adhere to House Bill 172, said Village Council President Brian Titus.
"Council discussed the issue and we have no plans of opting out," Titus said, in a recent email exchange with The News-Herald.
House Bill 172 will allow people in Ohio to set off consumer-grade fireworks on specific holidays and days surrounding these observances. Some of those eligible days include July 3, 4 and 5, and the Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays before and after the Fourth of July; New Year's Eve and New Year's Day; Cinco de Mayo; Labor Day weekend; and Memorial Day weekend.
In communities that decide to abide by House Bill 172, adults will be allowed to discharge consumer-grade fireworks, such as bottle rockets and Roman candles, on their own properties or other private properties with the owner's permission.
Previously, Ohio law required anyone buying consumer-grade fireworks to take the products out of the state within 48 hours. Up until 2015, buyers of consumer-grade fireworks had to sign a form vowing to keep that promise.
House Bill 172 was signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in November. With the bill not being enacted until July, area government leaders around the state had about seven months to consider whether they wanted to either opt out or have their communities covered by HB 172.
Titus said he wasn't aware of HB 172 generating any controversy in North Perry Village.
"Personally, I haven't heard from any residents who were against this law," he said. "In fact, several residents with animals and one with post-traumatic stress disorder hoped that this legalization would lead to public announcements on social media about when people were planning to set fireworks off, so measures could be taken to lessen the offending effect on those most sensitive."
One other community with which North Perry shares a border opted out of HB 172 earlier month. Trustees in Madison Township voted unanimously to opt out of House Bill 172 and instead continue the community's ban on discharging, igniting or exploding fireworks.
Madison Township is located directly east of North Perry.
In Perry Township, which is situated south and west of North Perry, trustees are expected to make a decision on opting out of HB 172 at a June 28 meeting.
Meanwhile, Perry Village Council decided at its June 9 meeting to opt out of HB 172. Council also reaffirmed its intention to retain the community's existing ordinance that essentially bans the possession, ignition and discharge of fireworks, except during a three-day stretch every Fourth of July weekend.
In 2022, council agreed to allow the use of fireworks in Perry Village on July 2, 3 and 4, until 11 p.m.
