Monterey Park, CA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Sections 17.02.140 through .160 of the Monterey Park Municipal Code rewrite the Fire Code's fireworks provisions. Manufacturing fireworks anywhere within the city is unlawful under Section 5614.1, and the fire chief can seize any stock offered, sold, stored or held in violation. Retail sale is limited to 'safe and sane' fireworks defined by the California State Fireworks Law, sold only under a Fire Chief permit and only by a veterans' organization or a nonprofit civic, charitable, youth or religious group with a permanent meeting place established in the city for at least a year; no group gets more than one permit per year, no more than 20 permits issue citywide in any calendar year, and no stand may sit within 500 feet of another.

Each permittee must carry at least $1,000,000 in public liability insurance per person and per occurrence, plus $1,000,000 in property damage coverage, naming the city as additional insured, and must pay the permit fee set in the city's fee schedule. Sale is confined to the window from noon June 28 through 9 p.m. July 4, and discharge is confined to 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 4 only; 'dangerous fireworks' cannot be sold at retail at all. A separate public-display permit under Section 5608.1.2 covers professional shows, requiring a licensed pyrotechnic operator, a written application at least 10 days ahead, insurance or a bond, and a post-show inspection for unexploded shells.