San Leandro, CA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- SLMC Chapter 3-11, Fireworks
- Safe and sane fireworks
- Prohibited, no local exception
- Display permit lead time
- 10 days before event
- Display permit authority
- City Manager
- Max misdemeanor penalty
- $1,000 fine / 6 months jail
- First infraction fine
- Up to $100
Summary
San Leandro outlaws every kind of fireworks, including state-legal "safe and sane" fireworks, under SLMC § 3-11-105. No retail sale, possession, or discharge is allowed anywhere in the city outside a City Manager-issued public display permit, and manufacturing fireworks here is banned outright.
The manufacture of fireworks or safe and sane fireworks or safe and sane and/or regulated fireworks is prohibited within the City of San Leandro. It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, solicit the sale of, possess, purchase, use, ignite, discharge, explode, or allow the use on their property or property under their control any fireworks or safe and sane and/or regulated fireworks within the City of San Leandro except as provided in this Chapter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4967405; v8 updated 2026-07-06).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 3-11 of the Municipal Code makes San Leandro one of the stricter East Bay cities on fireworks: it does not carve out an annual safe-and-sane sales window the way many California cities do. Section 3-11-105 prohibits manufacturing fireworks in the city and makes it unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, solicit the sale of, possess, purchase, use, ignite, discharge, explode, or allow the use on their property of any fireworks or safe and sane fireworks, except as the Chapter allows. The only carve-outs, listed in § 3-11-110, are railroad and transportation signal devices, blank cartridges for ceremonies and sporting events, motion picture or theatrical productions, fireworks passing through the city in original packaging between two out-of-city points, and public displays under a permit.
To hold a public display, § 3-11-200 requires an application to the City Manager at least 10 days ahead, a bond or insurance policy adequate to cover damages, a competent City Manager-approved operator, and immediate disposal of any unfired fireworks after the show. Permits are non-transferable. Section 3-11-300 states the Chapter supplements, rather than replaces, the State Fireworks Law in Part 2, Division 11 of the Health and Safety Code.
Violations & Fines
Section 3-11-305 lets the City Manager, a designee, or any Enforcement Officer under § 1-12-110 seize and remove any fireworks offered for sale, stored, or held in violation of the Chapter, and the City can recover its seizure costs, including attorney's fees, administratively or in civil court. Because the Chapter does not set its own penalty schedule, a violation defaults to the Code's general provisions: under § 1-12-200 an unlisted violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and six months in County Jail, or the City can instead charge it as an infraction carrying up to $100 for a first offense and $200 for a second within a year, with a third becoming a misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy safe and sane fireworks in San Leandro?
Are sparklers or novelty fireworks legal here?
How do I get a permit for a public fireworks show?
What happens if fireworks are found for sale illegally?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Leandro
How San Leandro compares: Cities Where Fireworks Are Banned or Heavily Restricted·California rules heatmap·Compare San Leandro to another location·View the California fire regulations overview
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