LAKE PLACID — This village’s Board of Trustees and the North Elba Town Council are both interested in individually passing ordinances restricting the private parties who can have fireworks within municipal lines.

This increased fireworks regulation was originally proposed to be one of 13 amendments to the village and town’s joint land-use code, which was discussed at a special meeting between the town and village held Thursday at the North Elba Town Hall.

During the discussion, the attorney for the town and village’s joint review board, Tim Smith, advised trustees and councilmen that he and the planning board considered the issuing of fireworks permits as “fleeting” in terms of classification and that a fireworks ordinance did not fit under the land-use code.

The members of the boards subsequently discussed changing the law by each writing free-standing ordinances similar or identical in language after town attorney Ron Briggs and village attorney Janet Bliss met to discuss the wording.

North Elba Town Supervisor Roby Politi and Lake Placid Mayor Craig Randall each said they had spoken about a joint change to the law and each had received complaints from village and town residents.

“The town is having problems,” Politi said.

“I’m getting a lot of calls,” he added, “‘It’s our anniversary; we want to shoot them off on the lake.’ Or birthday parties, or weddings — you know, it’s not meant for that. It’s not meant for wealthy people to be able to, who can afford it, they can have fireworks and nobody (else) can. I really have a problem with that and I have a problem with people going out on Lake Placid — our water source — and just shooting fireworks off in the middle of the lakes.”

“What’s happening now,” Randall replied, “given especially the development of Lake Placid as a destination wedding community, is that they are all coming in asking for private fireworks approvals. I think it’s reaching a proportion where I get calls from the community — most own dogs. Dogs don’t like fireworks, especially in the village. So, limiting them to those things that are important to the whole village I think is a very good idea, but opening it up just because somebody can afford to have them (is not a good idea).”

Politi and Randall were clear that the law would not limit or curtail the traditional public fireworks celebrations put on in the village, such as the Fourth of July celebration.

The language of the initially proposed land-use code amendment specified that all fireworks displays in the town or village would require a permit. Only events such as community-centric sporting events, state Olympic Regional Development Authority-sponsored sporting and corporate events, Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism sponsored-corporate events and public celebrations for the benefit of the community would be permitted.

The initially proposed land-use code amendment specified that fireworks permits would not be issued for private events such as weddings, parties, birthdays, anniversaries or fundraisers.

Politi elaborated on the background behind why the town council and the town attorney Briggs want the change.

“I think that Ron (Briggs) wanted it in there only because he felt the codes office is doing it anyway and it’s a lot easier to get to the judge.

“The other argument is,” Politi continued, “at 10 p.m. on a Saturday and somebody is shooting fireworks off on the lake, the most logical people to get to stop it or find out are police, not the code enforcement office.”

Smith said he felt the language of the proposed change to the land-use code was written well.

Town Councilman Bob Miller asked the assembled elected officials if state police based in Ray Brook would respond to the town for a report of someone disobeying the proposed sound ordinance. Village trustee Scott Monroe said they would if a law was on the books.

“I think that if we have an ordinance or a law and it is accompanied by fairly substantial fines,” Politi said. “It won’t happen.”