Despite a slew of complaints by residents following what they claimed to be a loud display of fireworks on July 4, Langley’s fireworks policy will remain unrevised.

The decision is not final, however, as discussions on the topic will continue moving forward, said Mayor Tim Callison.

The city council opted not to update or change its two-decade-old fireworks policy at its regular monthly meeting Monday night. The subject will be revisited at next month’s meeting on Aug. 1. While the council recognized the seriousness of the complaints by citizens, as well as an online petition calling for a ban on fireworks within the city limits, they did not have enough data to make a final decision, Callison said.

In the meantime, the council is hoping to glean more information on the matter at a county-wide level through research to be conducted by Callison.

Callison said in a phone interview Thursday afternoon that he will be communicating with Island County, Coupeville and Oak Harbor officials to see if fireworks have emerged as a prevalent issue. A public hearing is also likely to be scheduled, Callison said.

“They [the council] indicated I should try and coordinate the city’s efforts to see what was going to be done on a uniform basis,” Callison said. “It doesn’t make sense to not have them in Langley and be surrounded by them in the county area.”

The topic stemmed from residents calling for a ban on fireworks at a July 5 meeting. Langley residents Sharen Heath and Andi Schoenman complained that the noise from fireworks on July 4 was far too excessive, comparing the volume of fireworks to that of a war zone.

Their complaints were backed by two others who emailed Callison, as well as letters to the editor in recent South Whidbey Record issues. A petition to ban fireworks within the city limits was also crafted and has reached 178 supporters as of Thursday afternoon, though roughly 20 to 25 percent of the petitioners do not live in the area, Callison said.

Only Councilman Bruce Allen was in favor of changing the fireworks policy so it would reduce the intensity of allowable fireworks within city limits. The policy was last updated in 1992.

“I’m personally in favor of just going back to 1992 fireworks and let the kids do their sparklers and firecrackers and that sort of thing,” Allen said. “I don’t see any reason to have big bombs going off outside.”

Councilman Thomas Gill said that while fireworks being sold on Native American reservations are often extreme, a ban on fireworks would do little to prevent them from being used.

“There is nothing that we can do as local government to prevent that from happening,” Gill said. “If we put a ban, they’re still going to be here and we don’t have the resources to be combatting them constantly.”

Gill said the city’s small staff of four police officers would be hard-pressed to address a stricter code on fireworks while maintaining their normal duties.

“There’s going to be injuries, there’s going to be fires, there’s going to be physical issues and other crimes that have higher priority than simply two hours of a lot of noise banging,” Gill said. “I’ve got this gut feeling that there’s just a lot of people who have this desire that, ‘I don’t like something, therefore no one else can do it,’ and it’s a very negative feeling.”

“It’s not something that I think is a healthy thing to have in this community. We need to be thinking about that aspect this whole discussion,” he added.

Councilwoman Ursula Shoudy was not in favor of changing the fireworks code. She said the fireworks were actually less in magnitude than in previous years. She also echoed Gill’s sentiments that too many restrictions for Langley residents may lead to the city having a dull reputation.

“I know what loud, obnoxious fireworks sound like, and it was much more mellow than normal,” Shoudy said. “I think it’s one day and there’s so many people that are respectful to the fireworks, and I think if we start getting on this noise, that noise, the music is too loud after 6 o’clock at night. We live in the city limits. And this is one day a year.”

“If we start banning this, then we are going to be that city that absolutely shuts down,” she added.

Addressing some of the residents’ complaints that the excessive noise frightens household pets and nearby wildlife, Shoudy and Allen said it’s important to pre-plan to prevent it from being an issue, from giving them pills to relax them or putting them in a safer environment.

Also a concern by residents were fire hazards stemming from the fireworks.

Police Chief David Marks reported at the meeting that in the last 20 years, there was not a single incident involving a fire or injury caused by fireworks.