Glendale Bans Sale Of Helium-Filled Mylar Balloons
GLENDALE (CBSLA) — The sale of helium-filled mylar balloons will be banned in Glendale, according to a new ordinance that will go into effect on Nov. 30.
The Glendale City Council adopted the new ordinance, which prohibits the sale of electrically-conductive mylar balloons filled with helium or gas lighter than air within city limits, on Tuesday night. The ordinance was proposed after years of power outages caused by mylar balloons drifting into power lines.
"This ordinance will help reduce outages and damages caused to our system until a new solution is in place," Steve Zurn, general manager of Glendale Water and Power, said in a statement.
Just last month, a mylar balloon was blamed for an outage that hit 2,500 LADWP customers in the Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw, West Adams and Mid-City neighborhoods of Los Angeles. In March, a mylar balloon that drifted into power lines in La Puente caused a gas leak, prompting the displacement of dozens of residents.
California in 1990 passed a law requiring helium-filled foil or mylar balloons to be weighted down so they cannot fly off. Members of the balloon industry called into Glendale's City Council meeting to decry the new ordinance, which they said was unnecessary when California already had a mylar balloon law on the books.
The ordinance still allows for the sale of air-filled mylar balloons that are fixed to decorative structures, such as a post or a balloon arch. Violating the ordinance could lead to fines of up to $1,000 and misdemeanor charges.