City of Glendale, CA
Home MenuMylar Balloon Ordinance
The Glendale City Council adopted a new ordinance on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, relating to the sale of Mylar or metallic balloons (“Mylar Balloons”) in the City of Glendale (“City”).
Section 8.18.030 of the Ordinance prohibits the sale of Mylar Balloons. The Ordinance defines Mylar Balloons as metallic balloons made of electrically conductive materials filled with helium or gas which is lighter than air. The selling of Mylar Balloons, whether or not inflated with helium or gas which is lighter than air, is prohibited in the City. The Ordinance does make an exception for, and allows, the sale of Mylar Balloons which are filled with air only and are affixed to post or a decorative structure at the point of sale. Any person, firm, or corporation who sells or offers to sell any Mylar Balloon, whether or not inflated with helium or gas which is lighter than air (other than those filled with air only and affixed to a post or a decorate structure at the point of sale) will be violating the Ordinance and can be subject to fines (starting at $100 for the first offense and escalating to $500) or by facing misdemeanor charges which may be punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to 180 days in county jail, or both. The Ordinance takes effect on November 13, 2020.
The Glendale City Council passed this ordinance in order to reduce the dangerous impacts Mylar Balloons have on our City’s power Infrastructure and to reduce the number of power outages that affect our residents and businesses. Mylar Balloons, are a safety hazard when they come in contact with, or come close to, power lines. Mylar Balloons filled with helium, when released, get tangled in power lines and cause power outages, damage to power infrastructure and fires. In some instances, Mylar Balloons have caused excessive damage to our infrastructure that required additional power outages for our crews to work safely and restore power. The impacts from these outages are costly for the utility, as well as for our rate payers.
As a reminder: latex, plastic or other non-conductive material balloons filled with helium are allowed at the point of sale, but conductive metallic balloons – Mylar Balloons - are not.