In regards to the availability of shooting lands, the RKBA loses more ground each and every year.
Posted on 05/30/2008 6:08:44 AM PDT by marktwain
RHINEBECK - A neighbor of the Northern Dutchess Rod and Gun Club want state and federal environmental reviews of the Enterprise Road facility because of concerns that shot is landing in wetlands.
Property owner Spero Chumas, a village resident who rents property near the range, spoke about the issue Tuesday as the sound of shots from the facility periodically rang out. Members are allowed to practice from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. (or dusk) on a disputed trap range that neighbors say is an ongoing disturbance.
Members of the 75-year-old organization, which also uses the 340-acre facility for fishing and youth education programs, contend a six-year-old site plan change was designed for safety and sound improvements at a range that has been used since 1961.
Club Vice President Ron Hill said the highest priority was given for the safety of members who use the property.
"There are as many people that belong for the pond, for the fishing, as there are for the (trap shooting) range," he said.
Member Judy Coons said the club has been willing to listen to complaints but recognizes that not everyone will be happy.
"We made some changes and for some of the neighbors that was enough and for some of them it wasn't," she said.
Chumas said reorienting the range would provide a safer facility and have less impact on neighbors.
"I've been there for over 25 years and never had a complaint until 2002," he said. "Of course we heard shooting, but it was occasional, intermittent, and sporadic, and very infrequent during the summer months."
Complaints over the facility include alleged violations of the town noise ordinance, that it is too close to the road, and that multidirectional shooting violates federal environmental law.
"There's a pond 150 feet away from it which I think is a no-brainer to anyone with any environmental background," Chumas said. "Even the NRA recommended shot fall distances, which is how far a trap shooting facility should be from a road or a property line, is 900 feet. By their own testimony they have 580 to the road."
Neighbors in 2002 asked the Town Board to address concerns that club members were using the facility beyond the permitted hours of operation.
State Supreme Court Justice James Brands, in rulings issued in June and September 2004, supported the club's effort to seek a special permit from the town Planning Board for a target launching system and lighting adjustments at its Enterprise Road facility.
Neighbors contend town officials did not go far enough in challenging changes to the facility grounds.
"The fact that our (town) Planning Board refused to use the SEQR process to fully vet this issue has allowed for a litany of poor decisions to occur," Chumas said.
Club members, who note hunting also occurs on neighboring properties, disagree with the contention they have been given preferential treatment and said they have simply been successful in court.
I got a suggestion:
How about if this maroon packs his bags and moves?
The range has been there for 75 years, right?
And these idiots move in next-door and complain???
Penn & Tellers “Bull ****” series eviscerated the Endangered Species Act last night.
Follow the money. I'd bet that somewhere in the bushes there is a developer who would LOVE to get his hands on that 340 acre site. I'm pretty sure that is what is behind the constant drumbeat to close the Gig Harbor gun club. The city has spread out around it, and it sits on a big chunk of highly desirable/developable real estate. The club would move further out, but "NIMBY" prevents that.
My personal take is that every local county should be REQUIRED to establish shooting ranges at public parks. Tacoma has spent BIG BUCKS to build a golf course. Why should the elitists who want to "whack little white balls around" get priority over those who would like to target shoot.
“Chumas said reorienting the range would provide a safer facility and have less impact on neighbors.”
Chumash and the other iditos who moved in after the range was built should re-orient themselves.
But then, New York, Like New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, California and Maryland is no longer part of America, so I know where this will wind up.
Anyway I mentioned it a board member and he told me I should tell the complainant to call the sheriff and complain — “As soon as the sheriffs son was done shooting!..LOL”
We've been there 55 years - but then again we aren't in PRIME property..and have lot's of VIP’s in club and as honorary members.
Maybe it is time to legalize suppressors or silencers they are sometimes called. That would solve the problem.
You're hired!!!!
You see the same thing with agriculture. Houses get close to a farm, people complain about odors and sound, use the legal system, and if all goes well, there’s 350 acres more development, more houses, near another farm, or range, or whatever.
Maybe the range should look into an environmental easement or whatever it’s called, so that the land can’t be developed.
“Maybe it is time to legalize suppressors or silencers they are sometimes called. That would solve the problem”
In Finland, their high court has held that it is a Constitutional right for them to freely make, sell, trade, and use suppressors. England had free access to suppressors for decades after we made it prohibitively expensive to obtain them. They are still much more common in England than here. There, they are just another firearms accessory, like another stock or a holster.
In regards to the availability of shooting lands, the RKBA loses more ground each and every year.
I wonder how nice Helsinki is for a vacation in the summer?
Wow, I'd think an extra legal solution would satisfy everyone all around ... except for the evil woman that trashed his life of course.
“I wonder how nice Helsinki is for a vacation in the summer?”
“Wow, I’d think an extra legal solution would satisfy everyone all around ... except for the evil woman that trashed his life of course.”
“I see this type of thing over and over again”
....exactly!...this is a classic case....many gun clubs were formed years ago....they went way out of town and bought worn out farm land for cheap....built their club and ranges and were happy.....but over time growth and development slowly crept their way and before you know it they’re considered a “nuisance”....revenue hungry pols know if they can shut the club down they will get more taxes when the land is developed.
Good luck with your club. Here in the People’s Republic of the Midwest, people are bitching and moaning all the time despite the fact they arrived decades after the clubs opened. In the Chicago area, the Northbrook Gun Club had to relocate from Northbrook to Hainesville, Illinois. Now called the Northbrook Sports Club, we’re seeing developments swallow up the nearby farmland and pretty soon those inhabitants will be complaining, too.
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