Apples and oranges
As I sat through the opening statements of the shooting range ordinance public hearing, it occurred to me that someone from Kitsap County is trying to impose their rules on Jefferson County.
Using the Kitsap County ordinance for Jefferson County is ludicrous.
Kitsap County has an estimated population of 266,414 in 2017.
That is about 636 people per square mile. Jefferson County is estimated to have 30,333 people.
The U.S. Census Bureau states Jefferson County has 1,804 square miles of land area or 17 people per square mile.
A large portion of the county is in the Olympic National Park and in the National Forest, but still the population density cannot be as high as Kitsap County.
Some new people buying property close to the Jefferson County Sportsmen’s Association (JCSA) shooting range are disturbed by the noise.
The JCSA has managed the county-owned land for over 50 years with a long record of being a good neighbor both ecologically and safely.
Due to the desire to increase the population close to the range or restrict the development of a new range, it appears the county has attacked a previous non-issue of firearm noise under the guise of a safety issue.
Therefore, I recommend that the real estate sales agents be required to notify in writing new purchaser of land within one mile of an existing or proposed shooting range and the potential noise that is associated with the range.
I also recommend that any new ordinance not try to impose onerous noise abatement regulations such as baffles.
The requirement of annually developing a noise abatement program is one of the issues with the proposed draft ordinance.
Hal Henson,
Port Townsend