Jefferson commissioners take comment on shooting facility draft ordinance

PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson commissioners heard strong feelings on all sides of the commercial shooting facility draft ordinance debate when 75 Peninsula residents gave public testimony this week.

Close to 300 people attended the four-hour hearing held at McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden on Wednesday night.

The meeting was a do-over of the Oct. 1 hearing held at the county courthouse. Because of issues with equal access and a possible violation of the Open Public Meetings Act, commissioners chose to strike all verbal presentations from that meeting’s record, although they accepted all written comments.

Wednesday night offered the final opportunity for the public to address the commissioners in person and leave their written testimony at the podium.

Commissioner David Sullivan addressed the crowd, asking people to respect each other and requesting no campaigning or disrespectful comments, which the audience did not always heed.

Each person had a three-minute limit to state their opinion about the draft ordinance.

Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Philip Hunsucker gave a brief PowerPoint presentation overview of the county commercial shooting facility draft ordinance. He addressed the purpose of the moratorium on new such facilities that will expire Dec. 17.

Hunsucker explained that the ordinance was “designed to withstand legal challenges” and it was based on the Kitsap ordinance that passed a challenge at the state Court of Appeals.

In his presentation, Hunsucker referenced the Jefferson County Sportsmen’s Club’s “enviable 50-year safety record,” and said that the Growth Management Act and all government-owned land in Jefferson County “limits places for growth, but that growth near the Sportsmen’s facility should be expected, along with increased demands for compatibility.”

He said the ordinance was a “plan for the future — so the Sportsmen’s Club facility can survive expected growth.”

He said the moratorium’s purpose was to protect public safety and ensure the future viability of commercial shooting ranges in the county.

Hunsucker said that the ordinance, as written, satisfied property rights-related use; state and local laws limiting regulation of shooting; and expectations and state and local law limiting regulation of noise for shooting and exceptions.

There is no provision in the ordinance for indoor shooting ranges.

The majority of those in attendance were from the Jefferson County Sportsmen’s Association (JCSA) and took exception to the ordinance’s provisions.

Association member Dan Newland of Port Hadlock spoke early in the evening and set the tone for the majority of the evening’s comments that were echoed by other association members.

He said that if the proposed ordinance is passed, “JCSA will almost certainly be closed since we are a small organization of volunteers. We have become ‘collateral damage’ in a much larger fight.”

Newland said he believed the ordinance includes JCSA “because of noise and a bullet that hit the side of a house down range that came from the range.”

He said the bullet incident did not happen, according to his communication with Jefferson Undersheriff Art Frank, and challenged Hunsucker to provide proof that it did.

He said noise “has been the same noise that has been there for 56 years. We do have noise mitigation in it in that most parts of the range are shielded on the back, top and sides.”

Newland noted that “hundreds of law enforcement officers have gone through there. There has not been a single accusation of negligence of unsafe conditions from the same officers.”

“Closing the JCSA will mean less training, less controls, less safety and shooting in other areas,” Newland said. “Why can’t we come to a common ground that recognizes that we have a great safety record precisely because we have shown ourselves to be stewards and we take safety as Job 1?”

Fifteen speakers represented views of members of the Tarboo Ridge Coalition (TRC), a group of residents and individuals concerned over Joe D’Amico’s plans to develop a facility on the shores of Tarboo Lake.

The organization has asked that the commissioners make 12 changes to the ordinance, including whistleblower protection, several environmental protections, no night shooting and no aircraft.

Lili Story, who spoke on behalf of her mother who lives in Chimacum, echoed the comments of other TRC supporters.

“The draft ordinance is critically important for all county residents,” she said. “This is not an anti-gun issue. This is an anti-insanity issue.

“If you agree to this wishy-washy ordinance, you will be throwing away a jewel of a watershed and wildlife corridor that belongs to everyone.

“What message does it say when we allow private individuals to completely interrupt the environment? We do not need a military training facility placed on top of a watershed.”

Greg Overstreet, general counsel for Fort Discovery Corporation, submitted several documents claiming a 500-yard setback from bodies of water is unlawful and that passing an ordinance “so onerous that it would close down the Jefferson County Sportsmen’s range and the proposed Fort Discovery range would violate the Second Amendment …”

Overstreet’s written comments focused on the Second Amendment, which, he says, protects the right to build and operate shooting ranges, and said calls to bar military training at shooting ranges are illegal.

He also attached proposed changes to the ordinance from Fort Discovery.

The commissioners will read all of the testimony, both oral and written, and will meet Monday at 9 a.m. at the Fort Worden Commons to deliberate. The meeting is open to the public.

Written comments will be accepted though today at 4:30 p.m. They can be addressed to P.O. Box 1220, Port Townsend, WA 98368 or emailed to jeffbocc@co.jefferson.wa.us.

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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.