PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson Board of County Commissioners will conduct a public hearing for an ordinance establishing a new moratorium on commercial gun ranges Dec. 9, because the September moratorium expired.
The hearing will be at 1:30 p.m. at the Commons at Fort Worden, 200 Battery Way.
The ordinance will establish the moratorium on submission, acceptance, processing or approval of any Jefferson County permit applications for any proposed use, development, proposal or project for the siting, construction or modification of any commercial shooting facility through March 23, 2020, in unincorporated Jefferson County, commission documents said.
The commissioners previously enacted a moratorium Sept. 23, with the understanding that a public hearing would be conducted within 60 days, in accordance to state law. That hearing did not happen and that moratorium expired, county Administrator Philip Morley said.
“Frankly we missed the boat on that and so the moratorium that was adopted Sept. 23 has expired,” Morley said. “So currently there is not a moratorium.
“I would note that the expiration of the new ordinance is the same as the date of the ordinance that just expired.
“We want to make sure this doesn’t happen again. … I think between shared responsibility between multiple departments, environmental health and [community development] as well as [the commissioner’s office], the ball got dropped.
“So we’re institutionalizing some changes in our standard operating procedures in the commissioners office to make sure when and if there is ever an emergency moratorium that is adopted, that same day we schedule a date for a public hearing that is within the 60 days.”
The ordinance is in response to the state Growth Management Hearings Board siding with the Tarboo Ridge Coalition, which has opposed Joe D’Amico’s proposed 40-acre shooting range near Tarboo Lake, on Sept. 16, ruling that county ordinances Title 8 and Title 18 did not follow state law in regard to commercial shooting facilities.
The Growth Management Hearings Board determined it has jurisdiction over Title 8 and Title 18 — classifying them as land ordinances and deeming them invalid — and that the county failed to conduct a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review for Title 8, in violation of state law RCW 43.21C.030.
The moratorium would affect the Jefferson County Sportsman’s Association if the club would need permits to build or modify its current facilities, because the club would be unable to do so, Morley said.
In addition to the moratorium, the commissioners also filed an appeal in Thurston County Superior Court on Nov. 13, challenging the Hearings Board’s decision, but the commissioners and county staff still plan to meet deadlines for the modifications that the Hearings Board required the county make on the two ordinances.
The public can view the complete text of the moratorium ordinance online at www.co.jefferson.wa.us or a copy can be obtained by calling 360-385-9100.
The public can provide verbal and/or written testimony on the ordinance at the public hearing, and may also submit written testimony to the Jefferson County Commissioners, P.O. Box 1220, Port Townsend, WA 98368 or email to jeffbocc@co.jefferson.wa.us, at any time up through the end of the public hearing.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
