[JHeath]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...ArticleID=17279

9/10/2008 11:13:00 AM
On target or offsides? Subdivision upset with man's shooting range
Craig Davison
For The News-Dispatch

But county notes they can't stop it.

COOLSPRING TOWNSHIP - Sue O'Leary has lived in the Willow Springs subdivision for 35 years, and she never expected a shooting range nearby.

And while there is no county ordinance to prevent a neighbor from practicing firearms nearby, she and other neighbors have been asking the county to find a way to stop it.

Bruce Weiler, who uses the shooting range behind his property, said the range is absolutely safe and that he shoots only on weekends between noon and dusk.

O'Leary said she and other residents are worried about safety and noise when Weiler fires the gun for hours on end.

Weiler, who is a certified firearm instructor who also participates in shooting competitions, said he has a backstop made of 9,000 pounds of sand and uses professional targeting systems.

"I can account for every single round that's fired," he said. "It's not like I'm shooting at cans."

The shooting range points away from the subdivision and behind it is a woods, Weiler said.

Residents of the subdivision and the surrounding area turned in a petition with 57 signatures asking for an ordinance restricting gunfire from 1,000 feet of a subdivision at the commissioner's July 1 meeting. Several residents returned for last Tuesday's meeting to see if anything would be done.

Building Commissioner Ray Hamilton said at the meeting there are no laws against shooting for pleasure on private property. He said there are also no zoning or noise ordinances that would apply.

County Attorney Robert Szilagyi said the commissioners could not craft an ordinance to make Weiler's shooting range illegal. Szilagyi said an ordinance could be made to prohibit future shooting ranges, but could not be made retroactive to include Weiler.

He said the 1,000-feet ordinance wasn't practical because enforcement would be difficult.

Szilagyi said the Plan Commission is going to look to see if there is something that could be done about land use ordinances. He said residents may want to consider filing a nuisance suit on their own.

Nearby resident Jim Fisher spoke to the commissioners about the noise pollution of the gunfire.

"The sound carries straight through the subdivision very well," Fisher said Thursday.

He would be tolerant of someone who was hunting and shot 10 to 20 rounds, he said, but wasn't happy about hundreds of rounds.

Not all residents of the neighborhood have a problem with Weiler. Kirk Burnett said he was concerned when he first heard the shooting, but decided to meet Weiler and check out his shooting range. He said he found it to be safe and was not concerned because of Weiler's qualifications.

Burnett also said he appreciates that Weiler only shoots for a few hours at specific times on the weekend.

Weiler said he only shoots about every other weekend and uses 9 mm or .223 caliber bullets. He said that he requires practice to maintain his skill level.

"I don't think I'm being unreasonable with anything I'm doing," he said. "I'm not out to be a public nuisance or to prove a point."

[Roger Kaputnik]

While I am certainly in favor of enjoying our God-given rights, I also know that shooting makes noise, and I would be quite annoyed at having to listen to noise like that for hours every weekend.

[mcstumper]

While I am certainly in favor of enjoying our God-given rights, I also know that shooting makes noise, and I would be quite annoyed at having to listen to noise like that for hours every weekend.

I generally agree with you, but as someone who lives a block off of Franklin I can tell you that the freedoms we enjoy are often accompanied by annoying racket. From April to October, every day, all day and most of the night I have to listen to the exaggerated sounds of unmuffled Harley Davidson engines roaring up and down the main drag. It annoys me to no end. I could write letters and start a campaign, or as I do, I can acknowledge that this is a part of American culture that I have to endure.

[Dave]

Or wish for a noise ordinance that would be enforced.

[Ang]

I lived at the corner of Pine and Detroit-very briefly-and what constantly annoyed me was the sirens. There were sirens ALL THE TIME! Police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, you name it! All hours of the day and night. Drove me absolutely crazy after the first month.

[Roger Kaputnik]

Those are pretty normal city noises, or SOUNDS, if you will. The shooting is not normal noise in a rural housing project.

[Ang]

I realize that. I'm just saying how easy it is for common noises to bother a person, I can imagine how uncommon noises might really drive a person insane.