Sussex Range Restrictions Fails - For Now

Last night the Sussex County Board of Supervisors heard from about two dozen gun owners who were opposed to requiring special use permits for the establishment of shooting ranges in the county. In the end the Board was not happy with the definition that the planning commission came up with to describe "pistol range" and sent the proposal back to the commission. The fight will not be over until the proposal is dead for good. For now, it is on life support. There does not seem to be any appetite for it on the Board, especially from the one member with which I spoke on Wednesday.

Please contact the Board of Supervisors and thank them for their action last night and urge them to defeat this proposal for good when it comes before them again.

Blackwater District
Wayne M. Harrell
406 Jasper Lane
Post Office Box 1
Waverly, Virginia 23890
Home: (804) 834-2603

Courthouse District
T. Wayne Birdsong
116 Nicholson Drive
Wakefield, Virginia 23888
Home: (757) 899-3806

Henry District
Rufus E. Tyler Sr., Vice-Chairman
25359 Blue Star Highway Jarratt,
Virginia 23867
Home: (434) 246-4246
Office: (434) 634-2490 or (804) 834-3522

Stony Creek District
Charlie E. Caple, Jr.
12038 Palestine Road
Stony Creek, Virginia 23882
Home: (434) 246-2602

Wakefield District
C. Eric Fly, Chairman
38411 Rocky Hock Road
Wakefield, Virginia 23888
Cell: (757) 647-8190
Email: cefly@seamcorp.net

Waverly District
Harris L. Parker
300 Barkley Place
P.O. Box 616
Waverly, Virginia 23890
Home: (804) 834-3136



Hat tip to VA-Alert.

Sussex County Range Ordinance Update Part II

VSSA has received the definition of "Pistol Range" as it relates to Sussex County's proposed ordinance to require special use permits for new shooting ranges.

Pistol Range means any facility or grounds, where a monetary fee is charged and/or membership dues are collected, utilized for the purpose of shooting at regulation targets with firearms capable of being held, aimed and fired with one hand. Shotguns and rifles (long guns) are not included in this definition.

Sussex also plans to "grandfather" in existing ranges, meaning they will not have to apply to continue operation but there is no mention of how expansion or changes to the range would affect the grandfather status. VSSA is still opposed to the proposed change eventhough existing ranges are grandfathered and urges all gun owners that live or shoot in Sussex County to attend the public hearing tonight at 7:00 PM. The hearing will be held in the Sussex County General District Courtroom located at 15080 Courthouse Road in Sussex.

You can read the complete proposal and explaination as it will be presented to the Board by clicking here.

Chesterfield Defers Vote on Bowhunting Ordinance

Dozens of citizens turned out last night at the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors meeting to express their concerns with a proposal that would limit shooting a bow and arrow to not closer than 600 feet from a building or residence. Most of those speaking were opposed to the ordinance.

One of those speaking in opposition was Kevin Carroll who was representing the Virginia Deer Hunters Association. Carroll told the Board:

This ordinance, as it's penned right now, would hamstring the ability for us to control and manage the deer growth in Chesterfield County, and it's already exploding in the Midlothian District.

Of course there were some that supported the ordinance. Resident Jennifer Lemler went a little overboard in her description of what the situation is:

In my neighborhood, kids run and play in the yards and the woods that border the yards, as it should be. I don't want to put blaze orange on them in order to go out in the backyard.

Commonsense was on display in most of the comments however with many residents talking about the hazard of deer/car collisions and how the proposed ordinance may cause these to increase. It was such commonsense that caused the Board to put off a vote on the ordinance for 90 days to further study the proposal.

Current policy in the county is to allow property owners to shoot bows and arrows on their property as long as they do not cross onto their neighbors property without permission. This allows people to cull deer that come on their residential property which has become an increasing issue in many parts of the county. It also allows things like Boy Scouts to practice archery in their back yard. If the proposal to limit shooting of bows and arrows is limited to areas that are at least 600 feet from another building or home, it will have consequences beyond what is intended. There is likely a compromise that can address the safety issue and still allow residents to address increasing deer populations in suburban areas.

VSSA will continue to monitor this issue.

You can read the Richmond Times Dispatch article here.

Update: The Times Dispatch reported that the vice president of the Home Owners Association (HOA) hired a bow hunter. That was also posted here. That is incorrect and has been removed from the post. It was a resident that hired a hunter and Mr. Molloy, the vice president of the HOA, stated that the HOA was adamently opposed to residents hiring hunters to control the deer in the neighborhood.

Reminder - Chesterfield To Look At Bow-hunting Rules Tonight

Earlier this month I posted that the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing tonight about a proposal to prohibit the use of bows and arrows within 600 feet of a home in the county.

The ordinance change is proposed in reaction to concerns expressed by residents in Midlothian's Salisbury community that people are hunting too close to homes.

Currently, Chesterfield property owners and permitted guests are allowed to use bows anywhere on their property, as long as the arrow does not cross the property line. Because of growth in the county's deer population, the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries allows additional bow hunting with site-specific "kill permits" on property adjacent to or within residential neighborhoods.

County staff suggested the 600-foot limit because it is the same distance from which use of a firearm is prohibited. In addition to homes, use of a bow would be prohibited at the same distance from businesses, public buildings and gatherings.

The 600 foot limit sounds like overkill given the difference between a bow and firearm and some hunters agree. The Richmond Times Dispatch quoted one in this morning's paper:

"If you got a problem in the subdivision, deal with it in the subdivision. Don't mess with the other part of the county that's rural," said Larry Bicking, a Chesterfield bow hunter.

"You take a piece of property that's 15 acres and you may not be able to get 600 feet from an existing dwelling," he said. "In those big subdivisions, the houses are so close together you can't hardly get a car between them, so I don't know how you hunt them anyway."

Bicking made what seems like a reasonable suggestion that the county could limit the distance from homes in Salisbury only and maybe require the user to be at an elevation 10 feet above ground level so the arrows would not soar into unintended areas.

Midlothian Supervisor Daniel A. Gecker has suggested decreasing the distance from 600 feet to 150 feet as a compromise.

Bow hunters are urged to let their voice be heard at the public hearing which will take place during the 6:30 PM portion of today's board meeting.

What: Public Hearing on Bow Hunting in Chesterfield County
When: November 18, 2009 - Meeting begins at 6:30 PM
Where: Lane B. Ramsey Administration Building
9901 Lori Road, Chesterfield, VA 23832-0040

Gun Ban Crowd Following "Concealed Handgun Incidents"

Chicago radio station WBBM reports that the Violence Policy Center has a new web site that tracks the illegal use of firearms by concealed carry permit holders.

According to a new Violence Policy Center Web site:

Concealed handgun permit holders killed eight law enforcement officers and 77 private citizens (including 10 who killed themselves) from May 2007 through October 2009.

Not to down play the the deaths, but we are supposed to believe that the fact that a relative handful of the millions of CHP holders committed crimes is reason enough to not allow the vast majority of law abiding gun owners to protect themselves and their families?

Kristin Rand said in a press release announcing the new site:

This new Web site makes clear that contrary to the false promises of the gun lobby, the simple and deadly fact is that state concealed handgun systems are arming cop-killers, mass shooters and other murderers.

I long ago stopped being amazed at the spin these people put on their press releases. The hyperbole in Rand's comment cannot even be quantified. The vast majority of CHP holders are law abiding. Austin Gun Rights Examiner Howard Nemerov researched the likelihood of Texas Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders committing a crime and he found:

Overall, CHLs are over 9 times more law-abiding than the non-licensee population, and non-licensees are over 10 times as likely to commit a major FBI violent crime (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault).

I'm willing to bet that research will translate to other shall issue states.

Update on Sussex County

Yesterday VSSA received notice of an ordinance restricting the creation of "pistol and sporting clay" ranges in Sussex County. Since posting an alert to gun owners about the ordinance being considered at this Thursday's Board of Supervisors meeting I have learned that this ordinance was originally considered at the Board's August 20 meeting and the Board unanimously returned the proposal back to the Planning Commission (the entity that came up with the scheme in the first place) with the following charge:

clearly define the terms 'sporting clays fields and pistol ranges in Sussex County

There will be a special public hearing at 7:00 PM before the regularly scheduled Board meeting. VSSA is working to get a copy of the current proposal and will post it as soon as it is in hand. The hearing will be held in the Sussex County General District Courtroom located at 15080 Courthouse Road in Sussex.

If you are unable to attend, please contact the Board of Supervisors and respectfully urge them to oppose this ordinance.

Blackwater District
Wayne M. Harrell
406 Jasper Lane
Post Office Box 1Waverly, Virginia 23890
Home: (804) 834-2603

Courthouse District
T. Wayne Birdsong
116 Nicholson Drive
Wakefield, Virginia 23888
Home: (757) 899-3806

Henry District
Rufus E. Tyler Sr., Vice-Chairman
25359 Blue Star Highway
Jarratt, Virginia 23867
Home: (434) 246-4246Office: (434) 634-2490 or (804) 834-3522

Stony Creek District
Charlie E. Caple, Jr.
12038 Palestine Road
Stony Creek, Virginia 23882
Home: (434) 246-2602

Wakefield District
C. Eric Fly, Chairman
38411 Rocky Hock Road
Wakefield, Virginia 23888
Cell: (757) 647-8190
Email: cefly@seamcorp.net

Waverly District
Harris L. Parker
300 Barkley Place
P.O. Box 616
Waverly, Virginia 23890
Home: (804) 834-3136

Urgent Alert - Sussex County Board of Supervisors To Consider Shooting Range Ordinance Thursday

The Sussex County Board of Supervisors will consider an ordinance that would require pistol and shotgun ranges in A-1 zoning areas to apply for a conditional use permit to operate. The Public Hearing on the issue is Thursday, November 19 at 7:00 PM. This is becoming an all to familiar story. Gun owners in Sussex County need to turnout in big numbers at this meeting to show their opposition to this proposal. It should be noted that this is an idea of the Planning Commission and was not instigated by the Board of Supervisors.

While existing ranges like VSSA affiliated club Airfield Shooting Club and Sussex Shooting Sports may be grandfathered in by the proposal, approval of the recommendation may mean that future additions to the club and existing ranges may require them to apply for a permit. Further, this will impact numerous groups that need shooting facilities in the county like Boy Scouts, 4H, NRA Events (i.e. Women on Target Clinics etc). Below are the minutes from the August 20th Board meeting where the issue was originally discussed.

ORDINANCE AMENDMENT #2009-02Ms. Shannon C. Drew, Assistant to the Director of Planning, presented the staff report to the Board. The Zoning Ordinance
currently allows a sporting clays field and a pistol range by right in the A-1, General Agricultural District. Staff is requesting that Section 16-22, § 21 be amended to require a conditional use permit for the location of any sporting clays fields and/or pistol ranges in Sussex County. The requirement of a conditional use permit will allow proposed sites to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to ensure that they are safe for the environment, the surrounding community and range patrons. Surrounding localities such as Prince George County, Surry County and Dinwiddie County require a Special Exception to be granted by the governing body, which is equivalent to Sussex County’s Conditional Use Permit, for the location and operation of a sporting clays field and/or a pistol range.

PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: The Planning Commission at their July 6, 2009 meeting voted unanimously (8-0) to send this item to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation for approval to be read as follows:

"NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Supervisors of Sussex County:That the Sussex County Code, Chapter 16 (Zoning), Article II (General Agricultural District), Section 16-22 (Use Regulations), § 21 is hereby amended as follows: Add the requirement of a conditional use permit to Sec. 16-22 §21.21. Sporting clays field and/or pistol range, with a conditional use permit."

Ordinance Amendment #2009-02 ON MOTION OF SUPERVISOR BIRDSONG, seconded by SUPERVISOR CAPLE and carried: RESOLVED that the Sussex County Board of Supervisors hereby sends Ordinance Amendment #2009-02 of the Sussex County Code, Chapter 16, (Zoning) Article II (General Agricultural District), back to the Planning Commission to clearly define the terms “sporting clays fields and pistol ranges in Sussex County,” prior to the Board of Supervisors considering again said ordinance amendment. Voting aye: Supervisors Birdsong, Caple, Fly, Harrell, Parker Voting nay: none Absent: Supervisor Tyler.

Supervisor Wayne Birdsong said the way to beat this is a large turnout. I know this is short notice but if you live in Sussex and can attend please do so.

Hat tip to VA-Alert.