The new year will bring new regulations for outdoor shooting ranges in Knowlton.
Passed unanimously, if reluctantly by the Township Committee, the new rules would set minimum distances from neighboring structures and require backstops that conform to township standards.
A clip of three new ordinances was adopted at the December meeting to regulate residential shooting ranges, regulate commercial ranges, and require licenses for commercial ranges.
“We didn’t even want to have to do this. We really didn’t want to have to do this,” said Deputy Mayor James Mazza. “The only reason this got here is because of the commercial shooting ranges. There were businesses being run out of homes, for concealed carry glasses. That’s why we’re at where we’re at.”
The ordinances would also clarify regulations for shooting ranges on private property. The intent, according to several committee members, is to keep commercial shooting ranges from locating in residential zones.
It would also reflect existing regulations for residential properties adopted by the New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife. For instance, it would ban discharging a weapon within 450 feet of a dwelling. Barns and other outbuildings would not count.
Commercial outdoor shooting ranges would face a higher bar and would have to be located at least 450 feet from all adjacent properties in a C-2 zone. Commercial ranges would not be permitted in residential zones, according to the proposed ordinance. Hours would be limited to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Exemptions to the rules would include self-defense, use of firearms to target animals detrimental to livestock and crops, as well as hunting that complies with regulations set by the state fish and wildlife agency.
Township resident Heather Reynolds asked why, if commercial ranges were the problem, regulations were being imposed on residential ranges.
Committeeman Mike Bates said it is necessary to address the residential properties that were being used for commercial shooting purposes and also to restrict shooting in inappropriate residential areas.
“The issue is somebody on an acre is shooting like they’re on 10 acres,” Bates said.
Reynolds, however, said she still thought the new rules were too broad and could be enforced unevenly. Her concerns were not assuaged after township attorney Tara St. Angelo explained that the regulations were not likely to be enforced “proactively,” and instead would be investigated by the zoning officer on a complaint basis.
“But there’s no saying that a neighbor can’t call and complain, and now I do have an issue,” Reynolds said. A township inspection initiated solely on a neighbor’s complaint could subject the resident to penalties and other costs.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
