Members of the public will have the chance to give their input on whether or not shooting ranges should be relegated to the indoors at a public hearing on Feb. 10.
The hearing will take place starting at 2 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the Commons building at Fort Worden.
Public testimony will be taken through the end of the hearing. Written testimony will be accepted beginning Jan. 29 through Feb. 10 at 4:30 p.m.
The Board of County Commissioners will be deliberating on two ordinances that regulate shooting ranges in the county. The county’s original commercial shooting range rules were challenged by a citizen group and the state’s Growth Management Hearing Board struck down the ordinances in September, because they did not comply with the Growth Management Act.
Now the county must rewrite the ordinances and deliver them to the state board by March 2 to show they are in compliance.
As part of the process, the ordinances went through the county’s appointed planning commission which recommended a big change to the original rules: no more outdoor shooting ranges.
The planners voted 7-0, with one abstention, on Nov. 20 to recommend the county’s ordinances be amended to require that all new shooting ranges be built indoors, while grandfathering in the Jefferson County Sportsmen’s Association range, which leases county property.
The original ordinances allowed shooting ranges to be outdoors and built on forestland—opening up 70% of the county to potential range projects—with a conditional use permit that required environmental review and safety review.
But the planning commission’s rewrite of the rules states that outdoor shooting ranges, except for those that qualify as a “legal nonconforming use,” shall not be allowed in Jefferson County in order to “protect the rural lifestyle, peace, health and safety of Jefferson County residents as well as to avoid impacts to both wild and domestic animals.”
The planning commissioners also added language that describes the health hazard posed by lead and noise pollution.
But the Board of County Commissioners might choose to go another route with the shooting range rules.
The county’s professional planning staff have put together five “alternatives” for commissioners to consider. Three of the alternatives allow outdoor ranges, while two do not, with different rules and regulations.
All of the alternatives are available to be read on the county’s website, at co.jefferson.wa.us.
Members of the public can read them and submit comments in writing or in person at the public hearing.
The Board of County Commissioners will listen to and read all public comments and enter into a deliberation session on Feb. 18. There, they will have to narrow down their choices to one alternative, but they will also be able to direct county staff to amend and tweak the ordinances based on the public testimony they hear. The commissioners plan to vote on the ordinances on Feb. 24 in order to meet their deadline of March 2.
On April 14, the county must go before the Growth Management Hearings Board for a compliance hearing.
Because of this hearing, the Board of Commissioners is having another public hearing on Feb. 10 to get public input on extending a moratorium on shooting ranges.
Currently, while the county deliberates over the ordinances, there is a moratorium on development and permitting of any shooting ranges. That moratorium expires on March 23.
But because the compliance hearing is not until April 14, the commissioners need to extend the moratorium.
At 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 10 they will have a public hearing on extending the moratorium for six months. This will take place at Fort Worden Commons, directly before the hearing on the ordinances.
