44Brent
Regular Member
Forwarded via e-mail from Joe Waldron at GOAL
_____________________________________________________________
This is the proposed draft of the no shooting ordinance that Thurston County Commissioner Karen Valenzuela resurrected from last year's failed attempt to enact county wide no shooting zones in a large part of Thurston County. The county has not made this new proposed ordinance public yet so they could get it as close to a vote as possible before asking for public comment. This copy was obtained from an insider who believes in transparency in government. A board of 15 members was appointed by the county to revise and increase the scope of the 2011 ordinance that died from massive public outrage. The board members were selected from the core group of people who support the egregious reforms the county has been attempting to pass, like the Prairie Ordinance, the Critical Areas Ordinance, the Mazama pocket gopher protection, and more. In a Feb 6th article in the Business Examiner Commissioner Valenzuela is quoted and essentially admits that it's not about the gopher but more so protecting "our" prairies. Somehow private property became "ours". (Thanks to Larry Weaver for that quote). This just proves that Thurston County will use any means it deems necessary to achieve its goals of eventually controlling everything we do. Passage of this ordinance is the first step to no shooting county-wide.
You can contact your County Commissioner, or all three at: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/bocc/index.htm Copy and paste the following URL in your browser to find your commissioner's district: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/bocc/docs/advisory-boards-commissions/maps/District_Map.pdf
You can make a 3 minute comment at the commissioner's regularly scheduled meetings at 2:00 PM most Tuesdays in Building 1, Room 280 second floor at the Thurston County Courthouse complex. Sign in on the sheet at the door and make sure you check the box that indicates you wish to speak. You don't have to be a professional speaker to make an impact. Make sure the commissioners know you will be devoting time to see that they are not re-elected. Be advised parking may be limited and allow time to park and sign in before 2:00 PM. Check the meeting schedule on the county's website at the following link to confirm there will be a meeting the day you wish to attend: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/bocc/mtgsch.htm
You can write letters to the editor of your local paper. The Letters to the Editor section is the most widely read section of any newspaper.
Share this with your friends. This is not so much about hunting as it is about ALL shooting. You don't have to be a Thurston County resident to speak or e-mail the commissioners.
Here is the proposed new ordinance. Once passed, all the county has to do is change zoning to include more areas of the county and other counties may follow suit with similar ordinances. It is important to stop this ordinance immediately, before it passes. Litigation in the courts could take 3 years and cost millions of dollars.
ORDINANCE NO. ________
AN ORDINANCE adding new sections to chapter 10.04 of the Thurston County Code to regulate the discharge of firearms in areas of high density development, to provide exceptions to this prohibition where it conflicts with state and federal law, and to provide an exemption process by which properties may be removed from this prohibition if the discharge of firearms on those properties creates no reasonable likelihood of endangerment to humans, domestic animals or property.
WHEREAS, the discharge of firearms in zoning districts that allow for residential densities greater than one dwelling unit per two acres poses a reasonable likelihood of endangerment to people, domestic animals, and property due to the high density of residential structures; and
WHEREAS, waterfowl hunting utilizing shotguns with a firing range of approximately 300 yards occurs from watercraft in the marine waters along the shorelines of Thurston County and the discharge of firearms closer than 300 yards creates a reasonable likelihood of endangerment to people, domestic animals, and property on the shoreline; and
WHEREAS, Article I, section 24 of the state Constitution guarantees the right of the individual to bear arms in defense of self or others; and
WHEREAS, peace officers, properly trained in the safe use of firearms, use firearms in the course of their official duties; and
WHEREAS, agriculture, including raising of domestic animals for slaughter, is a permitted use throughout much of the county and the slaughter of domestic animals on farms utilizing firearms is a common agricultural practice; and
WHEREAS, shooting ranges exist or may exist, that have been developed and approved with provisions for the safe discharge of firearms in a controlled environment; and
WHEREAS, hunters of wild animals may wound an animal that then retreats to a no shooting area and such hunters are bound by hunting ethics and State law to not waste wildlife and therefore must pursue wounded game animals; and
WHEREAS, certain ordinances adopted in the past by Thurston County prohibit the discharge of firearms and do not include exceptions for self defense, peace officers, slaughter of domestic animals, legally existing shooting ranges, or the dispatching of wounded animals; and
WHEREAS, the discharge of firearms on certain properties within a no shooting zone may not pose a threat to humans, domestic animals or property due to lot size, configuration and/or location and ordinances adopted in the past by Thurston County prohibit the discharge of firearms and do not include a process for property owners seeking an exemption from the ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THURSTON COUNTY as follows:
Section 1. There is added a new section to chapter 10.04 Thurston County Code, to read as follows:
New Section. Section 1 Urban Growth Areas, LAMIRD Zones, Marine Waterways.
It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge a firearm at any time in Thurston County, State of Washington, in the following described areas of the County:
All those areas outside city limits that lie within the adopted Thurston County Urban Growth Areas for Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Grand Mound; and
All those areas zoned Residential LAMIRD One Dwelling Unit Per Acre; and
All those areas zoned Residential LAMIRD Two Dwelling Units Per Acre; and
All that portion of land and marine waters of Puget Sound lying 300 yards, waterward, from the ordinary high water line; except for that portion of Sections 5 and 6 of Township 18 North, Range 1 East lying north of Interstate 5, Sections 31 and 32 of Township 19 North, Range 1 East, and the South Half of the Southeast Quarter of Section 30, Township 19 North, Range 1 East; and
All that portion of Eld Inlet lying southerly of an east-west line described as beginning at a point lying 300 feet Northerly of the intersection of the Meander Line with the East Line of Section 31, Township 19, North Range 2 West, thence due Westerly across Eld Inlet to the Western Shoreline; and
All that portion of Henderson Inlet lying Southerly of the North line of Sections 17 and 18, Township 19 North, Range 1 West;
Excepted from the above described areas are those lands and waterways already within the boundaries of an adopted No Shooting or Controlled Shooting zone, contained in chapter 10.04 of the Thurston County Code, in effect on the date of adoption of this ordinance.
Section 2. There is added a new section to chapter 10.04 Thurston County Code to read as follows:
New Section. Section 2 - Exceptions.
The provisions of chapter 10.04 shall not apply to the discharge of firearms:
(1) By a person acting in self-defense;
(2) By peace officers in the course of their official duties;
(3) In the course of farm slaughter activities;
(4) Within a legally existing or approved shooting range;
(5) By a person protecting livestock, pets, and/or property, in compliance with applicable State law;
(6) By a person retrieving and dispatching wounded game animals.
Section 3. There is added a new section to chapter 10.04 Thurston County Code, to read as follows:
New Section. Section 3- Exemption - Application - Fee
Application for exemption from the prohibition on discharging firearms shall be considered for properties two acres or larger. The application shall be submitted in writing and filed with the Thurston County Resource Stewardship Department. The application shall be accompanied with a receipt showing payment to this department. The fee shall be adopted on an annual basis as part of the department's regular permit fee schedule. The application shall include:
A. A completed Master Application, available from the department, including the name address and signature of the property owner.
B. A narrative describing the type of activity proposed (hunting, target practice, etc.), type of firearms to be used, who is involved, number of people participating at any one time, and time and duration of the activity. The narrative shall include a summary outlining the safety precautions the applicant will employ in order to ensure that the discharge of a firearm on their property will not endanger humans, domestic animals and the property of others.
C. A detailed and accurate map of the property at a scale of not less than two hundred feet to the inch (using a standard interval of engineer scale), which shall include or show:
1. The boundaries, including dimensions, of the property proposed to be exempted;
2. The type, location and height of all existing structures, including, but not limited to, buildings, fences, bridges, and storage tanks on the property proposed to be exempted;
3. A detail of areas proposed for firearm discharge on the property proposed to be exempted, including the direction of shooting, distances downrange, and what land uses lie beyond and to the sides of the shooting area;
4. The topography of the property proposed to be exempted;
5. The type and location of all structures within 300-feet of the property boundaries of the property proposed to be exempted; and
6. A north arrow, map scale, date, site address and directions to the site.
Section 4. There is added a new section to chapter 10.04 Thurston County Code, to read as follows:
New Section. Section 4. Hearing Examiner Action
The Hearing Examiner shall consider the proposed exemption from the prohibition on the discharge of firearms at a public hearing. If the hearing examiner finds the discharge of firearms on the subject property will not pose a reasonable likelihood of endangerment to people, domestic animals, or property the requested exemption will be granted. Such findings shall be issued by the Hearing Examiner in writing subject to the standard appeal process.
Section 5. There is added a new section to chapter 10.04 Thurston County Code, to read as follows:
Section5-Severability Clause. If any term or provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining terms and provisions of this ordinance, and the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby, but each remaining term and provision shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Section6-Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect upon its adoption.
ADOPTED:
ATTEST:
Clerk of the Board
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
JON TUNHEIM
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
By:
Elizabeth Petrich, WSBA#
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Thurston County, Washington
Chair
Vice-Chair
Commissioner
CODIFY
__________________________________________________ __________________________________
Any area subject to a No Shooting Ordinance must comply with the allowances for establishment of such ordinance as provided in RCW 9.41.300. The State statute allows Counties to restrict the discharge of firearms where there is a reasonable likelihood that humans, domestic animals, or property will be jeopardized.
Prior to scheduling a public hearing for this proposed ordinance, the draft ordinance must be reviewed for form by the Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
__________________
_____________________________________________________________
This is the proposed draft of the no shooting ordinance that Thurston County Commissioner Karen Valenzuela resurrected from last year's failed attempt to enact county wide no shooting zones in a large part of Thurston County. The county has not made this new proposed ordinance public yet so they could get it as close to a vote as possible before asking for public comment. This copy was obtained from an insider who believes in transparency in government. A board of 15 members was appointed by the county to revise and increase the scope of the 2011 ordinance that died from massive public outrage. The board members were selected from the core group of people who support the egregious reforms the county has been attempting to pass, like the Prairie Ordinance, the Critical Areas Ordinance, the Mazama pocket gopher protection, and more. In a Feb 6th article in the Business Examiner Commissioner Valenzuela is quoted and essentially admits that it's not about the gopher but more so protecting "our" prairies. Somehow private property became "ours". (Thanks to Larry Weaver for that quote). This just proves that Thurston County will use any means it deems necessary to achieve its goals of eventually controlling everything we do. Passage of this ordinance is the first step to no shooting county-wide.
You can contact your County Commissioner, or all three at: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/bocc/index.htm Copy and paste the following URL in your browser to find your commissioner's district: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/bocc/docs/advisory-boards-commissions/maps/District_Map.pdf
You can make a 3 minute comment at the commissioner's regularly scheduled meetings at 2:00 PM most Tuesdays in Building 1, Room 280 second floor at the Thurston County Courthouse complex. Sign in on the sheet at the door and make sure you check the box that indicates you wish to speak. You don't have to be a professional speaker to make an impact. Make sure the commissioners know you will be devoting time to see that they are not re-elected. Be advised parking may be limited and allow time to park and sign in before 2:00 PM. Check the meeting schedule on the county's website at the following link to confirm there will be a meeting the day you wish to attend: http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/bocc/mtgsch.htm
You can write letters to the editor of your local paper. The Letters to the Editor section is the most widely read section of any newspaper.
Share this with your friends. This is not so much about hunting as it is about ALL shooting. You don't have to be a Thurston County resident to speak or e-mail the commissioners.
Here is the proposed new ordinance. Once passed, all the county has to do is change zoning to include more areas of the county and other counties may follow suit with similar ordinances. It is important to stop this ordinance immediately, before it passes. Litigation in the courts could take 3 years and cost millions of dollars.
ORDINANCE NO. ________
AN ORDINANCE adding new sections to chapter 10.04 of the Thurston County Code to regulate the discharge of firearms in areas of high density development, to provide exceptions to this prohibition where it conflicts with state and federal law, and to provide an exemption process by which properties may be removed from this prohibition if the discharge of firearms on those properties creates no reasonable likelihood of endangerment to humans, domestic animals or property.
WHEREAS, the discharge of firearms in zoning districts that allow for residential densities greater than one dwelling unit per two acres poses a reasonable likelihood of endangerment to people, domestic animals, and property due to the high density of residential structures; and
WHEREAS, waterfowl hunting utilizing shotguns with a firing range of approximately 300 yards occurs from watercraft in the marine waters along the shorelines of Thurston County and the discharge of firearms closer than 300 yards creates a reasonable likelihood of endangerment to people, domestic animals, and property on the shoreline; and
WHEREAS, Article I, section 24 of the state Constitution guarantees the right of the individual to bear arms in defense of self or others; and
WHEREAS, peace officers, properly trained in the safe use of firearms, use firearms in the course of their official duties; and
WHEREAS, agriculture, including raising of domestic animals for slaughter, is a permitted use throughout much of the county and the slaughter of domestic animals on farms utilizing firearms is a common agricultural practice; and
WHEREAS, shooting ranges exist or may exist, that have been developed and approved with provisions for the safe discharge of firearms in a controlled environment; and
WHEREAS, hunters of wild animals may wound an animal that then retreats to a no shooting area and such hunters are bound by hunting ethics and State law to not waste wildlife and therefore must pursue wounded game animals; and
WHEREAS, certain ordinances adopted in the past by Thurston County prohibit the discharge of firearms and do not include exceptions for self defense, peace officers, slaughter of domestic animals, legally existing shooting ranges, or the dispatching of wounded animals; and
WHEREAS, the discharge of firearms on certain properties within a no shooting zone may not pose a threat to humans, domestic animals or property due to lot size, configuration and/or location and ordinances adopted in the past by Thurston County prohibit the discharge of firearms and do not include a process for property owners seeking an exemption from the ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THURSTON COUNTY as follows:
Section 1. There is added a new section to chapter 10.04 Thurston County Code, to read as follows:
New Section. Section 1 Urban Growth Areas, LAMIRD Zones, Marine Waterways.
It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge a firearm at any time in Thurston County, State of Washington, in the following described areas of the County:
All those areas outside city limits that lie within the adopted Thurston County Urban Growth Areas for Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Grand Mound; and
All those areas zoned Residential LAMIRD One Dwelling Unit Per Acre; and
All those areas zoned Residential LAMIRD Two Dwelling Units Per Acre; and
All that portion of land and marine waters of Puget Sound lying 300 yards, waterward, from the ordinary high water line; except for that portion of Sections 5 and 6 of Township 18 North, Range 1 East lying north of Interstate 5, Sections 31 and 32 of Township 19 North, Range 1 East, and the South Half of the Southeast Quarter of Section 30, Township 19 North, Range 1 East; and
All that portion of Eld Inlet lying southerly of an east-west line described as beginning at a point lying 300 feet Northerly of the intersection of the Meander Line with the East Line of Section 31, Township 19, North Range 2 West, thence due Westerly across Eld Inlet to the Western Shoreline; and
All that portion of Henderson Inlet lying Southerly of the North line of Sections 17 and 18, Township 19 North, Range 1 West;
Excepted from the above described areas are those lands and waterways already within the boundaries of an adopted No Shooting or Controlled Shooting zone, contained in chapter 10.04 of the Thurston County Code, in effect on the date of adoption of this ordinance.
Section 2. There is added a new section to chapter 10.04 Thurston County Code to read as follows:
New Section. Section 2 - Exceptions.
The provisions of chapter 10.04 shall not apply to the discharge of firearms:
(1) By a person acting in self-defense;
(2) By peace officers in the course of their official duties;
(3) In the course of farm slaughter activities;
(4) Within a legally existing or approved shooting range;
(5) By a person protecting livestock, pets, and/or property, in compliance with applicable State law;
(6) By a person retrieving and dispatching wounded game animals.
Section 3. There is added a new section to chapter 10.04 Thurston County Code, to read as follows:
New Section. Section 3- Exemption - Application - Fee
Application for exemption from the prohibition on discharging firearms shall be considered for properties two acres or larger. The application shall be submitted in writing and filed with the Thurston County Resource Stewardship Department. The application shall be accompanied with a receipt showing payment to this department. The fee shall be adopted on an annual basis as part of the department's regular permit fee schedule. The application shall include:
A. A completed Master Application, available from the department, including the name address and signature of the property owner.
B. A narrative describing the type of activity proposed (hunting, target practice, etc.), type of firearms to be used, who is involved, number of people participating at any one time, and time and duration of the activity. The narrative shall include a summary outlining the safety precautions the applicant will employ in order to ensure that the discharge of a firearm on their property will not endanger humans, domestic animals and the property of others.
C. A detailed and accurate map of the property at a scale of not less than two hundred feet to the inch (using a standard interval of engineer scale), which shall include or show:
1. The boundaries, including dimensions, of the property proposed to be exempted;
2. The type, location and height of all existing structures, including, but not limited to, buildings, fences, bridges, and storage tanks on the property proposed to be exempted;
3. A detail of areas proposed for firearm discharge on the property proposed to be exempted, including the direction of shooting, distances downrange, and what land uses lie beyond and to the sides of the shooting area;
4. The topography of the property proposed to be exempted;
5. The type and location of all structures within 300-feet of the property boundaries of the property proposed to be exempted; and
6. A north arrow, map scale, date, site address and directions to the site.
Section 4. There is added a new section to chapter 10.04 Thurston County Code, to read as follows:
New Section. Section 4. Hearing Examiner Action
The Hearing Examiner shall consider the proposed exemption from the prohibition on the discharge of firearms at a public hearing. If the hearing examiner finds the discharge of firearms on the subject property will not pose a reasonable likelihood of endangerment to people, domestic animals, or property the requested exemption will be granted. Such findings shall be issued by the Hearing Examiner in writing subject to the standard appeal process.
Section 5. There is added a new section to chapter 10.04 Thurston County Code, to read as follows:
Section5-Severability Clause. If any term or provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining terms and provisions of this ordinance, and the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby, but each remaining term and provision shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Section6-Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect upon its adoption.
ADOPTED:
ATTEST:
Clerk of the Board
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
JON TUNHEIM
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
By:
Elizabeth Petrich, WSBA#
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Thurston County, Washington
Chair
Vice-Chair
Commissioner
CODIFY
__________________________________________________ __________________________________
Any area subject to a No Shooting Ordinance must comply with the allowances for establishment of such ordinance as provided in RCW 9.41.300. The State statute allows Counties to restrict the discharge of firearms where there is a reasonable likelihood that humans, domestic animals, or property will be jeopardized.
Prior to scheduling a public hearing for this proposed ordinance, the draft ordinance must be reviewed for form by the Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
__________________