Some of you may have noticed the Williston Police Department appearing at the club several times over the last couple of weeks. A bit of background on why they have been visiting...
North Country Sportsman's Club has had an ageement with the Town regarding operating hours for about the last 8 years. This agreement is called for in the Town's Noise Ordinance. A year ago, the Town asked that we renegotiate this agreement. For various reasons, these negotiations were delayed through the remainder of 2014. In late 2014 I met with the Town Manager and we mutually decided to delay negotiations of a new agreement until the middle of 2015.
In early April 2015 I sent a proposal to the Town Manager suggesting terms of a new agreement. This proposal also informed the Town that we would be terminating the current (now "previous") agreement as of May 1, 2015. The Town's response to our proposal was only that it was "unacceptable". They did not make a counterproposal that would have led to a negotiation process.
The Town Manager replied that he would need to confer with the Select Board before he could communicate the Town's position. Because the Select Board's 4/20 meeting was cancelled, the Town Manager's first opportunity to meet with the Select Board was 5/4 (which occurred in executive session).
Sunday 5/3 was NCSC's first day operating without an agreement with the Town of Williston in place. Since then, the Town has considered NCSC to be in violation of the Town's Noise Ordinanace.
Because of the statutes that exist protecting shooting ranges from regulation by municipalities, the NCSC board decided to get the Vermont Federation of Sportsman's Clubs (VFSC) involved. They have the resources to fight the Town's response and a vested interest in not allowing Williston to set a precedent for a mechanism by which towns may regulate shooting ranges.
Below is a letter from Evan Hughes (Vice President VFSC) to the Town Manager explaining the statutes that protect NCSC and other shooting ranges and the club's position.
Know that we will continue to operate as we have (Wednesday 4:00pm-dusk and Sunday 9:00am-4:00pm) throughout this dispute. I will provide relevant updates as developments occur. In the mean time, please let myself or another board member know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Bob Otty
Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, Inc.
Proudly Serving Vermont Since 1875
16 Millstone Blvd., Barre, VT 05641
www.vtfsc.org
Richard McGuire
Town Manager - Town of Williston
7900 Williston Road
Williston, VT 05495
May 9th, 2015
The Town of Williston has been interacting with the North Country Sportsmen's Club (NCSC) with regard to the shooting performed at this existing sport shooting club. The Town has been referencing a noise ordinance dated 10/25/2004 as its source of authority to regulate shooting at the NCSC.
The Town of Williston failed to note that in 2006 the Vermont Legislature amended 24 V.S.A. 2291(8) so as to prevent municipalities from regulating firearm discharge at existing sport shooting ranges as defined in 10 V.S.A. 5227.
The NCSC was and remains such a protected existing sport shooting range. In addition, the Town of Williston has failed to recognize its own Firearm Discharge Ordinance amended on 8/15/2011, which acknowledges in Section V that it does not have the authority to regulate an existing sport shooting range, such as the NCSC as referenced below:
SECTION V - EXEMPTIONS - ACTS AUTHORIZED BY STATUTE
This ordinance shall not apply to the discharge of firearms by police officers, sheriffs constables, game wardens and other statutorily designated law enforcement officers in the performance of their legal duties. This ordinance shall not be construed to limit any rights or immunities to discharge firearms in the defense or protection of person or property provided by Vermont Statutes. Nor shall this ordinance apply to the discharge of firearms on any existing sport shooting range, as defined in 10 V.S.A., section 5227.
The Town of Williston has attempted to impose a set of regulations that by state law it is barred from enacting. On Sunday, May 3 the Town of Williston went so far as to dispatch its police officers to the NSCS property to order the end of shooting at a trap shooting event.
The NCSC officials declined to cease shooting so the officers departed, but later they returned to order a halt to the perfectly lawful trap shooting event. The NCSC officials again declined to stop shooting, and the officers demanded to be told of the identity of all of those present. When the NCSC officials declined the police told the NCSC officials they would subpoena the identity of those present at the trap shooting event.
At the Town of Williston Select Board meeting on Monday evening, May 4, it was stated by a citizen that the Williston police officers had recorded the license plate numbers at the trap shooting activity on the previous day. During that meeting, I identified myself and my affiliation with the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, and I informed both the town manager and the entire select board that it did not have the lawful authority to regulate the shooting operations at the NCSC.
All of the Town of Williston officials present were informed as to the restrictions imposed in 2006 by 24 V.S.A. 2291(8), that NCSC was protected as an existing sport shooting range per 10 V.S.A. 5227, and that the Town of Williston was not in compliance with its own Firearms Discharge Ordinance amended in 2011.
At the Wednesday, May 6 PM trap shooting activities at the NCSC law enforcement personnel of the Town of Williston arrived and demanded the lawful shooting activities cease. The police cited the 2004 noise discharge ordinance, displaying a copy of said ordinance.
The NCSC official present then produced a document which gave a counter position from the Town of Williston to the police.
The Town of Williston does not have the lawful authority to regulate the shooting activities as per 24 V.S.A. 2291(8) and 10 V.S.A. 5227.
The Town of Williston Firearm Ordinance bars it from regulating the perfectly legal trap shooting activities. Yet, the Town of Williston continues to aggressively act to enforce such restrictions to the point of sending police officers to the NCSC property not once but three times to unlawfully order an end to lawful trap shooting activities. The police officers further demanded the identify of citizens engaged in a lawful activity on private property. The police threatened to subpoena the identify of these citizens and according to another citizen at the above said select board meeting recorded the license plate numbers of the vehicles present at the NCSC on Sunday, May 3.
Where a use pre-dates an ordinance-based restriction, and where that use was entirely legal prior to the ordinance and has continued without cessation, the owner has a vested right to continue that use and the ordinance cannot deprive the property owner of the right to continue that use - or else the scenario becomes an unconstitutional taking of property. Rutland v. Keiffer,124 Vt. 357 (Vt. 1964).
The Town of Williston must immediately end its demands to the NCSC with regard to its shooting operations. The Town of Williston must end the use of its police officers to impose a termination of shooting at perfectly lawful shooting operations and the demands of its officers to be told the identify of those present and to threaten to subpoena the club for those identities must immediately end.
The Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs takes the protection of the Vermont Sportsmen's Bill of Rights and the protection of its member clubs very seriously. Seriously enough that the Town of Williston should become familiar with 42 USC 1983.
Sincerely,
Evan_Hughes_Signature.jpg
Evan Hughes
VP - Vermont Federation of Sportsmens Clubs
802-272-8544 vtguns@aol.com
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Town of Williston & Shooting Range at Odds
