WINCHESTER — Not
everyone had a chance to speak at the Winchester zoning board meeting
Thursday night, so plans for a shooting range in town will have yet
another public hearing in February.
Thursday’s hearing
wasn’t much different from the second public hearing last month:
Opponents of the project voiced their ongoing concerns about safety,
property values and sound levels, while Ridgeline Shooting Sports LLC, a
Massachusetts-based company, pushed for its plans.
Callie Ginter can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1409 or cginter@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @CGinterKS.
The main differences between the
latest meeting and the previous hearings were the presence of three
Winchester police officers at the town hall to ensure everyone behaved,
and residents had to keep their comments or questions to five minutes
per person. The public hearing had a two-hour limit, and by 9:30 p.m.,
some people still hadn’t had their say. The board voted to continue the
hearing.
“I’m trying not to get emotional so I’ll try to stay technical,” said Mark Tigan, a Winchester resident.
“Where’s our lawyer? This is
going to the courts. My guess is we would be better off having legal
counsel to guide us in this thing. We are in over our head and I’d urge
you to have us represented at these (zoning board) meetings as soon as
possible so we don’t get tripped up in court,” he told the zoning board.
The meeting inevitably got emotional.
Not even an hour in, Raymond
Roberts, a resident who opposes the range, stormed out of the room,
frustrated, but returned minutes later. A mother with her child left
upset because she didn’t get her chance to speak after sitting for
nearly three hours.
Most of those in attendance were
angry over Ridgeline’s plans to put a gun range and wilderness survival
skills training area on three properties between Hinsdale (Route 119)
and Fenton Hill roads despite public opposition. The sites are in the
agricultural, commercial and residential zoning districts.
The company is requesting a
special exception from the Winchester zoning board so it can use the
property zoned as agricultural for the range, and a variance to use the
property zoned as residential. The business, which is categorized in
town zoning laws as amusement, recreation or sport, is already allowed
in the commercial zoning district.
Ridgeline describes the proposed
business as a marksmanship park with 10 rifle ranges and 27
shorter-distance bays for small-arms activities. The longest rifle
range, according to the project application, is 1,000 yards.
Alex Hartmann, president of
Ridgeline Shooting Sports, said he understands people’s concerns about
safety and noise, but said, “I’ve double checked and tripled checked …
why would I dump so much money into something I couldn’t open?”
Some of those opposing the plan were fired up about the language used in Ridgeline’s application.
Winchester resident Paul Dobbs read a list of what he called “misleading statements made by Ridgeline.”
“That they guarantee total containment of bullets,” he read to the board.
“On such a small piece of land, that’s impossible to guarantee,” Dobbs said.
He read another about noise: “That bullets fly through the air silently.”
“In fact, bullets flying through
the air are far from silent, but do cause their own sound totally
separate from the noise of the explosion issuing from the muzzle. It’s
called the supersonic crack,” Dobbs said.
Julia Ferrari, who lives in the
town’s village of Ashuelot, shared similar concerns and said she was
worried by the vague language in the application.
Some had more personal concerns.
“Something happened at the last meeting,” said Ashuelot village resident Jennifer Bellan.
“I was sitting behind the
gentlemen from Ridgeline ... when other people were talking, there was
eye rolling and snickering and giggling,” Bellan said of the company
representatives. “We’re talking about what are we bringing into our
town. I’m sure these gentlemen didn’t mean to come off as sounding like
13-year-old girls but it just did not feel good ... I don’t mean to
insult you gentlemen, but what I saw that night was distressing.”
Hartmann did not respond to Bellan’s comments.
At the next meeting, Hartmann
will be required to provide written answers to various noise control
questions from the consultant he has contracted with,
Massachusetts-based Noise Control Engineering, LLC.
Cynthia Ryder of Winchester kept her comment short.
“We’ve already stated how we want
to use it (the land) — please remember it’s the master plan we want
enforced,” Ryder said. The master plan’s purpose is to envision the best
and most appropriate future development for the community.
The fourth public hearing on the
project will be Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. at the town hall. People who
were not able to voice their opinions from Thursday night’s meeting
will be the first speakers, according to the board
.
.
Unbelievable, we have come to the point in Winchester and the United States where we need 3 police officers to control the crowd at a local information meeting? Maybe these officers just needed a little overtime.
ReplyDeleteYou don't suppose that someone in power in this town needs employment for themselves or friends and family?
ReplyDelete