Date: Fri 14-Feb-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

gun-club-Halfway-River-Assoc

Full Text:

Neighbors Find They Have Few Options In Pursuing Complaints About Gun Club

(with photo)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Doug and Elizabeth MacKay and their six children live just 700 feet away from

a local gun club's shooting range. As they often sit in their Walker Hill Road

home listening to the constant barrage of gunfire, the MacKays say they can't

help but feel as if they are sometimes under siege.

They aren't the only ones. As the area in and around Walker Hill Road

continues to develop, the gunshots heard from the Fairfield County Fish & Game

Protective Association fall on more and more ears. But as representatives from

the gun club point out, their club has been in Newtown for more than 60 years.

It pre-exists any local zoning laws, is not in violation and has no plans of

leaving.

"It's a lot worse than what we thought is was going to be before we moved in,"

said Mr MacKay.

To this day, the residents say they have received little to no help from

either the state or the town regarding their concerns over safety and sound

levels at the site, and have failed in an effort to solve the matter with the

club face-to-face. They continue their fight, however, as the accidental death

of a hunter in the Paugussett State Forest last fall still lingers in their

minds.

The residents say they are not suggesting that the gun club members are

reckless or irresponsible, but they are asking them to be "realistic."

"We're just asking them to be good neighbors," said Scott Beals, of Walker

Hill Road, pointing out that some homeowners were misled by realtors who did

not tell them there was an active gun club a few hundred feet through the

woods.

The residents of the area, who formed the Halfway River Neighborhood

Association a couple years ago, claim impulse noise levels from gunfire

violates Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations. However,

the DEP has no one to enforce these regulations due to budget cuts.

"The old regulations under which the program operated are seriously in need of

an update in order to be enforceable," admitted Arthur Rocque, assistant

commissioner of the DEP.

The neighborhood group met with gun club representatives in April and

requested better boundary barriers be put up. They also requested shorter

shooting hours, a certified range officer and a schedule of when the shooting

would occur.

To date, nothing has been done to the group's satisfaction, although residents

are notified from time to time about busy shooting days. Last year, a dog was

found dead on the property with a bullet hole in its head. The club said it

had nothing to do with the incident.

Last month, DEP natural resources chief Ed Parker compared the residents'

plight to the man who moves in next door to a farm and then complains about

the odor. But the residents disagree, saying gun clubs and farms have little

in common.

"What will it take, one of our kids getting shot?," asked Mrs MacKay.

"All we want is for them to live up to proper safety regulations so that we

can live in peace," said Mr Beals, adding a bullet can travel up to two miles.

Residents are also concerned about soil and water contamination from lead

buildup from bullets used at the skeet and rifle ranges, pointing out that the

Halfway River flows through the property.

First Selectman Bob Cascella recently told the residents all complaints should

be put in writing and Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO) Bill Nicholson would

look into them. That's not satisfactory to the residents, however, as Mr

Nicholson has already explained to them the property pre-exists zoning laws.

"Chief [James] Lysaght said he'd look into this as a public concern, but now

the ZEO is taking over, so apparently it's not a public safety concern," Mr

Beals said.

Mr Nicholson said the neighbors could always take their concerns to the Zoning

Board of Appeals if they want to oppose the fact the club pre-exists zoning.

Though gun club president Gary Bennett was unable to be reached for comment,

he has stated in several letters to the neighborhood group his club is "in

full compliance with all local, state and federal laws and ordinances and

membership use of the club is in complete accord with our own rules and

regulations."

The club's attorney, Timothy Ronan, said in November that because the club is

not operating in violation of any state or local regulations, it does not need

a DEP permit to operate.

The residents believe they have a serious problem on their hands, but say they

are still looking for a "straight answer" to make sure they are correct.

"We need to find out what our rights are," one neighbor explained. "Are we

founded in our concerns?"