Photo ©MartyKuntz – Target practice on parcels of one acre or more are permitted under the revised Firearms Discharge by-Law passed June 20th
After much deliberation, Council passed a revised version of the draft Firearms Discharge By-Law at the June 20th Regular Council Meeting.
In the end, the revisions recommended by Kyle Phillips who had led the investigation into the numerous complaints the township had received in 2015 regarding obnoxious use of firearms in various parts of the Township. The bulk of the complaints focussed on lengthy periods of loud gun fire and very loud explosions, which OPP visits had identified as the results of shooting at binary targets, which are made of explosive material used for firearms practice.
Attempts to resolve complaints by township staff through direct correspondence and discussions with residents proved unsuccessful in alleviating the concerns, which were brought forward to Council by a delegation of concerned residents last September asking that the issue be resolved. The existing by-law was reviewed and compared to those of other municipalities and after consultations with the Peterborough Police, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and the Township solicitor, a new by-law was drafted to address some the identified concerns.
A meeting to receive public input was held on June 6th, at which 70 attendees provided input on the proposed revisions to the by-law. Most of those in attendance expressed their reservations about specific clauses of the proposal, and township staff also received 42 written comments about the proposal as well. As a result of this feedback, the by-law was revised and presented to Council for consideration. The changes include the following items: some clarification of definitions; the 2 hour time limit for firearm discharge was removed; the requirement to either own or reside on the property to be eligible to discharge a firearm was removed; the lot size allowed was reduced to one acre; the time when the activity is allowed is established as 7a.m. to 7 p.m. to coincide with the Building By-law for times of construction; binary targets are prohibited; and there are exemptions for air guns, pellet guns and all bows.
Council will not pursue the development of a noise by-law at this time for a number of reasons. First there are unintended consequences of this type of regulation. In a rural area, there are many legitimate sources of noise that could be affected by this kind of legislation such as the operation of farm equipment that would pose unreasonable restrictions on residents. In addition it was suggested this legislation is almost impossible to enforce. Township staff will focus their efforts on the enforcement of existing planning restrictions to ensure they are respected. KG
