Officials want clearer language in shooting range ordinance
The Lake County Council is considering a request to rewrite its regulations for shooting ranges and gun clubs, excluding provisions that affect residential properties.
The request for the change poised to go to the Plan Commission would, in part, repeal requirements for residents to build a berm for target practice and define that the ordinance applies only to commercial or nonprofit shooting ranges or gun clubs.
“The intent is to regulate commercial establishments,” said Councilman Christian Jorgensen, R-St. John.
Jorgensen said he thinks it is a good idea to clarify the ordinance so residents know what is subject to the county’s zoning code.
An ordinance the council passed in December would only allow shooting ranges in agriculture zones, with a special exception from the Plan Commission, and require a berm that must meet state specifications.
The ordinance also included a “safety zone” for the areas behind a berm. The distance of the “safety zone” is based on the manufacturer specification or National Rifle Association rating for how far a bullet will travel.
Plan Commission Director Ned Kovachevich said the ordinance on the books now doesn’t have clear definitions.
“This would help us,” Kovachevich said.
Jorgensen said he didn’t expect private citizens to meet the requirements.
Councilman Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, said he wouldn’t want to ask for an ordinance that would create a burden for residents.
“This actually removes the burden,” Jorgensen said.
Councilman Charlie Brown, D-Gary, asked if the request to the Plan Commission had anything to due with the council’s discussion in January on regulating the distance between residences required for people to shoot guns for target practice.
“This has nothing to do with what happened in January,” Jorgensen said.
In January, the council passed an ordinance that would bar people in unincorporated Lake County from discharging a firearm within 700 feet of a residence. The ordinance language would not prohibit discharging firearms during hunting season, and allow for shooting within 700 feet if both neighbors had a written agreement saying it was OK.
A previous version of the ordinance would have only required a 300-foot distance from a residence.
Despite South County residents packing the council’s January meeting to protest the regulation, the ordinance was passed by a 5-2 vote.
When the ordinance went to the Lake County Board of Commissioners a week later, the board’s three members unanimously vetoed the regulations.
The council did not revisit the regulation after the commissioners vetoed it.
The council’s request to the Plan Commission would not immediately change any of the county’s zoning ordinances.
Kovachevich said any zoning ordinance changes could take up to six months before anything is ready for review.
Kovachevich said the resolution does not proposed a zoning ordinance but only gives the Plan Commission an idea.
“It’s an ask,” Dernulc said.
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