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HomeMy WebLinkAbout040 FoxZON18-00036 (a bit more than "two cents" from a long-time rural Jefferson County resident) Members of the Planning Commission, Thank you for listening. In a nutshell: 1) Residents and tourists have been and continue to be attracted to rural East Jefferson County for its tranquil feeling of “being in the country” for well over a century – our established “rural character” has a real value that CAN accommodate the infrequent loud noises of forestry practices, agriculture and hunting… but it is destroyed by frequent loud noises. 2) Allowing for siting of a Commercial Shooting Facility near public access lakes and rural communities harms the rights of property owners to the enjoyment and use of their property… if “good fences make good neighbors” then what can make our ordinances and codes be the kind of “good fences” that promote “good neighbors” would be by insisting such developments be “small scale”, have restricted daylight use, and be compatible with other recreational uses vs. poor/no fences by remaining silent on the fact that a new Commercial Shooting Facility appears to be unchecked in its potential scale and incompatibility with neighboring land uses. 3) We already have an outdoor shooting facility at the JCSA that fulfills local civilian and police needs 4) If there isn’t time between now and the Moratorium’s deadline to create the proper definitions and craft the language that will protect our rural communities and character, as well as support our comprehensive planning goals, then please press for an extension of the Moratorium… measure twice, cut once The nuanced details: My husband jokes that I can be “Captain Obvious” in the way I speak, but in this case I think it is worth reminding everyone of some obvious points, so please bear with me… Obvious Point #1: People, like myself, have not been moving to places in unincorporated Jefferson County, like Eaglemount, over the course of decade after decade because we find the peace oppressive and live in hope for more frequent noises to enter our lives. Nicole Fox <foxnickel@gmail.com> Wed 11/14/2018 11:54 AM To:Planning Commission Desk <PCommissionDesk@co.jefferson.wa.us>; Page 1 of 4ZON18-00036 (a bit more than "two cents" from a ... -Planning Commission Desk 11/14/2018https://owa.co.jefferson.wa.us/owa/ Juxtapose that with Outdoor Commercial Shooting Facilities… these are places where, at the discretion of the business owner, extremely loud, repetitive and individually-attention- grabbing noises would be allowed to travel for several miles beyond the property lines of the business and into the properties and lives of the surrounding communities. I can tell you first-hand that you cannot judge how effectively sound will carry by simply looking at an aerial photo. The idea that any place surrounded by trees is a good place to make loud noises or that only caring about whether someone lives within 1 miles of any place surrounded by trees when siting a place to make loud noises is misleading at best. Trees, especially those being currently clear-cut by Pope Resources, are by no means a dependable or effective sound barrier to gun fire noise. In fact, loud sound carries much further in certain types of terrain and topography – for example, it carries especially well over water and echoes loudly from higher terrain down across valleys. Both types of terrain and topography are common features in rural East Jefferson County. Loud sounds from commercial shooting facilities would be allowed, at the discretion of the business owner, to travel into neighboring backyards at nearly anytime during the daylight hours for as long during the daytime as the business owner sees fit. At the discretion of the business owner, these sounds would be allowed to occur every day and any day of the week, every week and any week of the year, for as many years as the business see fit. When the County talks about the importance of "preserving rural character" in the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan, does it intend to leave it at the discretion of the business owner to dictate the quality of that rural character? Reading through the proposed amendments, I am not seeing where the County is actively planning on "preserving rural character.” I am seeing a Code that has redefined "small scale recreational and tourist" uses to "non-commercial" shooting ranges. What about “commercial” shooting ranges? Unless I have missed something, the Code appears silent on the scale and siting expectations of "commercial" shooting ranges, which, according to the newly created ordinance on commercial shooting facilities, are, among other things, "open to... organizational training for members of the armed forces" and allowing for night-time shooting for training purposes for members of the armed forces and not outright banning the use of exploding targets. Land use permit applications are, however, governed by Title 18 of the JCC. What is this "rural character" that is so worth preserving? Living in out in the county for over a decade I can tell you that this “rural character” is embodied in the serene beauty of Lake Leland, the site of a county park and campground as well as in the veneer of seclusion at Tarboo Lake, which the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife describes on their website as, and I quote, "...a secluded lake with good Rainbow Trout fishing in spring and early summer. Surrounded by forest it provides a nice setting for spring fishing." Page 2 of 4ZON18-00036 (a bit more than "two cents" from a ... -Planning Commission Desk 11/14/2018https://owa.co.jefferson.wa.us/owa/ Can we agree that this "nice setting" is a key element of the “rural character” that absolutely deserves protection in the Code in the form of clearly defined limitations on the scale and siting of new commercial shooting facilities? According to the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan, we have parks, preserves and recreational sites which the county has "intended to provide for public recreational opportunities consistent with the rural character of the county and preserve significant natural amenities of special or unique character." Obvious Point #2: I would argue that the absence of frequent and loud noises during the daytime are a big part of what makes up our County's "rural character". Forestry harvesting can be loud, but it is not frequent - the trees are cut and then for decades it is the sound of them growing back again. Agricultural harvesting can be loud, but it is not frequent - there is a lot of time where the fields are silently growing. The noises from hunting are short-lived and seasonal. The "rural character" of Jefferson County makes loud noises the exception, not the rule. Think of it in terms of scale to our ears and to our community: In the decades of forestry use history in our area, we have not seen a move to increase the logging noise from spot harvesting every 40 years to having a year-round massive sawmill operation running each and every day. In the decades of agricultural use, we have not seen a move to increase agricultural noises from their seasonal and small scale realities to a massive corporate industry. Why should it be that we’ll want to increase our shooting noises from random and seasonal to a massive scale in the form of a commercial shooting range that is open to attract military group training and create gun noise every day of the year with no apparent reasonable restrictions on daylight hours of use or siting locations? With an ordinance on commercial shooting facilities that refuses to acknowledge pre-existing public access lakes and recreational areas as incompatible (or at least deserving a buffer zone) with the siting of a new commercial shooting facility, how can this code amendment proposal hope to ensure that new commercial shooting facilities are consistent with Jefferson County’s rural character? Are all reasonable provisions and guidance to be excluded from our ordinances and codes so that it is up to the one hearing examiner viewing a Conditional Use Permit to take on all the weight of what is a significant, life-changing decision for so many rural residents? And then, if it should pass the hearing examiner, is the rural character to be redefined, at the discretion of the business owner? We already have an outdoor shooting range facility in Jefferson County that is meeting our community’s and police department’s needs. Our County’s rural character has been a century in the making and has involved the compatible siting of forestry, agriculture and small scale recreational activities stretching across our valleys and our waterfronts to enrich instead of degrade our pre-existing public recreational areas, lakes, conservation regions and rural residential communities. Page 3 of 4ZON18-00036 (a bit more than "two cents" from a ... -Planning Commission Desk 11/14/2018https://owa.co.jefferson.wa.us/owa/ As a property owner I have the right to the enjoyment and use of my property. I have not moved towards a nuisance. The sound of daytime shooting from a new commercial range, especially without any enforceable and predictable daytime peace, will mean the loss of the use and enjoyment of my property and it will affect my general welfare and comfort, not to mention my property value if I need to sell. Are my pre-existing property rights, too, at the discretion of the new business owner? Obvious Point #3: Everyone wants a “good neighbor” – some person or company that is reasonable to deal with and can respect how their use and enjoyment of their property can be modified, as needed, to allow for neighboring property owners to retain a modified use and enjoyment of their properties… a sort of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” concept. A business may choose to embrace the concerns of neighbors and be that “good neighbor”, but without established guidelines/expectations in the ordinances and codes as a “backstop”, a business may also choose to ignore neighbors and create an atmosphere that contradicts our cherished “rural character”. We have a good thing going here in Jefferson County and our Codes should reflect our values, protect our property rights and strengthen our valuable “rural character” for generations to come. If more time is needed to clarify definitions and establish language that reflects what the County has already admitted it values in its comprehensive plan, then by all means, extend the Moratorium. Please come out and walk beside Lake Leland. Sit for a moment at Tarboo Lake. Talk to rural residents and rural business owners about what they value about their way of life. You will come to know this for a fact yourselves: The “rural character” of Jefferson County relies upon making loud noises the exception, not the rule. Thank you again for all your work, patience and time. Sincerely, Nicole Fox 3748 Eaglemount Road Port Townsend November 7, 2018 Ref: ZON18-00036 Page 4 of 4ZON18-00036 (a bit more than "two cents" from a ... -Planning Commission Desk 11/14/2018https://owa.co.jefferson.wa.us/owa/