HomeMy WebLinkAbout075 BahlsZON18-0036
Please include attached letter from Northwest Watershed Institute as part of the public record. Thank you!
Peter Bahls, Executive Director
Northwest Watershed Institute
3407 Eddy Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
360-385-6786
www.nwwatershed.org
Peter Bahls <peter@nwwatershed.org>
Fri 11/16/2018 4:25 PM
To:Planning Commission Desk <PCommissionDesk@co.jefferson.wa.us>; Planning Commission Desk
<PCommissionDesk@co.jefferson.wa.us>;
1 attachment
NWI-Planning Commission shooting range ZON18-00036 comments Nov 16 2018.pdf;
Page 1 of 1ZON18-0036 -Planning Commission Desk
11/16/2018https://owa.co.jefferson.wa.us/owa/
November 16, 2018
Planning Commission
c/o Jefferson County DCD
621 Sheridan Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Email to plancomm@co.jefferson.wa.us
RE: ZON 18-00036 Proposed Amendments to the UDC, Title 18 Relating to Shooting
Facilities
Dear Members of the Jefferson County Planning Commission,
First, I ask you to carefully consider and support the recommendations provided by Tom
Richardson, retired attorney and District #1 representative on the Commercial Shooting
Facilities Review Committee, in his letter of November 8, 2018. Mr. Richardson points
out critical changes that need to be made to the Title 18 amendments proposed by Philip
Hunsucker, chief civil deputy prosecuting for Jefferson County and important role of the
Planning Commission in addressing the land use issues left out of the ordinance.
Second, I ask you to support the analysis and recommendations provided by the Tarboo
Ridge Coalition (TRC). The TRC letter describes the major shortcomings in the new
commercial shooting facilities ordinance (“new ordinance”) that can only be addressed at
this point as proposed amendments to the UCD by the Planning Commission.
These critical gaps in the new ordinance in regard to appropriate siting criteria and size of
shooting facilities appropriate for Jefferson County are not solved by the proposed
amendments to the land use code. If anything, the minor proposed changes to the land use
codes appear to make it easier, not harder, to build a large and poorly sited weapons
training facility in an incompatible location.
Changes needed to the UCD to deal with shooting ranges are an extremely complex issue
with very high stakes for the long-term health and welfare of Jefferson County’s residents
and environment. It is not fair to give the Planning Commission only enough time to
rubber stamp the proposed minor amendments that do not address size and siting criteria;
two considerations that are key to protecting the quality of life, property rights, and the
environment in Jefferson County.
Northwest Watershed urges the Planning Commission to request, in no uncertain terms,
that the Board of County Commissioners extend the Commercial Shooting Range
Ordinance for 6 months to allow time for both the Planning Commission and BoCC to
carefully evaluate, develop, and adopt land use code amendments that protect the
interests of Jefferson County’s citizens and our public resources. The public is not served
by rushing this process through and it is my understanding that the BoCC has legal
authority, and justification in this case, to extend the moratorium.
Given that the moratorium ordinance addressed only the Title 8 upgrades, the BoCC
would likely need to enact an amendment to the MO that specifically articulates the need
for companion revisions to Title 18. Preparations for extending the moratorium should be
made immediately so that there is no “gap” when applications for new shooting ranges
could become vested under the existing regulations.
Sincerely,
Peter Bahls
Executive Director