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been on the site and they have seen the berm. The only contradicted evidence we have about what the site looks 1 <br />like are from my witnesses and they talk about a physical structure. There is a man made at the top of a natural rise. 2 <br />They have cleverly used a natural drainage to help make them shoot into the ground. That is one of the things the 3 <br />sheriff’s department talked about in their emails. We don’t know what we can do, they are shooting downhill so it 4 <br />appears it is safe shooting. That is not the question in front of you. We also have a shooting platform area. We have 5 <br />evidence that massive, not massive, large trees have been cleared; there are targets that have been put up. There is 6 <br />nothing in the ordinance that says you have to have a certain kind of shooting building, a certain number of targets or 7 <br />other protections. You have a situation where there is a structure and there is evidence of use and we are fortunate 8 <br />that nobody has been shot by a stray bullet tonight. I thank you very much for your time and I appreciation your 9 <br />consideration of this matter. 10 <br /> 11 <br />Anthony Taibi: Even under Mr. Morphis’ definition from that act, it has to be something that is operating, having some 12 <br />land, you got 34 acres of land, you take your bobcat and knock some things over and make yourself, that is a 13 <br />shooting range. That is a place where you shoot. If I go in my back yard and put something up, paper targets taped 14 <br />up, that makes a facility? There is no membership, no club, are we going to get focused on who is a family member 15 <br />or start defining who is a family member and have lists of family members to answer this question? There are really 16 <br />two different questions here. One question is the one that is not before you and that is how ought shooting ranges … 17 <br />how should shooting activities be regulated in the county. The county is changing its character, its going from being 18 <br />rural to being more urban and there have been some issues made that maybe my client has not always been a good 19 <br />neighbor. But that is not the question here. This is about zoning and it doesn’t have to be a profit making business 20 <br />but there has to be an operation. It has to be a facility. This is about do you have a facility. This is 34 acres of 21 <br />undeveloped land. People are going to shoot, you knock down a few trees, you put up some paper towers. There is 22 <br />a couple of boards over some wet spots does not make it a facility. There is no operation, there is no club, there is 23 <br />no organized activity of any kind. There are just some people shooting. Should that be regulated? We have heard 24 <br />testimony that the sheriff has told people that this is not something he can intervene but they call him 10 times but he 25 <br />says it is not his business. The EPA is interested in intervening. I believe in the idea that laws about not just we want 26 <br />something how can we make it happen but that there is a right procedure and a right place to go for the remedy. 27 <br />There is the law of nuisance. They can go and get regulations changed about how the county regulates the 28 <br />discharge of firearms. We even offered to voluntarily take some steps that would make them a better neighbor but 29 <br />what it isn’t is a land use decision. Certainly, the staff in coming to that decision was supported by reason and 30 <br />evidence. It’s not in their brief to be a roving commission to right every wrong and take up everybody who maybe 31 <br />wasn’t always the best neighbor. Their job is, do I have evidence, is there something that is clearly a violation of the 32 <br />land use rule. Not to see if they can twist the land use rule into being an instrument for people to highjack the zoning 33 <br />process for their political end. Let’s do that in a political arena. Thank you. 34 <br /> 35 <br />Larry Wright: Do you have any questions for the counsel? Have we declared jurisdiction on the points… 36 <br /> 37 <br />Michael Harvey: Mr. Chairman, if it’s not your intent to have any additional testimony, you need to close the public 38 <br />hearing. I’d ask Mr. Bryan about that. 39 <br /> 40 <br />James Bryan: You close the public hearing, you don’t have closed session. 41 <br /> 42 <br />Larry Wright: I’m sorry. We are not closing the public hearing for board discussion on the process. Any questions 43 <br />before we do this? On the initial point of order that I made, I didn’t know we really had to close the public hearing. 44 <br />Mr. Bryan, will you summarize how we are to proceed on this. 45 <br /> 46 <br />James Bryan: I think you, as a board, have ruled on standing on the subpoena and jurisdiction. You heard all the 47 <br />testimony the parties intended to give. I would rule on whether there is a shooting range or not, whether you believe 48 <br />there is enough evidence to support the Notice of Violation. There was an opportunity to say the NOV doesn’t exist 49 <br />because the rescission eliminated it. I think you have already granted jurisdiction so the question is do we have 50 <br />46