Meeting Notes 072016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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16 measured so it is tangible and objective and enforceable, he said. But I think safety is the primary issue. I don’t think we can make it so that everybody has to be trained. Ms. Conti agreed on the goal of keeping the projectile from crossing a property line. But I’m not giving up on addressing noise either, she said. Chatham County has included firearms under its noise ordinance. It is embarrassing for Orange County to be behind this curve. Why can’t we do this? We could lift the exemption from the Orange County noise ordinance. The Sheriff’s Office has the equipment to measure decibels already. And we also could look at the projectiles too. It’s doable. There is a problem with noise and a problem with safety. The facilitator reflected on what he was hearing. He proposed that at the next meeting the group focus on three problems: x Noise: Relentless shooting creating gunfire noise that is bothersome to neighbors x Safety: Shooting on private property that is clearly risky –obviously inconsistent with how a responsible shooter should act--but since no damage, injury or fatality has occurred there are no law enforcement tools to prevent the likely harm. x Perceptions: Perceptions that shooting is not safe. The facilitator also said that based on what he had been hearing in the discussion, the development of an ordinance is only one possible kind of response to these issues that the Committee might recommend. The Committee also could recommend that the County do nothing, or it might advise voluntary steps by people or groups in the community, and/or it might recommend some kinds of training, and/or awareness/education efforts, and/or funding initiatives by the County. Dr. Arvik asked for an explicit agreement by the Committee that the three problemson the facilitator’s flip chart notes exist and will frame the Committee’s next steps in problem solving.The group agreed after some discussion, as follows: x In reply to a question, Mr. Roberts explained that state law allows law enforcement to take action if a projectile enters an occupied structure, but there is nothing that says if a projectile leaves a shooter’s property then that is de facto a violation. If a projectile crosses a property line and goes into, say, a corn crib, then that is certainly dangerous but it is not illegal under state law, he