PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson commissioners have extended a moratorium on outdoor shooting ranges until late September or until the state Growth Management Hearing Board makes a final decision on two local ordinances, whichever comes first.
The commissioners unanimously decided to extend the moratorium during their regular meeting Monday morning.
“I’m happy to move forward with it,” said District 1 Commissioner Kate Dean. “It’s necessary to finish the work that we’ve been doing.”
A public hearing for the moratorium was held at Fort Worden on Feb. 10 and had seven Jefferson County residents give verbal comment in support of the moratorium, while one resident was opposed.
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The ordinance that established the moratorium in December does not allow for submission, acceptance, processing or approval of any Jefferson County permit applications for any proposed use, development, proposal or project for the siting, construction or modification of any commercial shooting facility through March 23 in unincorporated Jefferson County, commission documents state.
The moratorium is in response to the state Growth Management Hearings Board siding with the Tarboo Ridge Coalition in a Sept. 16 ruling that said county ordinances Title 8 and Title 18 did not follow state law in regard to commercial shooting facilities.
The current moratorium is in effect until March 23, but the compliance hearing with the Growth Management Hearings Board is not until April 14, the resolution said.
“The moratorium is intended to preserve the status quo, until the County adopts reasonable regulations that comply with the Final Decision and Order (FDO) of Washington State Growth Management Hearings Board,” the documents said.
“Therefore an extension of the moratorium is needed to preserve the status quo until final compliance with the Growth Board’s FDO is achieved.”
The moratorium will not allow for new facilities to apply for permitting. The existing Jefferson County Sportsman’s Association range — which recently received a state Recreation and Conservation Office grant for noise abatement — will be able to move forward on its permitting process, so to not lose the grant funding, the resolution said.
The only permits that would be accepted from the sportsman’s association as the only operating outdoor shooting facility in the county will be to perform work that is funded through the Recreation and Conservation grant, the resolution said.
The moratorium would be in effect until Sept. 23 at the latest, but if it is determined by the Growth Management Hearings Board that the two ordinances are compliant, the moratorium will be lifted earlier, the resolution said.
The full resolution can be read at https://tinyurl.com/PDN-moratoriumextension.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.