Ramara politicians have turned down a site-plan application for a gun range in the township.
The unanimous decision was made at Monday’s committee-of-the-whole meeting and will be up for ratification at next Monday’s council meeting.
The committee turned down the application for the property at 1131 Concession Rd. 5 because it “is not active recreational (use); it’s commercial,” said Mayor Basil Clarke.
“It’s got to be something that’s passive to the area and something that’s not destructive to the theme of rural,” he said.
The decision comes on the heels of a public meeting that saw dozens of people object to the proposed shooting range. That meeting was intended to gather opinions on proposed amendments to the township’s Official Plan and zoning bylaw to state a gun/shooting range is not a permitted active recreational use. A decision on those amendments is expected in December.
The committee motion passed Monday states, in part, “we rescind council's partial approval of the site plan control application” and that council denies approval of the application because “the owners/applicant did not satisfy the conditions of the Phase 1 site plan approval” and the application “does not conform to the policies of the Township of Ramara Official Plan.”
If council rubber-stamps that decision, the property owner could apply for a change in zoning and could take the matter before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.
“We’re prepared for that and we’re prepared to defend our decision,” Clarke said.
During Monday’s meeting, the committee also discussed a draft bylaw that defines a private gun or shooting range as any location where shooting takes place more than once every seven days for more than three hours at a time.
They will not be permitted, should council approve the proposed Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments, which would implement a township-wide ban on private shooting ranges.
Clarke feels that will address concerns about prolonged shooting that has been reportedly happening on a private property not far from the proposed gun range.
“Hopefully, that will shut them down as well,” he said.
The bylaw will come before council next Monday for a decision.
