Gun range concerns reignited

Concerns addressed following noise complaints about facility

A dispute over the Avon Police Firing Range between the cities of Avon and Avon Lake was rekindled Aug. 15 during an Avon Planning Commission meeting.

With Avon in the process of considering changes to its gun range ordinance, Avon Lake officials and residents were in attendance to address their concerns following a series of noise complaints about the facility located at 35400 Schneider Court, on the city’s west end.

The dispute dates back to April with Avon Lake residents reporting constant shooting in the area, which lies on the border between the two cities.

Both Mayor Greg Zilka and Avon Lake Ward 2 Councilwoman Jennifer Fenderbosch read letters addressed to the Avon Planning Commission in which they implored the two sides to find a workable compromise.

Zilka proposed that Avon make three changes to the

“The discomfort and anxiety of Avon Lake residents are experiencing is based partially on the unknown.”

— Avon Lake Ward 2 Councilwoman Jennifer Fenderbosch

shooting range:

• The use of any outdoor shooting range be limited to Monday through Friday and the hours also be limited (e.g. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

• The use of the shooting range be limited to Avon safety forces only; just as Avon Lake limits usage

• Sound be reduced by additional mounding and trees

Zilka said most of the complaints have come from Heron Bay, approximately 2,000 feet from the gun range with additional calls coming from the Wildberry Subdivision located just east of state Route 83, north of the railroad tracks, along with calls from residents in the areas of Bridgeside Drive and the Westwinds subdivision.

“In an environment of school shootings, most recently in Parkland, Fla., causing the loss of 17 lives, a concert in Las Vegas that resulted in the deaths of 51 people and other tragedies unfolding in public areas that have snuffed out the lives of scores of people, the sounds have proven to be very disturbing to some,” Zilka said. “Unfortunately, this is the era in which we live.”

Fenderbosch added in her letter a request for Avon to post the dates and times of the facility’s usage on the city’s website.

“The discomfort and anxiety of Avon Lake residents are experiencing is based partially on the unknown,” Fenderbosch said. “When they hear gun fire without notice, they do not know if there is an active shooter scenario or if it is practice.

“Because there is no public

posting, they have no idea how long the gun fire will take place.”

The range is used about 75 days each year, including 44 days by other agencies including Bay Village Police Department, the Federal Reserve, FBI, Sheffield Lake Police Department, Rapid Transit Authority, Olmsted Falls Police Department, NASA and the IRS in a regional focus.

Zilka noted one of his constituents who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder was forced to move out of his home because of the sounds of gun fire.

Fenderbosch stressed the need to think deeply about concerns shared by her constituents.

“I come before you to request that you put yourself in the shoes of a mother of a seven-year-old child who is waiting for the school bus and suddenly hears rapid gun fire,” she said. “Or put yourself inside the fears triggered by a war hero who has flashbacks to her army service days when she hears the rapid gunfire and without notice to prepare her headphones.”

In response, Avon Mayor Bryan Jensen said he understands and has empathy for resident concerns, but stressed the importance of being able for law enforcement agencies in Avon and regionally to prepare properly for emergency situations.

Jensen noted Avon was kicked out of Avon Lake’s shooting range 10 years ago.

“I understand what they’re saying, but we have to be prepared,” he said. “And the only way to be prepared, is to shoot under conditions that way.

“If Avon Lake would close their range, they could come over to ours and we could pool resources together and try to do things

differently.

“But you have to remember, Avon Lake kicked us out. So, for Avon Lake to say, hey we’d like to welcome Avon to shoot or only allow Avon to shoot there, we don’t have borders anymore when it comes to protecting each other.”

Jensen added Avon took measures to place the range in a location that had the least impact on everyone, where it is in an industrialzoned area surrounded by woods on three sides.

He said Avon also adjusted its hours to address some concerns and noted some of the houses in Avon Lake in the range’s proximity were built in the last five years.

“We can’t be everything to everybody, but this I’m passionate about,” Jensen said. “Our forces have to be ready for when something takes place. I’m not going to apologize for that.

“It’s not got anything to do with Avon or Avon Lake. It has to do with preparedness, to be ready for when it happens.

“And unfortunately, it’s getting closer and closer. And when you look around, it’s happening in all the places they said it wouldn’t happen.”

In an email statement to The Morning Journal, Avon police Chief Richard Bosley responded to Avon Lake’s proposals and reiterated the importance of the range for the training on Avon officers and others who depend on it.

“As I have stated many times before, there are a great number of benefits for ourselves and other agencies by using our range with a regional approach,” Bosley wrote. “I would not want to abandon those agencies who have used our range for years and have come to rely on it for the training of

their officers.

“As an agency that has had that happen to us in the past, it is something that I am opposed to doing to another community.”

In reference to Zilka’s request for additional mounding and trees, Bosley said the location of the Avon range already is surrounded with trees on the side facing Avon Lake and questioned why Avon Lake is asking for higher standards than that of its own gun range.

Bosley referred back to his statement to The Morning Journal on April 26 when Avon Lake City Council first raised concerns about the issue.

“Unfortunately, these types of issues occur when residential neighborhoods are built near industrial areas,” he said. “We will continue to look for reasonable solutions.

“However, we will also continue to utilize our range for the training of police officers.”

In April, the chief said that firearms qualification is an annual requirement for all officers and the department utilizes the space to create more realistic training scenarios for officers that would be difficult to replicate at an indoor facility.

“This provides the realism of adverse weather conditions and more dynamic training to improve officer judgement through these more realistic scenarios,” Bosley wrote. “We believe that training in this manner prepares our officers to be better able to handle situations in a more safe and professional manner for both themselves and the public.

“We plan on continuing to allow our law enforcement to properly train their officers.