Judge denies Willoughby ban

Rules city improperly revoked country club’s skeet shooting permit

The Willoughby Planning Commission had no right to revoke a permit that allowed skeet shooting at the Kirtland Country Club, Lake County Common Pleas Judge John P. O’Donnell has ruled.

A conditional use permit was issued on July 23, 2015, to allow the country club — located at 39438 Kirtland Road in Willoughby — to have weekend skeet shoots on Saturdays and Sundays from November to March.

But the permit was revoked Oct. 20, 2016, by the Planning Commission during a special meeting after Kirtland City Council members and residents of Kirtland complained about noise.

Willoughby officials were in court March 10 to ask O’Donnell to affirm the city’s decision to ban skeet shooting at the club. Attorneys for the club had previously filed an appeal, calling the city’s decision “illegal, arbitrary and unreasonable.”

The judge agreed with club attorneys, and has vacated the Planning Commission’s decision. O’Donnell also has ordered the city to pay court costs.

“There is no evidence on the record that the skeet shooting range violated (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), EPA, or state or local noise standards, and the statements of local residents are not sufficient to establish decibel levels,” O’Donnell stated in his

March 20 judgment entry.

The judge also noted that the Planning Commission failed to perform any formal testing of the decibel levels, while the country club’s expert determined decibel levels were below OSHA and Environmental Protection Agency levels.

“(The Planning Commission) argue(s) only that a number of residents complained that the noise from the shooting range bothered or offended them, and that those complaints were sufficient to establish the violation. However, such a subjective standard — anything that disturbs people — is arbitrary and capricious because it relies on personal preferences,” the judge stated.

O’Donnell also noted that Willoughby Law Director John W. Wiles reported to the Planning Commission in July that it “does not have the authority to revoke a (conditional use permit) unless there is a violation of the terms or conditions of the permit.”

Mayor David E. Anderson then sought a second legal opinion from outside attorney Stephen Byron, who also

concluded the Planning Commission does not have the authority to revoke the permit.

In August, the club applied for an amended conditional use permit that changed the shooting direction to east and included some physical modifications to the range that its expert said would significantly reduce the noise.

At an October Planning Commission meeting to consider the amended conditional use permit, the commission did not allow either club officials or their attorneys to be heard before revoking the permit.

Country club officials agreed when the conditional use permit was granted that skeet shooting would be reviewed after the first season.

However, they did not agree that the permit could be revoked because of noise issues, according to the judge.

“... Mike Germano, Willoughby’s Assistant Law Director, specifically told the PC members that they could not use a one-year review to do anything other than change the location where the shooting would occur,” O’Donnell stated. “(Club officials) then agreed to a one-year review solely regarding location and timing...”

The mayor said he accepts the judge’s ruling, and provided this emailed statement

when asked for comment:

“The establishment of a skeet shooting range at Kirtland Country Club has had a negative impact on some residents of Kirtland. Our Planning Commission included wording in the conditional use permit that mandated a review of the permit after the end of the first shooting season. The commissioners were of the understanding that this gave them the ability to revoke or amend the CUP if such problems arose. As it turns out, this wording was not strong enough to survive a legal challenge. It is the opinion of our legal advisers that insufficient grounds exist for an appeal of this decision.

“The club has indicated that there are improvements that can be made to lessen the noise heard beyond their property line. Even though they are under no legal obligation to do so, I would hope that they’d install these measures as a good faith effort to reduce the impact this noise has on Kirtland’s residents.”

Mark Petzing, general manager of Kirtland Country Club, said he is pleased with the judge’s ruling.

“The Kirtland Country Club will be reviewing all of its options and looks forward to working with the city of Willoughby on this issue,” he said.