Range shootout continues

Just three weeks after the Montlake Classic Clay on Mowbray Mountain reopened, neighbors are again taking aim at the shooting range.

"He put his first (shooting) station right in my backyard again," said Stan Deprow, whose property, now for sale, is separated from the range by a fence. "I don't want the man out of business. I just want him out of my back yard."

Mr. Deprow, who still has a lawsuit pending against the shooting range, and other neighbors have complained that they have seen shooting taking place in the 180-foot buffer area set up in the state law enacted in May to reopen the range.

But Joe Manuel, attorney for range owners Craig and Dawn Sheaffer, said all shooting has been and will be within the established boundaries.

"I have not heard any specifics of what station there have been any complaints about," he said.

Mr. Manuel said he has personally inspected the shooting stations and measured their distance from property lines and roads. He said the owners would allow a surveyor, hired by the neighbors, to come onto the property to measure the distance.

"I'm just a little tired of the complaining and grumbling," he said.

Hamilton County Assistant District Attorney David Norton said the county would enforce any violation to the state law's restrictions just like it would any regular county zoning violation.

"We'll do whatever investigation is necessary," he said.

Mr. Deprow said he thinks the Sheaffers will put shooting stations in the buffer, then move them whenever anyone comes to look.

"Everything's portable," he said. "He'll put them right back when everything calms down."

The range owners "feel like they can do whatever they want now that they've got (state Sen.) Andy Berke in their back pocket," he said.

Sen. Berke, D-Chattanooga, a key sponsor of the bill that allowed the range to reopen, said the owners must follow the state law's instructions.

"We have a law that set forth clear instructions for how the gun club is to proceed," he said.

Hamilton County Chancellor Howell Peoples ordered the range closed in December for not having the correct zoning. The range did not reopen until Oct. 24, after Chancellor Peoples threw out restrictions on the range put in place by the Hamilton County Commission.

PDF: Dodd v. Board of Zoning Appeals members

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

Shooting at the range may not take place:

* 180 feet from adjoining residential property lines, a county road or boundary lines along the north, west and east sides.

* 150 feet from any adjoining boundary line or county road that goes from the southeast corner to the southwest corner.

* Vegetation within those boundaries may not be disturbed.

Source: Tennessee General Assembly Web site