CHESTER -- A group of neighbors have banded together to ask the town council to ban recreational shooting in residential areas, except when hunting.
Neighbors who live near the 9 acre parcel of land by Wig Hill Road claim the property owner was hostile when they conveyed their concern and say law enforcement was powerless to do anything since no known laws were being broken.
"Stuff happens. Accidents do happen," says Timothy Hertweck, who lives on an adjacent property. "Once a bullet leaves the weapon you can't predict where it's going to go."
The idea doesn't sit well with some neighbors who say a ban is going too far and people should be free to do what they want on their own property. "I'm not a gun nut, I'm a hunter, I'm a trapper, I'm a fisherman, and I'm a gun owner," said Jason Lamark, who lives nearby. "But it's a safe community and common sense prevails. We've got laws on the books that legislate safe the discharge of a firearm."
Ed Meehan, Chester's First Selectman, believes the property owner is being safe and that the neighbors feel the shooting is more of a nuisance than a safety risk to residents. "Topography-wise. It drops severely from the road about 60 to 70 feet downrange. The abutting property is probably 470 feet away but it's about 70 feet in elevation from the target-trap."
The town council will discuss the comments from a Tuesday night informational meeting and determine the next course of action some time in November.