AZUSA, Calif. " For the past 60 years, gun enthusiasts have been firing rounds at the San Gabriel Valley Gun Club (search), the largest shooting range in Southern California.
But now the club is in the crosshairs, since residents of the city of Azusa say it no longer fits in with the area"s increasingly suburban way of life.
Some are lobbying the City Council to adopt a new general zoning plan that would force out the gun club when its lease expires next year.
That move has the shooting range firing back, saying it"s been a good neighbor by providing a service not only to its members but also to police and the military.
But people who live nearby say they"ve put up with relentless gunfire echoing throughout the canyon, hour after hour. The firing gets so loud, they say, that they have to stay inside all day to get any peace and quiet.
Beyond the noise, there are concerns that lead from the bullets might be tainting the drinking water " and then there"s the overall worry of bullets going astray. Gun club officials say there"s never been a single incident of any kind in the six decades it"s been in the area.
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since residents of the city of Azusa say it no longer fits in with the area"s increasingly suburban way of life.
That line says it all. We dont fit in with the "suburban" way of life [:'(] Never wanted to in the first place
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Take the "Training Wheels" off your bow. Go traditional !
People with firearms do need to consider the noise and its effect on those around them.
If the suburban sprawl wrapped around this gun club, I can at least understand the conflict.
I have lived on my place for over 20 years. When I moved in the neighbors were much further away, out of earshot really. Now they are much closer. It makes a difference and I try to consider them as I consider using my firearms on my own property.
Sorry VC I have to disagree. It's like the people who move next to the airports and complain about the flights. I may not have shot a gun on my property in the middle of the city but I did shoot a starters pistol to train my dog for duck hunting.
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John Adams The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
It's like the people who move next to the airports and complain about the flights.
Thats true Fieldmouse and your point is taken.
Once the numbers get large enough and a feeling of vested interest is fostered, those "newer" people still have the right to band together and effect change by legal means.
Things like this happen all the time when zoning laws are voted into a given area or community. What you did before as a property or business owner may be "grandfathered" and allowed, or disallowed at times depending on the language of the new codes or laws.
I hate people who think that they can move into an area and then decide what can or cannot be done on someone else's private property.[:@]
If the people of the community want peace and quiet, they should band together and offer to buy the land of the gun range from the club- I'm sure if they pony up enough money, the club might take the offer and buy land elsewhere and put up even better facilities, if not, the whiney newcomers aren't trying hard enough. If people are stupid enough to buy or build a house in the area without first checking out the negatives of an area first, tough luck, they should learn to live with it.
I have a similar situation going on in my neighborhood. I live in a new subdivision where most of the houses are <4 years old. There is a chemical plant that makes flavorings 2 blocks away and some of the pissant whiney animated gobs of sperm that should have been left in the sheets a long time ago actually got together to hire a lawyer to stop the chemical plant from releasing stink into the air. They didn't get anywhere, as any decent lawyer will tell them that the corporation was there first. There is also a man who has owned a landscaping company that owns a lot of land adjacent from my subdivision. The man is a tiny bit eccentric but a very good man. He had a dream of building a sort of miniature amusement park on his land in parts that were up until a year ago woods. The same group of poopypants' did everything they could legally and by petitioning the zoning board to prevent this man from building his park. Concerns were that a new road would be built to the backside of the subdivision which would increase traffic and noise. The man finally gave up on his idea and sold the land to a developer, who is now building somewhere around 100 new houses on the land, and already has installed the new road connecting to my subdivision It doesn't bother me a bit, but from my understanding, there are quite a few pissed off people in my subdivision, but they got exactly what they deserved.
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Beyond the noise, there are concerns that lead from the bullets might be tainting the drinking water " and then there"s the overall worry of bullets going astray.
Expect to find calls to police of from people who 'find' bullets in their yards that supposedly came from the gun range. A small trap range in my area was sued out of existance when some yuppie built a home nearby. He 'Found' lead shot in his yard though his house was nowhere near the direction of where shot from trapshooters would normally land. The only way that gun ranges can survive these days where idiots run the asylum is to become incorporated.
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Obamanfreude - 1. taking pleasure from the misfortunes of an Obama supporter as he or she is adversely affected by the policies of their Dear Leader.
I hate people who think that they can move into an area and then decide what can or cannot be done on someone else's private property.
Briman, its the old "Heres your sign" principal at work. I f they didn't want to hear gunshots around their area, why in the Sams Hill name did they move there ?? Stupidity strikes again !!!
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It' s a dog eat dog world, and I' m wearing Milkbone underwear
Once the numbers get large enough and a feeling of vested interest is fostered, those "newer" people still have the right to band together and effect change by legal means.
This is such a sad reality. I hate it!
I mean, if you want to live in a quiet area, build in a quiet area...not a loud one. That is what makes sense!
But it also makes sense that sprawl will happen. It's unstoppable. The shooting range, I suppose, should have bought up all the acreage around them, to ensure their existance. Either that, or when they realized years ago that sprawl was coming, the should have lobbied for certain zoning types in their area. I'm sure that if the area was industrial, none of the neighbors (factories, distribution centers, etc.) would complain.
But it also makes sense that sprawl will happen. It's unstoppable. The shooting range, I suppose, should have bought up all the acreage around them, to ensure their existance. Either that, or when they realized years ago that sprawl was coming, the should have lobbied for certain zoning types in their area. I'm sure that if the area was industrial, none of the neighbors (factories, distribution centers, etc.) would complain.
Eto, I could not agree more. It is not as though the "business" in question was unaware of the noise it generated and the common perception of risk.
A man bought a tract of land with a home on it very close to my home. He very nicely remodeled the home and built a rather expensive home next it. He then parceled the remainder into lots, added deed restrictions to every lot so that only larger homes could be built, and sold the lots.
He encountered a problem. The original home that he acquired with the land and spent a small fortune on remodeling was sold to a man that decided to open a business on it. Since he had placed no deed restrictions on that original house, he was screwed.
The same "developer" had previously built a huge home not far up the road from me, perhaps a 1/4 mile. After building that beautiful home, someone bought the lot next door and built a rather small home next to his, causing a decline in value to his large home. He chould have protected himself by purchasing the surrounding land to buffer his home, or he could have placed deed restrictions on that land and resold it. He did nothing and suffered the loss in value instead.
I cannot say for sure, but it would seem to me that in the case cited on this thread the shooting range should have seen this coming (as eto pointed out). That type of development does not usually happen overnight. Eto is right on.
Property rights in America are complicated but what often happens is that the highest best usage of the land dominates the direction of growth.
All this development is simply being done due to ridiculously artifically low interest rates and a hell of alot of kickbacks from local governments.
Our population has increased by about 15 Million (legit, not illegals) over 4 years, yet the number of houses has almost doubled.
It's all a flash in the pan. Ie: a local developer was just caught taking kickbacks from a milwaukee P.R. firm. Previously their CEO (developer) embezzled 3 million dollars and gave several hundred thousand to the republocorporates.
They're virtually all in bed with each other, suburban "sprawl" is the result of ineffective policing of cities (their hands are tied in many instances), over taxation in populated areas and graft and corruption in business and politics.
California Gun Club in Crosshairs
It doesn't bother me a bit, but from my understanding, there are quite a few pissed off people in my subdivision, but they got exactly what they deserved.
