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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-55-92 THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE REPORT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File # Date: Monday, February 17, 1992 Res. #L-3 By-L Report#: PD- 55 -92 File #: aw# Subject: PROPOSED FIREARMS BY-LAW Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PD- 55 -92 be received; and 2 . THAT By-law 80-82 be repealed and the attached By-law be enacted in its place. 3 . THAT the Gun Clubs and other interested parties be advised of Council 's decision and be forwarded a copy of the By-law. 1. BACKGROUND: 1 . 1 The current Town of Newcastle Firearms By-law was passed in 1980 and has been found to be inadequte in its scope. 1.2 In 1989 The Municipal Act, Section 210(29) was amended to allow a Municipality to prohibit or regulate the use of all forms of cross- bows and long bows as well as the already existing power to control all types of firearms within its jurisdiction. 1. 3 In response to serious concerns raised by both the public and the Durham Regional Police over public safety as it relates to the use of various firearms and bows within the Town, staff investigated and drafted a new Firearms By-law which was presented to Council on October 15, 1991. This By-law and the accompanying report were referred back to staff for further study. 1.4 Since the Council meeting of October 15, 1991, staff have received further comments from various citizens, the Orono Fish and Hunt Club, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters . Their view and those of the Durham Regional Police have been reviewed by staff and where deemed appli- cable have been incorporated into the new draft By-law. V790 REPORT NO. PD-55-92 PAGE TWO COMMENTS: 2 . 1 As stated above, the existing By-law has been found to be deficient in many areas . The major problems are as follows : (a) the By-law allows the discharge of firearms on any land zoned Agricultural, Open Space or Deferred Development. With the continued growth of the Town, this simple criteria can no longer suffice. As development continues, small pockets of lands that would meet the requirements of existing By-law 80-82 are being increasingly encroached upon and this presents a safety concern to the residents; (b) the existing By-law makes no stipulation of setbacks from a roadway or a residential lot, the only requirement, as stated above, is that the land be zoned Agricultural or Open Space. The Ministry of Natural Resources Regulations prohibit the discharge of firearms across a road but do not deal with the issue of residential lots; (c) on October 15, 1991, Council heard a delegation from a citizen of Newcastle Village dealing with the discharge of a long bow on a residential lot. This was not the first incident that staff were aware of involving similar dangerous or potentially dangerous situations; (d) staff have received a number of complaints regarding persons discharging weapons at the lakeshore involving tin cans and other "targets" being set up along the shoreline and thereby endangering others who use the lakefront for recreational purposes . It should be noted that, in 1991 the Honourable Ruth Grier announced the need to implement a waterfront trail from Burlington to Port Hope. To allow the discharge of any type of weapon along the shoreline would appear to be contrary to the intent of this Provincial Government initiative. 2 . 2 In order to effectively deal with the issues noted above, staff propose the By-'law be amended to: (a) prohibit the discharge of any weapon within 100 meters of a residentially zoned lot to allow for an adequate buffer area to protect residential properties; (b) prohibit the discharge of any weapon within 50 meters of any opened road allowance except where the direction of shot would not intersect or run parallel to the said road allowance; (c) define "weapon" to include any gun, firearm, air gun, spring gun, crossbow, longbow or any class thereof; REPORT NO: PD-55-92 PAGE THREE (d) prohibit the discharge of any weapon on lands within 300 meters of the high water mark of the lakefront.. This section does not prohibit the discharge of a weapon from Lake Ontario or on Crown-owned land. 2 . 3 Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the proposed new By-law are taken from the existing By-law with only minor modifications . 2 .4 Each of the interested parties listed below have been notified of the meeting and have been forwarded a copy of the proposed By-law. CONCLUSION: 3 . 1 In consideration of the comments above the Town should amend the existing Firearm By-law to protect the safety of the general public. Respectfully submitted, Recommended for presentation to the Committee Franklin Wu, M.C. I .P. Law ence E. Kotseff, M.C. I .P. Director of Planning Chief Administrative and Development Officer LC*FW*MH Interested parties to be notified of Council and Committee's decision: David Crosby R.G. Morgan 18 Werrydale Drive Ontario Association of Anglers Enniskillen, Ontario & Hunters LOB 1HO P.O. Box 2800 Peterborough, Ontario Adrian Deman 4001 4th Concession Road East Fern Sargent Orono, Ontario Orono Fish & Hunt Club LOB 1MO 5751 Ochonski Road R.R. #2 Paul Drysdale Orono, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources LOB 1MO 322 Kent Street West Lindsay, Ontario K9V 4T7 Susan Funston 160 Beaver Street South Newcstle, Ontario L1B 1C4 )92 THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE BY-LAW 92- being a By-law to prohibit and regulate the discharge of guns or other firearms, air-guns,spring-guns, cross-bows, long-bows or any class or type thereof in the Town of Newcastle and to repeal By-law $0-82 WHEREAS Section 210.36 of The Municipal Act R.S.O. 1990, Chapter M45 provides that for the purposes of public safety By-laws may be passed by the Council of a local municipality for the purpose of public safety for prohibiting or regulating the discharge of guts or other firearms, air-guns, spring-guns, cross-bows, long-bows, or any class or type thereof in the municipality or in any defined area thereof, AND WHEREAS The Corporation of the 'Town of Newcastle deems it desirable to exercise the said power to the extent hereinafter provided, NOW THEREFORE the Council of The Corporation of the Town of Newcastle enacts as follows: 1. For the purposes of this By-law the term: (a) "animal control officer" means a person or persons employed or appointed to provide animal control services in the Town of Newcastle; (b) "agricultural land" means those lands zoned for any one or more agricultural purposes by the Zoning By-law; (c) "Council" means the Council of The Corporation of the Town of Newcastle; (d) "environmental protection land" means those lands zoned for environmental protection purposes by the Zoning By-law; (e) "farm" means an area of land used primarily for the purpose of raising crops, livestock or poultry for sale to persons other than the farmer; (f) "farmer" means a person or persons who occupy a,farm and who owns, leases or manages it; (g) "high water mark" means the highest level on the shore of Lake Ontario 593 2 . reached during the twelve months preceding each date on which the high water mark is identified; (h) "holding zone" means those lands zoned for deferred development by the Zoning By-law; (i) "Municipality means the lands within the Town of Newcastle; (j) "peace officer" has the same meaning as it has in the Ontario Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15, as amagded; (k) "police officer" has the same meaning as it has in the Ontario Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, e. P.15, as amended; (1) "prohibited firearm"means a firearm as defined in the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C46, as amended that is not a shotgun and has a calibre greater than .275 inches; (m) "residential land" means those lands zoned for residential purposes by the Zoning By-law; (n) "weapon" means any gun or other firearm, air-gun, spring-gun, cross-bow and long-bow; and (o) "Zoning By-law" means Town of Newcastle By-law 84-63, as amended. 2. No person shall discharge any weapon at any location in the Town of Newcastle which is within: (a) one hundred meters from any portion of a parcel of land which is zoned as residential land by the Zoning By-law; or (b) fifty meters from any portion of a highway if the direction of shot would intersect or run parallel to the aforesaid portion of the highway; or (c) three hundred meters from the high water mark, provided that a weapon may be lawfully discharged: (i) by a farmer or a member or members of a farmer's family who discharges a weapon that is not a prohibited firearm where the farmer occupies a farm which is located on land designated as agricultural land, environmental protection land, or a holding zone by the Zoning By-law, if the discharge of - 3 . the weapon is to control troublesome or noxious animals or birds on the farm; by a person who has in his possession at all times while engaged in hunting such necessary valid licenses and permits required by the Dominion of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the Town of Newcastle to permit him or her to carry and discharge such weapon on land designated as agricultural land, environmental protection land or a holding zone by the Zoning By-law provided that (1) the weapon that is discharged is not a prohibited firearm; (2) such person has obtained the prior written consent of the owner or occupier of the aforesaid land which consent is dated not more than one year prior to the date of the occasion on which he discharges the weapon in question, (3) the written consent is in the possession of the person who has discharged the weapon, (4) the written consent is available for inspection by any peace officer who asks to inspect the same, and (S) the written consent in fact is produced for inspection by such peace officer immediately after his request therefor is made to such person; (iii) by a person in the course of a shooting competition or shooting practice, provided that (1) such Competition or practice has received the prior approval of the Council, (2) such competition or practice is conducted in accordance with any terns or conditions upon which approval has been granted, (3) a copy of the resolution of the Council granting such approval is maintained at the site of the competition or practice available at all times for inspection by any peace officer who asks to inspect the same, and 95 - 4 - (4) the resolution in fact is produced for inspection by such peace officer immediately after the request therefor is made to such person; (iv) by a person who is a member of an incorporated gun, shooting or archery club in the course of club activities, provided that (1) the discharge of the weapon takes place on a range the location of which has been approved by resolution of the Town Council adopted prior to the discharge of the weapon in question, (2) where necessary by law, the location has been approved by the Solicitor General for Ontario, prior to the discharge of the weapon in question, y (3) a copy of the resolution of the Council and evidence of the Solicitor General's approval is maintained on the range available for inspection at all times by any peace officer asking to inspect same, and (4) the resolution and evidence of approval in fact are produced for inspection by the peace officer immediately after his request therefor is made; and (v) where permitted by the law, on land which is owned by Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Ontario. 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this By-law, on any land on which any person may lawfully discharge a weapon in compliance with this Bylaw, each person who discharges a weapon shall so act as to ensure that no shot, bullet, bolt or arrow, as the case may be, passes over a parcel of land adjacent to the parcel of land on which lie is discharging the weapon unless each adjacent parcel or parcels of land may be lawfully used by such person for the discharge of a weapon under this By law and the person discharging the weapon has received the prior written approval of each adjacent owner or occupant of the adjacent parcel or parcels of land in question. 96 4. None of the provisions of this By-law apply to prohibit the discharge of a weapon by. (a) a peace officer in the lawful execution of his duties; (b) a police officer in the lawful execution of his duties; (c) an animal control officer in the lawful execution of his duties! and (d) a member of the Canadian Armed Forces in the lawful execution of his duties. S. By-law 80-82 of the Town of Newcastle is hereby repealed. h. It is declared that if any section, paragraph or clause or a portion or portions of any of them contained in this By-law should be held by a Court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid in whole or in part, the validity of other sections, paragraphs, clauses or portions of any of them contained in this Bylaw shall not be affected thereby, the intention of Council being that all other sections, paragraphs and clauses and portions of any of them contained in this Bylaw are to be considered to be valid and enforceable. 7. Every person who contravenes any provision of this By-law is guilty of an offence. BY-LAW read a first time this Clay of , 1992 BY-LAW read a second time this day of , 1992 BY-LAW read a third time and finally passed this day of ' 1992 Mayor Clerk �) 7