Impasse over extended shooting hours remains

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The Prospect Gun Club’s shooting range on Cheshire Road in Prospect. -BILL SHETTLE/REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

PROSPECT — A dispute over extended shooting hours at the Prospect Gun Club’s range remained unresolved following a subcommittee meeting earlier this month.

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted in July to extend the hours and days club members can shoot at the range, which is located on town property behind the public works garage at 211 Cheshire Road.

The approval gave the club an additional 19 hours total for shooting — the majority of which are in the summer months — between the summer and winter seasons. The winter seasonal hours start and end with daylight saving time.

The extended hours, which came after the club took a couple measures to mitigate noise, upset residents who live near the range. Since July, residents, club members and the commission have been going back and forth over what to do about the extended hours.

After talks between club members and neighbors, the club agreed to roll back some of the hours. The club also offered to limit shooting to .22 caliber guns on Tuesdays and Wednesdays — days that were added as part of the extension — during the summer months. After rolling back hours, the club would have an additional 13 hours total for shooting.

However, an extra three hours for shooting at the range in the winter remained a major point of contention between club members and neighbors.

Officials formed a subcommittee made of commission members, club members and neighbors to try and resolve the issue. The subcommittee met Dec. 7. According to the minutes of the meeting, the subcommittee wasn’t able to reach a compromise on the additional Sunday hours in the winter and adjourned after deciding not to meet again.

It’s unclear where the issue will go from here, but officials said club members and neighbors are expected to continue discussions.