Lincoln County Oregon attacking landowners rights to shoot on private property. READ!

[ncgreggory]

IF YOU SHOOT ON PRIVATE PROPERTY IN OREGON READ THIS!!!! Lincoln County is attacking landowner Jerry Conrady and his wife. They own 120 acres in rural Lincoln County. Oregon allows for landowners and their guests to shoot on private property without any permits. The Conradys (he is a state certified teacher, gunsmith, Eagle scout) proposed building an indoor range on their property, and a small group of anti-gun neighbors, with money to boot are attempting to sue the Conradys into poverty and Lincoln County is going along with it. Lincoln County Asst Council Kristin Yullie has already been caught removing more than half of a paragraph of a Lincoln County code in order to convince the judge it meant the opposite of what its true meaning is. Wayne Belmont, Lincoln County council, has contradicted himself from the beginning, and it’s in writing. Now the county is requiring them to file for a conditional use permit ($900 fee) so they can continue to recreationally shoot on their property. If you search the Oregon Revised Statutes, ORS 166.170, 171 and 176 you will see that NO conditional use permit is necessary for a landowner and guests to discharge firearms on private property. IN fact Counties cannot restrict the discharge of firearms on private property. However Lincoln county is trying to bully the Conradys into submission and if the Lincoln County planning commission follows suit, they are setting a precedent that will require any and all landowners to “ask permission” to do something that no county has a right to regulate. They are having to pay to ask permission to an entity that has no jurisdiction over this activity. WE ALL NEED TO GET BEHIND THIS AND NOT ONLY HELP THE CONRADYS BUT FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS. The judge in the case ruled that the county has the right to regulate shooting ranges. This opens the door for any landowner that puts up a target on their private property to be required to “ask permission” to shoot on their property. WHY? Because the minute you put up a target to shoot at, you have a “shooting range”. All the Conradys have done is allowed their friends and local shooters come out and recreationally shoot for free. He doesn’t charge. Does your county have the right to dictate who you can allow on your property or in your home? IF you or your friends care at all about your right to shoot on private property you should get involved no matter what county you’re in as this will affect us all. The ramifications of this case can and will go deep. He is currently appealing his case in the appellate court system. This economy sucks but he is fighting for all of our rights. And having to fight deep pockets. Google “Dale Laurance” he is currently making over $400,000 a year on the board of Ingram Micro. To this guy, suing the Conradys is a tax write off. And he is only one of 5 neighbors suing him besides the county. THE CONRADYS NEED OUR HELP AND SUPPORT. Conradys address is box 278, Seal Rock, or, 97376. Send them a letter of support or call the Lincoln county commissioners and voice your opinion on this at 541-265-4176. There are two cases, Conradys filed a suit to get a judge to determine whether a county can regulate shooting on private property after Lincoln County threatened to sue them if they didn’t stop, Case number 111143. The county and neighbors followed by suing the Conradys in an “abatement of a nuisance” case number 112006. IN this case the COUNTY asks that anyone caught with a gun on the Conradys property be immediately ARRESTED, and that the Conradys house be removed even though the county approved their building permits. If you don’t believe me, pull the cases and read them for yourself!!!!! Or email me and I’ll forward the stuff. I have been following this situation for quite a while now and with every turn I am amazed at what the county has done. LINCOLN COUNTY HAS DECLARED WAR ON THE SHOOTING COMMUNITY OF OREGON.

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[darkminstrel]

Do you have a link to court documents, the case number, etc? If it's seen as precedent in one county then others can adopt it.

 

[ncgreggory]

the case #s are "Conrady v Lincoln county" Case number 111143. The county and neighbors followed by suing the Conradys in an "abatement of a nuisance" " Laurance v Conrady" case number 112006. I do not have a link to the documents I can email them to anyone interested. It would be great if there was someone here willing to help me figure out how to post the documents online so anyone can look at them. You are very correct. If the conradys loose these cases it will be devastating to the shooting community.

 

[Benny503]

I will support Conrady, are there anyway we can make donate to them? Thanks for posting this

 

[ncgreggory]

I put their address in the first post. p.o. box 278, seal rock, oregon, 97376. Pass the word. this case is toooo important to let slide by. I just wish the NRA would get involved.

 

[darkminstrel]

GoogleDocs allows public postings of pretty much any form of document.

 

[pokerace]

bttt

make this a sticky!!!!!!

 

[Bow]

I would at least make the attorneys at NRA ILA aware of this situation if they aren't already. Our (and hopefully everyone of your) membership dues pay for their services in these situations.

 

[Dunerunner]

Cities, Counties and States are hurting for money. I remember a little girl's lemonade stand being shut down in Multnoma County because she didn't have a permit! But, Oregon keeps voting the nanny State wackos into office!

 

[ncgreggory]

ok this is my first attempt at google docs, below are two links. they are the primary complaints pulled from the court. Note: "windy gulch" is the name of the non profit that Conrady was involved in setting up. They were never an operating entity simply because they ran into all this crap from the county and the county would not talk to them. As soon as i can find the full newspaper article where the county attorney contradicts himself i will post that as well. but this should give you and idea of what the Conradys are up against. Theres a ton of documents to search through.




https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2EoEPkA8hNZLUprbkx2WkJxWFU/edit https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2EoEPkA8hNZUlFUalVrNVIxRW8/edit

 

[ncgreggory]

here is a link to a sept, 3,2010 artilcle about this range. page 2 last collumn quotes Wayne belmont, lincoln county council as saying they dont have any answers yet. If you then go back to the above posting and click on the second document, scroll down to the countys letter to conrady, dated after this newspaper article telling him that they told him exactly what he could and could not do. They contradict each other as if he is covering his pathetic backside.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2EoEPkA8hNZR0hkUEl0ZHdvaEE/edit

i think the NRA ILA has been notified but i dont think they are involved yet.....which concerns me greatly. more people should email em and say "hey check this out"

 

[lowly monk]

Good reason to join OFF.

 

[longcolt]

Good reason to join OFF.

Yep, and maybe approach the second amendment foundation out of Seattle for assistance. They get very involved in NW gun issues.

 

[Tangent123123]

Neighbors bubbleguming about you going out a couple times a week to pop off a few rounds is a lot different then you having a full time range on your property. I'm very pro-gun but I'd be a bit concerned if my neighbor decided to set up a range next door to me too. Is this really a "War on the shooting community of Oregon" as the original poster puts it. Or just neighbors upset because a range is being set up next door to them without licensing or zoning and being passed off as just some causual back yard shooting?

I don't think it's as cut and dry as it is made out to be.

 

[ncgreggory]

Tangent: on the surface it may seem not as cut and dry however consider this. Oregon set in place several laws to protect rural shooters from new landowners from coming in and saying "no more" such as what you see near an airport that's been there forever. ORS 105. 676, listed below actually states: "ENCOURAGE owners of land to make their land available to the public for recreational purposes....". ORS 166.171 states " A landowner and guests of the landowner discharging a firearm, when the discharge will not endanger adjacent persons or property." The word guests being undefined so that it can be meaning anyone. And lastly ORS 166.170 which states that NO COUNTY can regulate the use of firearms in their county in a rural setting when used in the above three statutes. I have provided the links so you can look them up yourself. They are also in the documents I have links to above which is a much better read.
Neighbors will always complain however this is regarding what the county is doing and has no jurisdiction over. It would be the same as if you were to have rural property and had 30 or so friends over every weekend for poker (or whatever) and the county decided you needed a special permit for all of your friends to drive down your driveway because your neighbors didn't like it and complained.
Oregon is unique, a rural landowner can have 1000+ "guests" out on his/her property and recreationally shoot without the need for any permits. However in this case from what I've read and been able to ascertain, In order to build an indoor range, which would make the noise for the neighbors go away, Conrady may need a conditional use permit, or maybe not. However the county refused to discuss this issue with him and threatened him with enforcement action so Conrady had to sue to get a judge to tell everybody what the law means. Then the neighbors followed with their own lawsuit and got the county to jump on board. Furthermore in this case, the neighbors complaining about noise have already admitted they cannot hear the noise from Conradys property, nor discern noise from his shooting from other neighbors that shoot.


166.170 State preemption. (1) Except as expressly authorized by state statute, the authority to regulate in any matter whatsoever the sale, acquisition, transfer, ownership, possession, storage, transportation or use of firearms or any element relating to firearms and components thereof, including ammunition, is vested solely in the Legislative Assembly.
(2) Except as expressly authorized by state statute, no county, city or other municipal corporation or district may enact civil or criminal ordinances, including but not limited to zoning ordinances, to regulate, restrict or prohibit the sale, acquisition, transfer, ownership, possession, storage, transportation or use of firearms or any element relating to firearms and components thereof, including ammunition. Ordinances that are contrary to this subsection are void. [1995 s.s. c.1 §1]

105.676 Public policy. The Legislative Assembly hereby declares it is the public policy of the State of Oregon to encourage owners of land to make their land available to the public for recreational purposes, for gardening, for woodcutting and for the harvest of special forest ......

https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors166.html, https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors163.html

 

[Silky]

I can't believe some people have nothing better to do other than harrass this man about letting people come and shoot weapons in a safe environment. Let's be sure to give the conrady's all the support we can give them. I know that there is a lot of us in Lincoln county that shoot and I we loose this case we will all feel it.

 

[hermannr]

Neighbors bubbleguming about you going out a couple times a week to pop off a few rounds is a lot different then you having a full time range on your property. I'm very pro-gun but I'd be a bit concerned if my neighbor decided to set up a range next door to me too. Is this really a "War on the shooting community of Oregon" as the original poster puts it. Or just neighbors upset because a range is being set up next door to them without licensing or zoning and being passed off as just some causual back yard shooting?

I don't think it's as cut and dry as it is made out to be.

Sorry, I don't buy into the nanny state. I do not, and should not, need to ask permission to do what I want on my own large piece of property that does not damage my neighbor....And I do have a neighbor that set up a range.

Can it be noisy? Sure can, but I was never guaranteed the right to absolute quiet here, even if I live 20 miles out of town...If I did have that absolute right to quiet I would go after the Navy and Air Force that like to pratice their jambing and dog fighting skills over my house....you think a little gun range is noisy? Try those jets in full afterburner.

 

[ncgreggory]

its sad that a small group of people are trying to take away the rights of rural landowners of Oregon.

 

[accessbob]

its sad that a small group of people are trying to take away the rights of rural landowners of Oregon.

It's even sadder still that there seems to be this mindset going around that if one person (or a small number) complain about something then the government entities cater to their whims and ignore the greater majority. That is the same way it has become with "politically correct" language. One person is offended so we must not offend them. Garbage in my view.

 

[VW_Factor]

Neighbors bubbleguming about you going out a couple times a week to pop off a few rounds is a lot different then you having a full time range on your property. I'm very pro-gun but I'd be a bit concerned if my neighbor decided to set up a range next door to me too. Is this really a "War on the shooting community of Oregon" as the original poster puts it. Or just neighbors upset because a range is being set up next door to them without licensing or zoning and being passed off as just some causual back yard shooting?

I don't think it's as cut and dry as it is made out to be.

If I owned some land and wanted to put up/build a range of ANY sort on MY property I don't give a flying rats *** what anyone else things. As long as they are meeting any county building codes for structures, anyone else can stick it.

My property, my land, my stuff.