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Suamico considers amending ordinance to regulate firearms in village

By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer


SUAMICO – An ordinance amendment related to regulating the use of firearms in the village had its first reading Monday, April 5, by the Suamico village board.

While working with public safety on updates to the village’s no firearms discharge map, Zoning Administrator Steve Dunks said there were some questions as to how Suamico was administrating the code and how the language was written.

“Typically in the past, we’ve only added subdivisions to the map and not certified survey maps,” he said. “Based on (Wisconsin Statutes) Chapter 236, which is in our code, it actually should have required certified survey maps, too, from the initial time.”

Dunks said changes recommended by the village’s Health and Safety Committee include using a definition of a recorded land division, rather than a subdivision.

“When you get into the teeth of it, for revisions to the map, again we’re taking out ‘acceptance and approval of final plat’ and just going to ‘recording,’” he said. “Obviously, in order to record, the village board has to accept and approve that final plat or the certified survey map, however it be designated.”

Under the proposed ordinance amendment, Dunks said new land divisions resulting in lots of 2 acres in size or less upon their recording would be designated as areas where the discharge of firearms is prohibited.

“Most likely all subdivisions would still be included (where discharging firearms is prohibited),” he said. “I don’t think we’ve done too many that our lots are greater than 2 acres.”

Dunks said an amendment in the code would also allow the board to reserve the right to include additional lands to prohibit firearm use, as referred by public safety and reviewed by the committee, with the affected property owners being notified prior to the committee meeting.

“We felt it was necessary to notify those owners to come to the board or Health and Safety (Committee) and petition why they should remain out (of the no firearms discharge map),” he said. “We still have the ability for a landowner to petition out or actually petition in. We look to do that on a more regular basis than what’s been done. Other than a subdivision, nothing could be done to this map…”

Dunks said the committee wants to include a number of smaller lots on the no firearms discharge map upon the ordinance being amended.

However, he said the ordinance upon being amended wouldn’t be retroactive to automatically place lots currently not included in the no firearms discharge map.

“There may be some that public safety wants to bring forward… regardless whether you do this verbiage change or not, that they still want to include in,” Dunks said.

The proposed amended ordinance couldn’t take effect until after being approved on a second reading by the board April 19.

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