Sedgwick County holds its fire on law to stop stray bullets landing in neighborhoods
.JPG "Bill Angstadt gave county commissioners pictures of his bullet backstop on Thursday. Commissioner Jim Howell said others in the neighborhood are far less substantial, leading to stray shots and ricochets flying through a nearby tract of homes.")
Despite pleas from frightened residents of a Derby housing tract, Sedgwick County on Thursday delayed pulling the trigger on a proposed law to outlaw shooting bullets that land on neighbors’ properties.
On a 3-2 split, commissioners voted to wait until Nov. 3 to decide whether to enact the resolution that would establish a $500 fine for unsafe shooting that affects people who live in the line of fire behind the shooters’ targets.
The move to delay the resolution came from Commissioner Lacey Cruse and was supported by commissioner Sarah Lopez, while commissioners Jim Howell and David Dennis wanted to go ahead and pass it Thursday.
Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner cast the deciding vote, saying he was reluctant to wait and that he wants it to be the first thing the commission takes up on Nov. 3 in a straight up-or-down vote, without additional debate unless new information surfaces.
Cruse said she doesn’t oppose the new law, but that she thought it was being rushed.
“As a representative of over 100,000 people, I have not had a chance to speak to the people that I represent,” Cruse said. “To say that this has followed the process and been given the exact amount of time that it takes is just not true.”
Howell, a board member of the Kansas State Rifle Association who defined his own passion for gun rights as “extreme,” was incredulous that the commission couldn’t pass the resolution immediately.
“Think what we’re saying today,” Howell said. “We’re going to delay a resolution that prohibits people from shooting their guns into someone else’s property and endangering their children and their life and their property. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
Dennis is a life member of the National Rifle Association and an avid target and skeet shooter and hunter. “But I do it safely,” he said. “I know where my round is going to end up or I don’t pull the trigger.”
The issue arose from complaints by residents of the Northbrook Addition, a fairly new development that is part of the city of Derby, off Woodlawn south of 55th Street South.
They say the bullets are coming over from recreational shooting by neighbors in the unincorporated county along Joel Road.
“I’m not necessarily confident that the threat of a $500 fine will change any actions that we’ve seen thus far, but I do hope it’s a step in the right direction,” said resident Shannan Puchella. “What I do know is that I have neighbors who have heard bullets whizzing by them when they’re outside standing on their deck in their back yard. I know that neighbors have property damage on their fence lines from these bullets. And I also know that a satisfactory decision must be made before it’s not just a fence, it’s one of our children.”
Residents of the unincorporated county are allowed to shoot guns on their properties, which are generally much larger lots than in the cities.
Howell said that shooting right doesn’t supersede the homeowners’ rights to be able to be safe at home.
“I know that there’s one person (opposing the resolution) that did e-mail four commissioners; they left me off their e-mail but I did get a copy of it,” Howell said. “Their position is they want the housing addition to build up a protective wall around the housing addition . . . They’re also upset that the commissioners allowed this housing addition to be built . . . I think that this person’s position is unreasonable.”
Sheriff Jeff Easter said he’s setting up two meetings in the next two weeks, one with the Northbrook neighbors and one with the Joel Street neighbors to see if their particular dispute can be settled.
The only person to speak from the Joel Street neighbors at Thursday’s meeting was Bill Angstadt.
He said he supports the resolution and gave commissioners pictures of the backstop in his yard, a 6-foot-tall, 7-foot-wide wall of railroad ties backed up by 4 feet of earth. He said because of the current controversy, he plans to add an additional 2 feet of height to it.
Angstadt said many of his shooting guests are military and law-enforcement personnel.
“We always go through a safety talk when we start shooting to make sure that everybody understands that no rounds go downrange that don’t impact on our backstop,” he said. “We never drink alcohol while we’re shooting and we shoot responsibly every time we shoot.”
Howell said if all the neighbors were like Angstadt, there probably wouldn’t be a problem.
“Let’s be clear, most of the berms in your neighbors’ back yard are not anywhere like that at all,” Howell told Angstadt. “They’re shorter, they are not as well-constructed.”
He said even Angstadt’s “could be better.”
“It could be taller and wider,” Howell said. “You did a great job trying. The berms in other people’s yards are woefully inadequate in my opinion from what I’ve seen.”
Howell said he met with the Northbrook neighbors and they had a good suggestion.
“They said if they really believe this berm is going to stop the bullets, they should turn around and shoot the other direction, shoot towards their own homes,” Howell said. “Of course I don’t think anyone’s going to want to do it.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2021 at 2:21 PM.
