The property, known as Slate Ridge, includes multiple buildings and two firing ranges on land about the size of 30 football fields (12 hectares). Fueled by complaints from neighbors, the town of Pawlet has attempted unsuccessfully for several years to get the facility owner Daniel Banyai to remove structures he built without a permit.
I mean, yes, I agree, but I’m curious as to what exactly the structures are, too. If we’re talking about an average “shoot house” type range, where it’s just a bunch of walls built to resemble a building, beefed up to properly stop and contain bullets, or some other similar “structure”, sure, going after him over the lack of a permit for it is legal, but seems like it’s being done more as a means of nickel and diming him with every technicality because new neighbors are NIMBYs than because there’s a legitimate issue
Dude seems like a POS. The Vermont supreme court refused to hear his case and he’s earned over $100,000 in fines in only one year. Clearly he is not playing by the rules.
So, sure, go after him for the buildings if they didn’t have a permit to build, since that’s a potential safety hazard you don’t need when handling firearms.
However, if the neighbors of the property came in after the property was made a gun range, then I have zero sympathy for them in terms of the noise since, to me, it’s no different than building a house near an industrial factor or a railroad or a highway: It was already there, the noise would’ve been expected, and if you chose to do it anyway, well, that’s on you, not on the range/factory/railroad/highway/whatever.
That’s NIMBYs for you. A ton of racetracks are being closed down because people started moving into new builds around them and then complaining.
Which is just stupid on all parts. The tracks were there first, and without them it just pushes people to do stupid shit in the streets.
