York to Consider Firearms Ordinance Changes, Eliminating Wetlands Board

By Matt Poms Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The York County Board of Supervisors will meet Tuesday night at York Hall, holding an array of public hearings at 7 p.m. Of particular interest will be proposals to alter the County Firearms Ordinance and repeal the County Wetlands Ordinance.

A general plan to alter the County Firearms Ordinance has been in discussion for several years. The current proposal would eliminate restrictions on certain types of firearms, while adding restrictions on firearms use in certain neighborhoods and school zones.

The proposal would first eliminate “pneumatic weapons” discharges, which are defined separately from firearms, from the restrictions under the ordinance “to avoid confusion and debate.”

Restrictions on both pneumatic weapons and firearms would then be added in the Winterfield, Lakes at Dare, Wythe Creek Farms, Sherwood Forest and Carriage Homes at Williamsburg Commons neighborhoods, at their request, while restrictions on firearms only would be instituted in the Overlook Point neighborhood. The Riverwalk Townes, Quarters of York, Willow Lakes, Rainbrook Villas and Villas on Shady Banks neighborhoods are also recommended for inclusion.

Finally, the proposal would prohibit any firearms discharge on property within 300 feet of a county school, and require oral notification of a firearms discharge on a site within 300 to 1,000 feet of a school. Exceptions would be granted “in connection with a managed hunt to control the deer population; in defense of one’s life; and to kill a dangerous or restricted animal.”

A similar proposal was tabled last May after spirited public debate. Residents opposing the ordinance read the Second Amendment and cited the Revolutionary War in arguing that the plan would impose too much control on guns within the county.

“I don’t want to take too much away from people,” Supervisor Sheila Noll said in voting to table the proposal. “We need to have a later discussion.”

County Sheriff Danny Diggs is also against the entire ordinance. In a statement by Diggs circulated by York County Realtor Greg Garrett, the sheriff said any restrictions on firearm use were a potential infringement on the Second Amendment, and that the policy of allowing neighborhoods to ban firearms discharges is illegal.

“It may be reasonable for associations to make rules for parking, trash or some other rule that governs day to day living, but giving the power to any association to infringe upon the Second Amendment [rights] should be unlawful itself,” Diggs wrote.

Diggs, when asked by the board to weigh in, also offered that opinion at an earlier supervisors' work session.

An additional proposal would eliminate the County Wetlands Board, tasked with permitting construction in wetlands areas, among other duties.

Currently, York County requires permits for construction in wetlands areas, in close proximity to and bordering bodies of water. Permits must be obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and the County Wetlands Board, but supervisors Tuesday night will consider a proposal that would eliminate the County Wetlands Board effective July 1. Permits would still be required from the other two bodies for construction in wetlands areas.