Mayor makesthe right callwith tax veto

To the editor:

With politics as usual, Wasilla will soon have a full-blown rifle range within the city limits, along with it the results of toxic contamination from ammunition and noise levels of constant repetitious gunfire that will drive the residents of the of Wasilla crazy.

You can thank your city council members and your mayor and the planning and zoning of the city for this wonderful choice they have made. A change in zoning to permit shooting within the city limits on the Sports Complex’s 59-acre property made this possible without notifying the residents of this town. The only rule they had to abide by was to notify residents within 1,200 feet of the proposed gun fire area. There were seven adjoining property owners notified officially, and only one was in favor of it. What about the other thousands of residents who live within hearing range of this racket? Why don’t they count? Lake Lucille is a beautiful quiet area, we would not have built our retirement home there last year if had we known this was coming. This will affect property values negatively.

After all the work previous committees have done to bring a beautiful sports complex area to Wasilla to support safe family fun, close to safe community grounds with trails for all to use, it is a tragedy that they could slip this in without community involvement for that piece of ground. Checking the Internet, I found more than 900,000 sites on “rifle range deaths” and over 116,000 sites under “rifle range complaints” involving court cases, debates and complaints on rifle range noise and lead contamination affecting birds and animals of the areas. Who will be liable for this, and who will deal with the lawsuits?

For a planning and zoning department to pass something like this, without taking into consideration highest and best use of that property is unbelievable and irresponsible. There has been an appeal filed and the hearing will be Monday at 9 a.m. at city hall. Come to the meeting or call your council members and your mayor. Let them know your thoughts.

I am not opposed to this activity, rifle ranges are a great benefit to many Alaskans. They provide a safe place for gun safety classes and shooting practice and meets. What I am opposed to is having one in the city limits and close to a youth-driven complex.

Look around, Wasilla has grown too fast for too long without proper comprehensive planning and responsible planning and zoning. I want to know who is behind this and why? How can we stop it before it is too late?

Maureen Clayton

Wasilla