Charlotte gun range remains exempt from Act 250, court says

April McCullum | Burlington Free Press

Neighbors of a Charlotte shooting range have failed to convince Vermont's highest court that the noise level should be regulated by the state.

The shooting range at the Laberge farm on Lime Kiln Road does not need Act 250 land use review because it is not a commercial enterprise, the Vermont Supreme Court narrowly ruled Friday.

A portion of the farm has been used as a shooting range since the 1950s. Today law enforcement agencies use the range for training, and the property is open to the public with a donation box to help offset costs.

The family collects as much as $20,000 in donations per year, according to the court ruling, but their lawyer said the range could remain open even without donations.

"While the donations make it easier to operate the range, it’s not necessary for them to collect the donations," said Hans Huessey of MSK Attorneys in Burlington.

See also: Ruling filed in Williston gun club lawsuit

Shelburne and Charlotte neighbors argued that the shooting range was serving a "commercial purpose" and should therefore be subject to Act 250 regulation, which would include noise restrictions. The group pointed to shooting benches and dirt berms that had been constructed in recent years.

In a 3-2 decision, the Supreme Court said Act 250 is not meant to apply to operations like Laberge's.

"Laberge’s range, consisting of a farm field with several benches and earthen berms, is not operating for a commercial purpose any more than a backyard corn maze or community garden space offered to the public free of charge," Associate Justice Marilyn Skoglund wrote for the majority of the court.

Associate Justice Beth Robinson and Chief Justice Paul Reiber dissented.

Robinson wrote that Act 250 should apply when a "would-be developer realizes substantial value in exchange for providing goods, services, or facilities." The associate justice wrote that Laberge did receive "substantial value" from opening the range to the public, and she would have sent the case back to the environmental division of the Vermont Superior Court for a determination about Act 250 jurisdiction.

The neighbors' group was "deeply disappointed and surprised" by the court's decision, according to a statement shared by attorney Austin Hart of the Burlington law firm Dinse.

"We are carefully reviewing all our legal options," the statement continued. "In the meantime, despite the decision, we do hope that the Laberge family will consider placing reasonable limits on the noise impact of the Firing Range on surrounding neighbors."

A woman who answered the phone at the Laberge farm Friday said the family did not have any comment to share at that time.