HOPATCONG -- With the Borough of Hopatcong's approval of preliminary site plans for a proposed police department shooting range, nearby residents are questioning what impact the facility could have on the local quality of life, the neighboring environment

HOPATCONG -- With the Borough of Hopatcong's approval of preliminary site plans for a proposed police department shooting range, nearby residents are questioning what impact the facility could have on the local quality of life, the neighboring environment and even the relationship between Byram and Hopatcong.

Preliminary site plans for the range, proposed for a vacant piece of borough property at 171 Stanhope Sparta Road, were approved during a regular council meeting on Dec. 6.

As a governing body, the Borough Council is technically exempt from some processes and procedures pertaining to site development, but the issue of the range was brought up during a courtesy hearing of the Land Use Board on Tuesday.

"A courtesy review is not an approval or denial of anything," explained Land Use Board Attorney William Haggerty. "The Land Use Board has no jurisdiction here. The purpose of this hearing is simply to allow the board and members of the public to ask questions about this project and make comments."

Tuesday's meeting, attended by both Hopatcong and Byram residents, attracted about 50 persons.

Byram Township Engineer Cory Stoner, present during Tuesday's meeting, said that the gun range could have larger implications for the area than had previously been anticipated.

"I was asked to come here tonight by mayor and council of Byram to express our concerns," said Stoner. "This is a listed Open Space property according to your own records from 2011. This is really not a consistent use for what we would like to see for a preserved piece of land. Hopatcong's Borough Attorney John Ursin said when we spoke last week that the sub-committee that was assigned to research potential sites for the range wanted to limit the size of the facility in order to keep the disturbance level down, but in looking at these plans, it would appear that you actually kept it small so as not to be beholden to any Highlands regulations."

Hopatcong Board Engineer John Ruschke said that the borough had taken steps to ensure that the range would meet the needs of the police department and satisfy all environmental regulations.

"As far as due diligence is concerned, the governing body did review the environmental impact that the range could have on this property," Ruschke said. "They also looked for an absence determination from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to address the wetlands on the site, and reached out to the Highlands Coalition to get their input. To be clear, none of that was required to move forward with this plan, but the council felt that it would be important to have those considerations on record."

In addition to environmental concerns, several residents questioned how frequently the range would be used and how much noise could be expected from it.

"I sincerely hope that the people who will make this final decision will take into consideration that this is my home," said Hopatcong resident Vincent Diak, whose seven-acre property would abut the proposed range. "I am worried about how this will affect my property value. My understanding is that the police would be shooting in multiple directions during training exercises, so that makes me worry about how safe it will be for my wife or I to walk out on our own property. As to the noise, I can tell you that I have heard people shooting out in those woods before, and I don't care where you're standing, it's loud. This would be in my backyard, and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about that."

Ruschke said that use of the range would be limited and carefully monitored.

"The range would only be used my members of the Hopatcong Police Department," he said. "It will not be open to the general public or to other police departments. The police anticipate that they are going to be able to do their required quarterly certifications at this facility. In other words, the range would only see heavy use for about a week at a time four times per year. That's not to say that the police won't use this facility at other times, though. The site will also occasionally be used by the department for tactical training purposes."

Cassie Prisco, president of One Step Closer Animal Rescue, said during an interview with the New Jersey Herald that while she herself might not care about the noise from the proposed range, her four-legged tenants certainly might.

"This range would only be located two lots away from our new shelter," said Prisco, who purchased the property in 2016. "We have put our hearts and souls into restoring this property to create a safe haven for abused and abandoned animals. Some of these animals are terrified of loud, sudden sounds. They're rescues. I can't always predict how they will react. I can't explain to them that the gunfire will only be going on for a week, or that this is helping the police. We have dogs who have been shot at, or who have come to us with bullets lodged inside of them. Our whole purpose in opening this shelter was to provide a place where these animals could heal and learn to trust people again. We work incredibly hard to find a home for each one of the dogs that comes to us, and that's going to be very difficult if they are scared and stressed out. This range could really make their lives very difficult."

Looking forward, Ruschke said, the borough would be doing everything in its power to control the level of noise emanating from the range.

One of the first steps, he said, would be to construct a set of berms so that a proper sound test could be conducted and the impact of the range be more accurately measured.

"Ultimately, the amount of noise mitigation that the borough will need to implement has not yet determined," said Ruschke. "So far, we are working off a concept plan that follows the standards established by the National Rifle Association. This is not a very complex facility. We are looking at possibly constructing a structure at some point in the future that would help keep the noise levels down. We're also willing to look into different types of buffers and baffles if we are not satisfied with the mitigation. We may, in fact, realize that the shelter and the berms will be enough to meet our regulations and state standards, but if it doesn't, we are prepared to do what we have to do to get to where we need to be."

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