Wake County is updating its outdoor shooting ordinances. Here’s how to give input
Following repeated concerns from Knightdale residents that stray bullets are hitting too close to home, Wake County leaders are looking to update the county’s two-decade-old ordinance regulating outdoor shooting. Residents have three opportunities over the next three weeks to learn about current safeguards and the proposed changes.
“Public safety is a top priority for our board, and these proposed updates aim to provide sustainable safety standards to meet our community’s current and future needs,” said Sig Hutchinson, chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. “We know we can find a balanced solution, and we hope all residents, whether they own firearms or not, will weigh in on these suggested changes.”
Commissioners recognize that Wake County has experienced incredible growth since 2001, when this ordinance was last updated. The rural/urban divide has blurred, and development within city limits is now adjacent to rural tracts.
All municipalities in Wake County prohibit discharging firearms at all times within city/town limits. However, in the unincorporated areas of the county, private firearms activity like target practice is permitted, and any changes to this ordinance would only affect those areas. Hunting animals or birds would also not be affected by changes to this local ordinance, as they are regulated by state and federal law.
The changes the board is considering to the Wake County Code of Ordinances Chapter 130 Firearms are:
- Increase the minimum distance from a dwelling, public building or livestock in which a person may discharge a firearm from 100 yards to 300 yards.
- Require a backstop or other method of containment that adequately contains the projectile on the property on which it was discharged.
- Prohibit the discharge of a firearm beginning two hours after sunset until one hour before sunrise.
- Increase the maximum fine for a violation from $50 to the statutory limit of $500.
The upcoming public meetings are:
- Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 5 p.m. Wake County Board of Commissioners meeting, 300 S. Salisbury St., Raleigh. Wake County staff will present information on the proposed changes and hold a public hearing. View the agenda item here. Submit online comments at this link between 9 a.m. and noon on Tuesday. Sign up to speak in-person at this link which will open at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. During the meeting, the chair will also ask if anyone present would like to speak. Comments are limited to three minutes.
- Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 6 p.m. Listening Session, Knightdale Town Hall, 950 Steeple Square Ct., Knightdale. Wake County commissioners and staff, the Wake County sheriff, Knightdale Town Council members, the Knightdale police chief and N.C. Rep. James Roberson will gather for a public listening session to answer questions and hear feedback on the proposed changes to the ordinance.
- Monday, Sept. 19, at 2 p.m. Wake County Board of Commissioners meeting, 300 S. Salisbury St., Raleigh. The board will consider adoption of the amendments to the Wake County Code of Ordinances Chapter 130 Firearms and take a vote. The public will not be able share comments during the agenda item discussion, however there is an opportunity to speak for three minutes during the general public comment session that occurs around 2:30 p.m. during the meeting. Written comments can also be shared online between 9 a.m. and noon that day.
Anyone interesting in learning more about this item can listen to the discussion at the Aug. 22, 2022, Board of Commissioners’ Public Safety Committee meeting. In that meeting, staff shared a comparison of similar outdoor shooting ordinance regulations in other North Carolina counties.
