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Council advances rewrite of local firearms discharge and carry rules after committee changes; first reading passes
Summary
After committee discussion the council approved first reading of a rewritten ordinance regulating discharge and carrying firearms in city limits. Changes include explicit reliance on Wisconsin signage and verbal notification rules, removal of a neighborhood permission workaround and discussion about permitting for hunting and safety mapping.
The Common Council voted Oct. 21 to advance a rewritten version of city ordinance 9.02, governing carrying and discharging firearms within Oconomowoc city limits. The item returned from the protection & welfare committee with two committee‑adopted amendments and passed the council’s first reading.
Key changes and council discussion
- Signage and notice: Committee members and police staff agreed to clarify that private businesses may rely on the Wisconsin statute’s placard or on actual verbal notice as the legal method to prohibit weapons on private premises. A revised sentence refers explicitly to “appropriate signage per Wisconsin statute” rather than setting a novel city test. - Neighborhood permission: Committee members removed a provision that had previously allowed a shooter to obtain written permission from surrounding property owners to discharge a firearm within 100 yards of a habitable building; aldermen and police staff said the rule created an unsafe “chain‑of‑consent” outcome in densely settled areas and preferred police review of proposed hunting locations via a permit procedure. - Permit discussion: The ordinance language retains a permitting route for shooting with shotguns and muzzleloaders in certain locations; council discussed whether permits should be required or whether police should retain discretion based on mapped safety buffers. The lieutenant explained the permit process is intended to give staff documented notice of legal activity so dispatchers can avoid unnecessary emergency responses when they receive reports of gunfire.
Why it matters: The rewrite attempts to align local rules with state statute (including the signage/notice method for prohibiting weapons) while balancing hunting rights, public safety and police response procedures. The council’s vote forwards the ordinance for a second reading.
Quotations and committee rationale: The police lieutenant summarized the city’s operational approach: “Under current Wisconsin state statute…a private business owner has a right to put a placard…and that placard has to be a 5 by 7 inch placard,” and explained the verbal‑notice alternative. Alderman Rosick, who led some of the changes at committee, told the council the goal was to avoid circumstances in which multiple neighbors each gave permission and multiple shooters ended up discharging near each other.
Outcome: The council approved first reading by roll call. Staff will return with the ordinance as amended for the second reading and final consideration.
