Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pendergrass council holds first reading of ordinance restricting unlawful discharge of firearms
Summary
Council conducted a first reading of a proposed Chapter 95 to prohibit firing a firearm within city limits except at licensed shooting galleries or with police permission; exemptions for agricultural and planned commercial farm zoning were included and the ordinance requires a second reading and vote in a later meeting.
Pendergrass City Council held a first reading Aug. 27 of a proposed ordinance to regulate the discharge of firearms within city limits, including narrow exemptions for licensed shooting galleries and certain zoning districts.
Speaker 1 read the proposed addition to the city code as Ordinance No. 092401 (first reading), titled in the transcript as "Unlawful Discharging the Firearm." The draft makes it unlawful to discharge a firearm within the corporate limits "unless at a licensed shooting gallery or by the permission of the chief of police for a military parade or funeral," and includes an exception for specified zoning districts. "The following districts are exempt from this ordinance: CCFC, the Planned Commercial Farm District, and AG, the Agricultural District," Speaker 1 read.
The draft ordinance includes a penalty provision: a fine of not more than $500 or up to 30 days in jail, or both. The ordinance text presented in the meeting contains severability language and an effective date clause typical of municipal ordinances.
During public comment and Q&A, residents asked for clarity on what constitutes the Planned Commercial Farm District and whether hunting or agricultural activities would still be permitted on property in those zones. Council members said definitions would be provided and reminded the public that this was only the first reading; the ordinance must be read twice and then voted on at a subsequent meeting, which the presiding officer said is expected in September.
No formal vote on the firearms ordinance took place at the Aug. 27 meeting; councilors directed staff to supply zoning definitions and to schedule the ordinance for further consideration and a later vote.
