HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Whether Sportsland Shooting Range in Dededo will be able to reopen for business remains to be seen following an informational roundtable hearing held by the Office of the Attorney General.
After going through 40 years of history for the shooting range, Attorney General Douglas Moylan heard testimony from stakeholders in support of and opposed to renewing the establishment’s business license.
Several homeowners in the area around the shooting range shared their concerns about the safety of their families as they reported to the AG that they have experienced stray bullets whizzing by them while they were outside their homes. But it could not be determined whether the stray bullets had originated from the shooting range, as the surrounding area also is frequented by hunters.
There was also testimony from several individuals who spoke of the precautions the shooting range takes to ensure gun safety.
“I’ve certified a couple of ranges before, and I also helped build one,” said a man who identified himself as Kyle Reese. “We’re using not complete information here. The height of a berm is not what’s important – it’s the angle. The closer you are to a wall, the sharper of an angle you have to get over that wall. There’s an angle set in the sighting and that’s what determines the height. We’ve also assumed agreement that there’s hazard coming from this range – no, there’s not. There’s a possibility of a hazard the same way there’s a possibility of me getting hit by a car tomorrow. The safe operation of the range is what’s important.”
Conditional variance
Although safety is a concern of the attorney general, he noted they must first establish compliance with the four conditions put in place when the conditional variance on the agriculturally zoned property was granted in 1982.
Those four conditions included a 6-foot perimeter fence topped with barbed wire, which shooting range co-owner John Sablan confirmed must be addressed. A portion of the fence did not have the barbed wire, Sablan said, as the fence was recently repaired.
“The rule is there that it must have that fencing, and it must have the barbed wire,” Moylan said. “Just because it’s 40 years old doesn’t take it away from the four conditions, right? Every gun shooter that I know, especially in this room right now, you guys are all for safe gun operation. … The balance right now is he has got a business. There’s a potential for what might be happening. We can’t come to that conclusion right now. But we can deal with the facts as we see them, put them to the law, punch them in.”
The court won’t agree to that just because two years ago they approved his business license, the attorney general said.
“They must do it now, despite these things,” Moylan said. “The court is going to be analyzing it as we are. Is someone going to get hurt? (Is) the school going to have a round going to it? Is the Charfauros family going to be hurt? Stuff like that. We have a lot of concerns. Now we have to focus it on what are his rights, what are the government’s responsibilities, and come up with the options if we can’t give Mr. Sablan what he needs to have.”
Uphill battles
The roundtable discussion, as the AG noted from the start, would not end with an answer to the issue of the renewal of the business license, but it did bring some potential solutions – all of which Department of Land Management Director Joseph Borja said would be uphill battles.
“This type of business is more compatible in an M2 heavy industrial zone for land uses involving both obnoxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, smoke, noise, gas fumes, cinders, vibration or water carried waste-permitted uses in an M2 zone,” Borja said.
“I would suggest that we relocate the firing range to a Chamorro Land Trust (Commission) lease near or on the raceway parcel,” the director said, referring to the Guam International Raceway property in Yigo. “The area around the raceway parcel is bordered by Route 15, two quarries and a conservation area. Number two, the lease application can be made directly to the CLTC for property that has been designated as commercial by the CLTC. Number three, the lease application can be made directly to the Legislature for a legislative lease.”
While Sablan was open to the suggestions, he did point out that it would take several years to come to fruition.
“Am I going to be shut down that long?” Sablan asked, as he noted that his employees and other businesses rely on him being able to operate.
“Let us go to step one first, which is let us look at the law, look at the facts to see what we can do to mitigate what you are experiencing now,” Moylan responded.
It was suggested that a temporary permit be granted to allow the shooting range to operate in consideration of the service it provides to the community, but as Department of Revenue and Taxation Director Dafne Mansapit-Shimizu noted, that’s not under DRT’s authority. According to Mansapit-Shimizu, the available options would be to deny or renew the business license for a year.
The Office of the Attorney General hosts a roundtable hearing Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023, at the ITC building in Tamuning, to address the now-closed Sportsland Shooting Range in Dededo.
Attorney General Douglas Moylan, left, looks over a document with Deputy Attorney General Graham Brotha during a roundtable discussion Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023, at the ITC building in Tamuning, to address the now-closed Sportsland Shooting Range in Dededo.
