Situation History
To tell a long story short…
In November of 2020, we communicated with Kim Koelle, President of Waynesborough Country Club, via letter. This letter provides a brief history of our efforts and concerns. Click below to read the letter in its entirety:
The following excerpt provides a brief timeline to that point in our efforts:
October 5, 2019 — A community representative met with then President of WCC, Alexis Bove to discuss community concerns regarding the negative impact WCC’s Trap Shooting program has on our quality of life, property value, health and well-being.
Mid-October 2019 — Numerous neighbors submitted letters to WCC’s Board of Governors expressing their concerns and the negative impacts of the shooting to our community.
WCC Club Manager Joe Furko sent a response letter to concerned neighbors which contained inconsistent messages (see highlighted sections).
States that WCC works to foster appreciation of the community — there was no movement by WCC to address the concerns of its neighbors.
States that Trap Shooting is limited to fewer than 4 hours a week with no plans to expand the current days or hours — our group of neighbors recorded many weekends where shooting took place both Saturday and Sunday, and on numerous occasions shooting went from 12pm-5:30pm.
Articles in the the WCC newsletter continue to expound on how the program has expanded. The number of shooting stations has increased; of the 9 tournaments WCC participated in that season, 6 were hosted by WCC.
November 2019-January 2020 — Since WCC had demonstrated no interest in communicating with neighbors on the noise issue, local neighbors worked to build their coalition and retained legal representation
Coalition includes Easttown and Willistown residents.
Meetings held with Willistown elected official and Township Manager.
Discussion with Easttown Township Manager.
Community members recorded shooting, marked hours, and did sound readings using a calibrated dBA reader to determine the volume of the gunshots and to confirm that the sound violates the Easttown Township Sound Ordinance.
January 31, 2020 — Left with no recourse, a group of 12 neighbors (with the support of other members of the community) had legal counsel formally notify Easttown Township of WCC’s non-compliance with the Township’s Noise Ordinance, requesting the Township’s enforcement of that ordinance.
February-March 2020 — In an effort to assist the Township in it’s enforcement decision, the neighbors’ legal representatives hired an Independent Environmental Engineer to study the noise and provide a professional, unbiased report on the impact of the Trap Shooting to the surrounding community
Key findings illustrate that at all times during the Trap Shooting, the sound levels violated the Easttown Township Noise Ordinance by as much as 33.2 dBA’s over the maximum 50dBA’s allowed on weekends. It is also worth noting that many of these readings were taken during unseasonably warm weather and would have most likely been even higher if the ground had been frozen, which is often the case during WCC’s Trap Shooting Program. This report was shared with WCC in the November 2020 letter to Kim Koelle.
Early April 2020 — A Citizens Petition was presented to the Easttown Township Board of Supervisors requesting corrective action regarding WCC’s Trap Shooting Program. The petition includes signatures of 46 Easttown Township residents. This was not representative of the full number of supporters as circulation of the petition was cut short due to the onset of the COVID pandemic in mid-March.
Since 2020, much has transpired. If you are a member, you may recall that legal action was initiated by the Township in the winter of 2021 in the form of a citation which caused the temporary cessation of the on-site Trap Program. The citation was dismissed in Magisterial Court, predominately due to the Township’s decision to enforce its Nuisance Ordinance , rather than the Noise Ordinance, against WCC. The difference between those two ordinances is that while the determination of a violation of the nuisance order may be subjective, a violation of the Noise Ordinance is not. The determination is measurable. Despite our good faith effort to resolve the dispute and avoid legal action by sharing with Kim Koelle our independent sound report and Judge Tartaglio’s stated request that WCC amicably work to resolve the issues with the community (which Joe Furko pledged to do), there was no effort made by WCC to reach out to community members or discuss our concerns.
Unfortunately, we were left with the un-enviable position of having to continue to assert ourselves at the Township level to protect our quality of life through involvement in WCC’s permitting process for the current renovations. Only after our attendance at numerous Township Planning Commission and Zoning Board Hearings, did WCC reach out to us to explain its plans to ameliorate the noise caused by the Trap Program.
Promises Made and Promises Broken — December 2021 A member of our coalition and legal counsel met with John Snyder (WCC legal counsel and Joe Furko) on-site to discuss WCC’s plans to address some of our concerns. We were told that WCC was considering a plan that would include a number of possible options such as moving trap locations, hanging kevlar from trees, building new structures and the re-location of a stream. This would incur significant cost, require a lengthy permitting process and create a significant threat of lead contamination of the groundwater which feeds the wells that we rely on for drinking water. Leaching of the residual lead shot generated by the Trap Shooting which is distributed over a wide area is difficult to contain and costly to remediate. At that time, we pointed out to WCC’s leadership that it would be advisable to first conduct testing at the proposed new shooting site to confirm that the relocation would in fact sufficiently ameliorate the Trap Shooting noise , prior to making any final decision to embark on such a costly project. At that meeting, and in subsequent communications over the next year, WCC reiterated that they would conduct their own sound study to determine what, if any solutions could work. Despite continued commitments, and excuses of delays in schedules, WCC never conducted a professional study or made any changes to address our concerns. To our knowledge, there continues to be no remediation of the lead in the ground (despite our repeated requests for proof of remediation) and decibel levels of the shooting continue to be well outside of the 55 decibels allowable in Easttown Township’s Noise Ordinance. In addition, the on-site Trap Program is absent of standard NSSA-NCSA safety protocols, the most concerning of which is the fact that the ‘shot fall zone’ established by WCC for its multi-field trapshooting program is far too small, not remotely close to being in compliance with the safety standards outlined by the national governing bodies of the sport.
We understand WCC’s desire to provide varying forms of sport and entertainment to its members and we have nothing against Trap Shooting. However, it does not belong in a residential neighborhood setting. One viable alternative option is to make the activity available to members at a more appropriate location. Articles in WCC’s own newsletter make it clear that the Trap Program succeeded off-site last year while the golf course renovations were in progress.
The Solution.
Looking forward, if you care about our safety and the safety of WCC golfers, stopping the excessive noise, protecting our quality of life, our drinking water and the environment, we encourage you to advocate for the permanent cessation of WCC’s Trap Program on-site at 440 Darby-Paoli Road in Paoli. The compromise recently reached at another local club was a great outcome for the members who want to Trap Shoot. In that case, the club is providing its members with access at another well-established local gun club that is safe for the participants, the community and the environment. This approach would allow WCC to continue to provide the sport to members, while also standing by its stated commitment to the surrounding community. Simply a permanent continuation of WCC’s off-site program during the course renovations.
Click the button below for our final thoughts and learn how to take action. Additionally, we encourage you to do your own research on trap shooting’s negative environmental impact as well as its effects on safety, property value and noise levels. We’ve provided some of those resources below as well.