BILL NUMBER: SB 517 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 880
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 12, 1997
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 11, 1997
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 1997
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 11, 1997
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 29, 1997
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 8, 1997
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 7, 1997
INTRODUCED BY Senator Haynes
(Coauthor: Senator Ayala)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Battin, Margett, and Pacheco)
FEBRUARY 24, 1997
An act to add Section 3482.1 to the Civil Code, relating to
nuisance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 517, Haynes. Nuisance: shooting ranges.
Existing law provides that nothing done or maintained under the
express authority of a statute can be deemed a nuisance.
This bill would exempt a person who operates or uses a sport
shooting range, as defined, from civil liability, injunction, or
criminal prosecution with respect to noise or noise pollution if the
person complies with the laws in operation at the time the sport
shooting range was approved for use, or if there were no such laws in
effect at that time, except as specified.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3482.1 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
3482.1. (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Person" means an individual, proprietorship, partnership,
corporation, club, or other legal entity.
(2) "Sport shooting range" or "range" means an area designed and
operated for the use of rifles, shotguns, pistols, silhouettes,
skeet, trap, black powder, or any other similar sport or law
enforcement training purpose.
(3) "Indoor shooting range" means a totally enclosed facility
designed to offer a totally controlled shooting environment that
includes impenetrable walls, floor and ceiling, adequate ventilation
and lighting systems, and acoustical treatment for sound attenuation
suitable for the range's approved use.
(4) "Nighttime" means between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person who
operates or uses a sport shooting range in this state shall not be
subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution in any matter
relating to noise or noise pollution resulting from the operation or
use of the range if the range is in compliance with any noise control
laws or ordinances that applied to the range and its operation at
the time construction or operation of the range was approved by a
local public entity having jurisdiction in the matter, or if there
were no such laws or ordinances that applied to the range and its
operation at that time.
(2) A person who operates or uses a sport shooting range or law
enforcement training range is not subject to an action for nuisance,
and a court shall not enjoin the use or operation of a range, on the
basis of noise or noise pollution if the range is in compliance with
any noise control laws or ordinances that applied to the range and
its operation at the time construction or operation of the range was
approved by a local public entity having jurisdiction in the matter,
or if there were no such laws or ordinances that applied to the range
and its operation at that time.
(3) Rules or regulations adopted by any state department or agency
for limiting levels of noise in terms of decibel level which may
occur in the outdoor atmosphere shall not apply to a sport shooting
range exempted from liability under this section.
(c) A person who acquires title to or who owns real property
adversely affected by the use of property with a permanently located
and improved sport shooting range may not maintain a nuisance action
with respect to noise or noise pollution against the person who owns
the range to restrain, enjoin, or impede the use of the range where
there has been no substantial change in the nature of the use or the
range. This section does not prohibit actions for negligence or
recklessness in the operation of the range or by a person using the
range.
(d) A sport shooting range that is in operation and not in
violation of existing law at the time of the enactment of an
ordinance described in subdivision (b) shall be permitted to continue
in operation even if the operation of the sport shooting range at a
later date does not conform to a new ordinance or an amendment to an
existing ordinance if there has been no substantial change in the
nature or use of the range. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to limit the authority of a local agency to enforce any
term of a conditional use permit.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in this section, this section
does not prohibit a local public entity having jurisdiction in the
matter from regulating the location and construction of a sport
shooting range after the effective date of this section.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this section, this section
does not prohibit a local public entity having jurisdiction in the
matter from requiring that noise levels at the nearest residential
property line to a range not exceed the level of normal city street
noise which shall not be more than 60 decibels for nighttime
shooting. The subdivision does not abrogate any existing local
standards for nighttime shooting. The operator of a sport shooting
range shall not unreasonably refuse to use trees, shrubs, or
barriers, when appropriate, to mitigate the noise generated by
nighttime shooting. For the purpose of this section, a reasonable
effort to mitigate is an action that can be accomplished in a manner
and at a cost that does not impose an unreasonable financial burden
upon the operator of the range.
(g) This section does not apply to indoor shooting ranges.
(h) This section does not apply to a range in existence prior to
January 1, 1998, that is operated for law enforcement training
purposes by a county of the sixth class if the range is located
without the boundaries of that county and within the boundaries of
another county. This subdivision shall become operative on July 1,
1999.