An as-yet-unsigned Sept. 10 stipulation of settlement between the Maidstone Gun Club and seven Wainscott property owners who reported finding bullets lodged in their houses and were granted a temporary restraining order barring use of the club’s facilities in 2022 outlines terms under which the club could reopen.
The document was not signed by New York State Supreme Court Justice Christopher Modelewski, however, and as of yesterday the status of a settlement between the parties was undetermined.
At the same time, East Hampton Town “remains in active discussions with the gun club regarding a lease renewal” following its 2023 expiration, the town attorney said on Tuesday, though that too has apparently not been concluded.
Based on a transcript of a hearing last Thursday, there is disagreement among plaintiffs as to whether or not the settlement should be accepted, with some adamant that the club should be permanently closed.
“While it strikes the Court that there is a great deal of good sense that is included in the paragraphs” comprising the stipulation of settlement, “the Court is going to decline the invitation to so order this stipulation of settlement,” Justice Modelewski said at last Thursday’s hearing. Adding the court’s imprimatur to the agreement between the parties, he said, “could have the concomitant effect of negating or eliminating the rights and litigation of the non-settling plaintiffs.” He would not vacate the T.R.O., he said, “but I might . . . after presentation of an appropriate stipulation of settlement.”
Ryan Horn, a director and officer of the club, said in an email yesterday that the judge’s delay in ordering the settlement “was primarily due to the court’s desire to see some of the legal language reworded.” The settlement, he added, “had also only been submitted to the court the night before. . . . Everyone wants to be sure that due process is respected. The terms of the settlement are not expected to change, and when the draft is updated, everyone is welcome to sign it.”
Jacob Turner, the town attorney, said in an Aug. 29 statement to The Star that the town board has negotiated “important provisions” in connection with a lease renewal including the permanent closure of its rifle range and a requirement that the club will “regularly reclaim lead and also remediate lead” when required by the State Department of Environmental Conservation or federal Environmental Protection Agency.
On Tuesday, Mr. Turner added that “a material rent increase” would be included in a lease renewal. The club’s previous, 30-year lease was for 97 acres of parkland at $100 per year.
The proposed settlement, Mr. Turner noted, “was between the gun club and some of the plaintiffs. Since all of the plaintiffs were not part of the agreement the court would not sign it. However, the court said that that should not stop those plaintiffs and the gun club from working out an agreement, but it would just not be signed by the court.”
The stipulation of settlement would impose many more changes and restrictions on the club, should it reopen. Along with permanent closure of its outdoor rifle range, the club would be required to demolish and/or fully remove the rifle range including its existing cement tubes and overhang structure, and it would be forbidden from constructing or operating any new gun range at the rifle range site. Use of rifles on any outdoor space except by active-duty law enforcement members on the existing law enforcement range would be prohibited.
The club would have to reclaim “any existing lead-impacted soils” on the premises, provide proof of completed reclamation or recommendation for further reclamation to the town, and periodically reclaim any lead-impacted soils on the premises.
The stipulation of settlement would require installation of a new entry gate and keypad requiring a security code, and government-issued identification for entry. Security cameras operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week would be positioned at the front entrance, the front of the clubhouse, and the rear deck of the clubhouse, and others would capture a panoramic view of each of the skeet, trap, archery, five-stand shotgun, outdoor pistol, and law enforcement ranges, the parking lot, and the indoor pistol range. All video recordings would have to be maintained on a rolling basis for at least 30 days and made available to the town upon demand.
A range safety officer with training by, and current certification from, the National Rifle Association, International Defensive Pistol Association, International Practical Shooting Association, or United States Practical Shooting Association would be present whenever the club is in operation and enforce safety protocols adopted by the club and accepted by the town.
Use of any ammunition in excess of .223 rifle cartridge on any outdoor shooting range would be prohibited. Possession or use of assault rifles would also be prohibited on the club’s outdoor ranges except by active-duty law enforcement or United States Coast Guard personnel during training exercises, and only on the existing law enforcement range. Use of the law enforcement range would be limited to active-duty law enforcement and Coast Guard personnel for training and certification only, and they would be required to identify themselves with “appropriate, current, government-issued identification” and to sign in prior to entry. Friends, family, and guests of any such law enforcement and Coast Guard personnel would be prohibited from the premises at all times.
From Oct. 1 through May 20, the club’s outdoor ranges could operate seven days per week from 9 a.m. to sunset. Between May 21 and Sept. 30, operation of outdoor ranges would be limited to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The club would be required to hire a qualified engineer to inspect the premises annually for compliance with the safety protocols required by the stipulation of settlement and published to the town. The club would maintain and file annually with the town a $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate general liability insurance policy naming the town as the certificate holder and additional insured.
The club had previously exercised an option to renew the lease for an additional term. But on several occasions over the last 20 years, multiple Merchants Path property owners reported finding bullets lodged in their houses. Several of them sued the club and the town in November 2022, and the temporary restraining order was imposed soon after.
While those residents say that errant bullets fired from the club constitute a threat to public safety, lead contamination is also cited as justification for its closure. A memorandum prepared by Roux Environmental Engineering and Geology states that lead was detected in all 30 soil samples collected at the gun club in March 2023, and in 18 of those exceeded the “protection of groundwater soil cleanup objective” standard, a term referring to objectives designed to prevent lead and other contaminants in soil from leaching into and contaminating groundwater.
