Electric City approves no-shooting buffer zone draft proposal

The Electric City council approved the draft last week of a proposal for a 500-foot-wide “no shooting” buffer zone between the main part of the city and Osborne Bay, where shooting firearms would be prohibited.

The proposal needs to be approved by the city, the state Departments of Fish & Wildlife and Natural Resources, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and Grand Coulee Police.

The city would pay for signs to line the 7,281-foot-long buffer-zone border, and F&W would pay for the posts and install the signs.

The signs would explain the buffer zone and reference the ordinance the city would adopt following approval of the buffer zone from the various agencies involved.

Councilmember Birdie Hensley doesn’t think the ordinance needs to be referenced on the signs, and that it would be cheaper to use sign designs that already exist. She pointed out that traffic “STOP” signs don’t reference their authorizing law.

The proposed buffer zone is a response to complaints the city received from citizens about people hunting or shooting close to their homes, particularly along Silver Drive, and is meant to enhance the safety of the area.

Local resident Mark Payne attended the Feb. 12 meeting when the proposal draft was approved and expressed his support for the buffer zone.

“I grew up hunting around here, still like to hunt out there,” Payne said. “In all my time here, which is a long time, I’m not aware of a stray bullet hitting a house or someone getting shot, or any safety concern. I know there is liability to a city having firearms discharged in the city limits, but whatever we can do … so we can get some turkey and deer, and other birds, I’m in favor of it.”