[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Rotterdam 6-15-1983
by L.L. No. 9-1983. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
It shall be the purpose of this chapter to prohibit the
discharge, in the Town of Rotterdam, of any projectile-firing weapon in a
manner that is unsafe or destructive to persons and/or property, and to limit
the possession of loaded weapons in public places within the Town of Rotterdam.
B.
It shall not be the purpose of this chapter to infringe
the rights of citizens to possess firearms and other weapons or to curtail
recreational hunting and target shooting when conducted in a safe manner and
within the laws of the State of New York.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
A place to which the public or a substantial group of persons has
access, and includes, but is not limited to highways, transportation facilities,
schools, places of amusement, parks, playgrounds, stores, restaurants, taverns,
parking lots, hallways, lobbies and other portions of apartment houses and
hotels not constituting rooms or apartments designed for actual residence.
Includes all rifles, shotguns, handguns, cannons, air guns, bows
and arrows, crossbows, slingshots, spear guns and any other device from which
a projectile is propelled by means of smokeless powder, black powder, compressed
air, gas, rocket, springs or elastic materials, or any combination thereof.
On and after the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful
to discharge any weapon within the boundaries of the Town of Rotterdam except
as provided for in this chapter.
On and after the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful
to possess a loaded weapon in any public place in the Town of Rotterdam unless
duly licensed under law or as provided for in this chapter.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to:
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to that
portion of the Town of Rotterdam encompassed by the following boundaries:
from a point where the southwesterly margin of the New York State Thruway
Authority right-of-way is intersected by the boundary line of the Town of
Rotterdam and the Town of Princetown; and thence in a generally southeasterly
and southerly direction along the southwesterly margin of the New York State
Thruway Authority right-of-way to Dunnsville Road; thence southerly along
Dunnsville Road to New York State Route 406 (Gifford Church Road); thence
southwesterly along New York State Route 406 to the boundary line of the Town
of Rotterdam and the Town of Princetown; thence generally northwesterly and
northerly along that boundary line to the point of origin.
B.
In those areas of the Town of Rotterdam described below
but excluding the area within the boundaries of West Hill Development, Incorporated,
and the area 250 feet to each side of the paved portion of the Schenectady,
Bike-Hike Trail, the discharge of a bow and arrow or a shotgun using pellet
shot shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter only when being used
for hunting in accordance with all New York State and federal laws and regulations
governing hunting.
C.
This chapter shall apply to all other weapons and to
all other uses of bow and arrow or shotgun within those portions of the Town
of Rotterdam encompassed by the following boundaries:
(1)
From a point where the boundary line of the Town of Rotterdam
and the Town of Princetown intersects the northeastern margin of the New York
State Thruway Authority right-of-way; thence northerly along the boundary
line of the Town of Rotterdam and the Town of Princetown to the Montgomery
County line; thence northeasterly along the Montgomery County line to the
boundary line of the Town of Rotterdam and the Town of Glenville; thence southeasterly
along the boundary line of the Town of Rotterdam and the Town of Glenville
to the City of Schenectady; thence generally westerly and southwesterly along
the boundary line of the Town of Rotterdam and the City of Schenectady to
its intersection with the Delaware and Hudson Railroad line; thence westerly
along the northern side of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad to its intersection
with the Penn Central Transportation Company railroad line; thence southerly
along the western margin of the Penn Central Transportation Company railroad
line to its intersection with Burdeck Street; thence southwesterly along the
northern side of Burdeck Street to its intersection with Duanesburg Road,
thence westerly along the northern side of Duanesburg Road to the New York
State Thruway; thence northerly and northwesterly along the eastern margin
of the New York State Thruway right-of-way to the point of origin.
(2)
Starting at the intersection of Duanesburg Road and the
Penn Central Transportation Company railroad line; thence southerly along
the western margin of the Penn Central Transportation Company railroad line
to the New York State Thruway; thence southeasterly along the southwestern
margin of the New York State Thruway Authority right-of-way to the Albany
County line; thence westerly along the Albany County line to the boundary
line of the Town of Rotterdam and the Town of Princetown; thence northwesterly
along the boundary line of the Town of Rotterdam and the Town of Princetown
to New York State Route 406 (Giffords Church Road); thence easterly along
Giffords Church Road to Dunnsville Road; thence northerly along Dunnsville
Road to the intersection of Duanesburg Road; thence easterly along Duanesburg
Road to the point of origin.
A.
Target ranges.
(1)
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the
discharge or possession of weapons on target ranges approved by the Chief
of Police of the Town of Rotterdam. The Chief of Police shall have the duty
to act on any written request for approval of a target range within a period
of 30 days, and such requests shall be denied only for reasons of safety or
violation of existing laws. The Chief of Police shall have the power to make
safety restrictions and specifications for ranges. In no case shall specifications
or restrictions be more stringent than those specified by the National Rifle
Association or the National Shooting Sports Foundation, except that the discharge
of firearms may be limited to the hours between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. A
certificate of approval shall be provided without fee and a copy of it shall
be kept on file by the Police Department. Certificates shall be valid until
surrendered or revoked. Any target range where shooters are charged a fee
must prominently display such certificate. Ranges shall be subject to inspection
by any duly authorized peace officer.
(2)
The discharge of bow and arrow on a home archery range
shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter if the range has been
recorded with the Chief of Police of the Town of Rotterdam on a duplicate
form available at the Rotterdam Town Hall or at the Rotterdam Police Station.
The record shall include signatures indicating consent by the heads of the
households of the nearest dwelling within 500 feet to either side of the range
and the heads of the households of every dwelling within 500 feet in the down-range
direction. The applicant must certify by his/her signature that the range
will be operated in a safe manner and that the combination of target and backstop
is capable of stopping any arrow shot from the bow(s) being used and that
the height and width of the backstop are no less than three feet each for
a range of 10 yards plus one foot for each additional 10 yards or part thereof.
(3)
Private noncommercial ranges for spring-, air-, gas-
or elastic-powered weapons shall not require approval if they are constructed
and operated entirely indoors on premises owned or leased by the operator.
B.
The Chief of Police shall have the authority to issue
temporary permits to exempt shows, exhibitions, demonstrations, instructions,
shooting galleries operated for charity as part of a bazaar or carnival and
other such shooting activities from the provisions of this chapter.
A.
A violation of this chapter and/or any of the regulations
herein contained is hereby declared a violation and shall be punishable by
a fine not exceeding $250 and by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.[1]
B.
Any weapon or ammunition involved in any violations of
this chapter and/or any of the regulations herein contained may be seized
without warrant as evidence, and upon the conviction for said violation all
seized articles shall become the property of the Town of Rotterdam.
