CAPE ELIZABETH – The 60-year-old Spurwink Rod & Gun Club in Cape Elizabeth has until July 10 to register as required by the town’s first-ever shooting range ordinance, which was adopted by the Town Council in March.

The gun club, which is located at 1250 Sawyer Road, abuts the Cross Hill housing development and has been the focus of safety and noise complaints since the mid-1990s. Residents of the subdivision have argued that public safety is their No. 1 consideration regarding the club’s continued operation.

On July 10, the club must submit a site plan that shows property lines, a complete layout of the facility and location of occupied dwellings within a half-mile of the range. The gun club must also comply with 100-percent shot containment, post warning signs at 100-foot intervals along the entire perimeter of the shooting range, and noise levels must not exceed 65 decibels at the club’s property line if a home is within 1,000 feet.

The new ordinance also requires gun clubs to meet or exceed minimum design standards specified by the National Rifle Association Range Source Book. In addition, new shooting ranges must complete an annual permitting process and can only operate with a valid license issued by the municipal officers.

Town Council chairwoman Jessica Sullivan, who served on the ordinance committee, said the town has left it up to the club and neighbors to work out their differences, citing state laws that exempt noise regulation at existing shooting ranges. However, the ordinance is intended to regulate new shooting ranges and expanded uses at existing ranges, Sullivan said.

The ordinance also requires the gun club to have a liability insurance policy of at least $3 million, which the club’s president Tammy Walter has said would put “a financial burden” on the club that has been trying to complete renovations and upgrades.

At the first firing range committee meeting on June 16, gun club representative Don Mailman provided details on the steps the club has taken to comply with the new rules. He explained that the club was awaiting grant funding to be able to install a berm, and build up existing walls to prevent any stray bullets.

The gun club still must complete an application at a later date.

According to the firing range committee’s chairman, James Wagner, regarding the process, “there is some confusion about the application deadline, which is distinct from the first deadline on July 10.” According to Wagner, the ordinance cites conflicting deadlines for submitting a license application – 180 days, or a year from when the ordinance took effect.

As part of the license application, the club is also required to complete a mandatory range safety evaluation. The initial registration deadline of July 10 comes 90 days after the Town Council adopted the shooting range ordinance, which regulates the operation and development of outdoor shooting facilities – both new and existing – in town.

“There is some flexibility,” Wagner said. “The ordinance is designed to apply differently to new gun clubs applying as opposed to existing gun clubs.”

While “no one is knocking at the door to be a new gun club in town, the ordinance was drafted to be even-handed,” Wagner said, “so that if someone did apply they would know how to do it, and it allows existing gun clubs more time, if necessary, to come into full compliance.”

Sullivan said the ordinance gives the gun club “up to one year” to submit the application, which may include a specific phasing plan.

“We discussed the possibility of a phased completion time,” Sullivan said. She said the language was added to the ordinance “in case they needed more time to implement some of the requirements and so they could do it in steps.”

As part of the registration process, the club must submit a site plan on July 10 and make “reasonable efforts” to meet shot containment and noise mitigation requirements in the new ordinance, a well as install warning signs, Wagner said.

“They have to present something to the town showing compliance with these early registration requirements,” he said.

“The ordinance requires that all shots be contained, which means zero escape of bullets,” Wagner said. A few years ago, he said, a resident reported to police that she found a stray bullet lodged in the side of her home next to their child’s bedroom window.

“We’ve tried to craft an ordinance that addressed the concerns of the Cross Hill people and to be mindful of the gun club and its current protection under state law,” Sullivan said. “This also would help prevent a hardship upon the gun club by meeting these new requirements.”

If the gun club does not comply by July 10, Wagner said, the ordinance “leaves enforcement to the police department. If the firing range committee finds that they have not complied with the requirements we would turn it over to the police,” Wagner said. “It’s not specified in the ordinance, whether it means they would close them down, but I guess that would be within the police’s authority.”

Wagner said the committee members are still creating a gun club registration form. The firing range committee is scheduled to meet July 16 at 4 p.m. at the police station to review the gun club’s registration form and site plan.

Walter said at first she was concerned about the time constraint the gun club had in meeting the July 10 deadline, because there was confusion about when the application was due. By Tuesday, that was no longer the case.

“This is so confusing, it’s very vague,” said Walter, of the registration process. Walter said she thought the license application was originally due on July 10, and just a few days ago, the town had not provided one.

“They told me I didn’t need it right away,” Walter said.

She said she is feeling more confident about meeting the registration deadline, “now that I know we have time. We won’t have a problem meeting the deadline,” she said.

Walter said, as of Tuesday, the site plan was complete and ready to turn in on July 10.

“Everyone is trying to iron everything out,” Walter said. Despite the confusing and vague language in the ordinance, Walter said, “at the end of the day, we’re all concerned about one thing – and that’s safety.”