Dear Windover Neighbors,
Our property values are being impacted by the loud raucous noise generated by a few businesses located near our community, including Knights Armament gun plant. The noise these companies generate is excessive and a nuisance that is impacting our community and preventing us from reasonably using and enjoying our property. According to the Florida Association of Realtors, Public Policy Office if we want or need to sell our property we have to disclose the presence of a noise nuisance! This absolutely detracts from our properties value. A full detailed description and history of what has been going on since 2006 is included at the bottom of this email.
What We Want
· To find a cost-effective noise abatement solution that can be put in place to eliminate the noise issue. We have already, with our own money, retained an Acoustic Engineer to assist in creating a solution – but to date Knight’s Armament will not meet with us or even return our calls.
What Can We Do About It
1. We all need to start making some noise of our own RIGHT NOW. The time has come for us to do something about this nuisance noise impacting our property values! The first step is the pending rezoning request for Knights Enterprises gun plant.
Attend the rezoning meeting:
WHAT: Knights Enterprises Rezoning for .50 Caliber Gun Range
WHEN: Monday July 11, 2011 at 3pm (Zoning Board) or
Thursday August 4, 2011 at 5pm (Board of County Commissioners - *Critical*)
WHERE: County Commission Chamber, Viera.
2. Take 5 minutes to email all the County Commissioners the letter below “as is” or customize it, or create your own describing how the gun fire has impacted your enjoyment of your home and property and your property value.
County Commissioner email:
3. Sign on to our neighborhood letter. We will be collecting signatures on a community letter/petition asking for an independent noise study, followed by identification and implementation of reasonable noise abatement. We will be out walking the neighborhood streets in the blast zone– Bobcat, Turkey Point, Canal Ridge, Ridge Court, South Fork, and Sleepy Hollow this weekend getting signatures.
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SAMPLE LETTER TO COUNTY COMMISSION (cut and paste or edit)
Dear Commissioner,
Please consider these comments regarding the proposed rezoning for Knights Enterprises Z1107102 being considered by the P&Z on July 11th and the Board of County Commissioners on August 4th. As a property owner in Windover Farms of Titusville, I object to the issuance of an new CUP or use of an existing CUP for arsenals and explosives for Knight’s Enterprises to operate an outdoor test range for large caliber weapons without effective noise abatement. The frequent firing of .50 caliber semi-automatic weapons was never contemplated by Brevard County when the existing CUP was issued to McDonnell Douglas to occasionally detonate ordnance inside underground bunkers. These are two wholly different activities with different noise impacts on the surrounding Communities.
Currently Knight’s personnel operate up to .50 caliber weapons with absolutely no noise abatement in the open. The noise generated from Knight’s firing of heavy caliber semi-automatic weapons is excessively loud and is a nuisance impacting my enjoyment of my home and property. It can go on for as much as 4-5 hours a day multiple days a week including Saturdays. Furthermore, according to the Florida Association of Realtors, Public Policy Office, we now have to disclose these activities as a noise nuisance in the event we want or need to sell our homes and it negatively affects our property values..
I do not want to shut down Knight’s operation. I want our community to have the opportunity want to sit down in good faith and create a cost-effective noise abatement solution that eliminates the impact to our community. The affected communities have already raised $3,500 to retain an Acoustics Engineer to assist in the creation of a mutually acceptable solution. To date, three attempts to contact Mr. Knight have not been returned. These contact attempts have all occurred after the Knight’s public presentation where no meaningful two-way dialog was allowed.
We do not have any objections to the museum portion of this re-zoning request and suggest that it be separated from the arsenals and explosives portion, so long as no additional noise impacts will occur.
We also do not believe the applicant has provided sufficient information for the P&Z or Board of County Commissioners to responsibly act on this request, particularly with regards to the consideration of noise impacts as required by Sec. 62-1901(c) 2 Brevard County Code of Regulations. Knights did not provide the county any information in their zoning request that identifies where the firing range(s) will be, what size or type of weapons will be fired, the frequency of firing, how many guns will be fired simultaneously, or information relating to the specific outdoor activities that will occur with the museum
Please support the homeowners surrounding Knight Enterprise’s facility right to enjoy our homes and property without intrusion by nuisance noise and reject the requested rezoning for the CUP for arsenals and explosives until effective noise abatement solutions have been identified and become conditions of the re-zoning. The communities surrounding Knight’s Enterprises facility are ready, willing, and standing by to help solve this problem.
Sincerely,
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DETAILS – WHAT’S ALL THE NOISE ABOUT?
Over the past several years, our community has been negatively impacted from nuisance noise first from the Helicopter School operating out of TICO airport, and most recently the noise from semi-automatic gunfire from Knight Enterprises, gun manufacturing and testing facility.
If you live along SR 407, it is not news that the gunfire activity from Knights Enterprises is incredibly loud and annoying (I can hear it in my home with hurricane impact windows with the A/C on 1.5 miles away), at times making it impossible to enjoy your property.
What you may not know is that these activities are currently impacting our property values. According to the Florida Association of Realtors, Public Policy Office, we now have to disclose these activities as a noise nuisance in the event we want or need to sell our homes and it negatively affects our property values.
Windover residents, along with residents from the Meadow Ridge, and Riveredge Drive have lodged complaints about the noise from gunfire since 2006. Personally each time I called, Brevard County code enforcement staff told me that Knights was fully compliant with their zoning and there was nothing we could do – which as it turns out was NOT TRUE. Knights zoning use permit for ½ of their property (where they were operating the gun firing range closest to Windover Farms) actually always stipulated that “All Activities would be conducted indoors”. Apparently, the Code Enforcement staff never actually investigated what Knights zoning permit stated!! You may have noticed the gun fire has been quieter the last couple months, that’s only because they had to move due to their zoning violation further away from Windover closer to the airport.
Knights has to go for a zoning change request and get a CUP (conditional use permit for arsenals and explosives), how they will be allowed to continue to operate their outdoor gun range will be determined in the CUP so we have our ONLY opportunity to get some noise reduction measures in place and some conditions for operation of the firing range IF WE ACT NOW. Some residents have even put up their own money to get an Acoustic Engineer on retention and pay most if not all the cost of an independent noise study and identification of low cost effective noise reduction measures Knights can adopt.
Currently Knights does absolutely NOTHING to abate the noise from their gunfire. They fire right out in the open with no berms or noise control measures what so ever. This is not the norm for gun manufacturers, or gun ranges, particularly if they are substantially surrounded by residential neighborhoods, schools, and a publicly owned nature sanctuary. Their assertion that the trees abate the noise is ridiculous.
Knights has not provided any information to the County for their rezoning that identifies where the firing range will be, what size or type of weapons will be fired, the frequency of the firing, how many guns will be fired simultaneously, or submitted ANY Binding Development Plan (BDP). This is not the norm for zoning change requests.
We asked for a sit down meeting with Knights, to be moderated by Commissioner Fisher to discuss noise abatement, what we got was Knights lawyer dictated “pro Knights presentation for elected officials, with no interest in understanding how their business is impacting our neighborhoods. Mr. Knight made a big display at that presentation of telling us he was willing to meet and handing out business cards, but as of yet has not responded to three separate requests for a sit down meeting.
If we don’t get them to adopt some reasonable noise abatement measures (dirt berms for example) they will be right back operating closer to the Windover side of their property with the multiple detonations of automatic .50 caliber semi-automatic gun fire, which can go on from 7 am to 10 pm Monday – Saturday.
WHAT YOU CAN DO – * SIGN * SEND * ATTEND *
* Sign on to our community letter – We will be collecting signatures on a community letter asking for an independent noise study, followed by identification and implementation of reasonable noise abatement. If We will be out walking the neighborhood streets in the blast zone– Bobcat, Turkey Point, Canal Ridge, Ridge Court, South Fork, and Sleepy Hollow this weekend getting signatures.
* Send an email to the County Commissioners – See the points to include and contact links below.
* Attend the AUGUST 4 Commission meeting. We need to show the County Commission that we are serious about the impacts of noise on our Community. At the end of the day, the Commission needs to see community concern on the noise issue if we are to get any support. This is more important than the P&Z advisory meeting, so if you were only able to do one please do the AUG 4 meeting. It will be a short meeting with only a 3 items on the agenda.
Sandra Clinger
2680 Bobcat Trail
Titusville, FL 32780
