Charlotte County homeowners protest Sheriff's Office gun range noise

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Connie Wendt was ready to trade the bone-chilling cold of central Minnesota for a hot tub and deck chairs on the back porch of her Charlotte County home.

Then, the gunshots started.

"This was supposed to be our sanctuary back here with all the nice trees and it was quiet," Wendt told FOX 4. "We woke up to a warzone the next day."

Wendt says her realtor never disclosed her backyard neighbors. The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office firing range sit just beyond her treeline.

Deputies fire hundreds of rounds throughout the day, Wendt said, shattering the calm of an otherwise peaceful neighborhood. Other neighbors told FOX 4 off camera the firing range is a major headache.

At times, the gunshots can be more than 100 dB loud, Wendt said. She provided FOX 4 with screenshots from the Decibel X sound level app that appear to show gunshots peak at 113 dB.

The Sheriff's Office conducted live-fire noise testing in April 2024, according to county commission documents. The testing measured sound levels during handgun and rifle training at the range on Airport Road.

Sound meters along the subdivision boundary measured average readings of about 77 decibels. County staff says that is comparable to heavy traffic and within accepted health and safety limits for short-duration noise exposure.

The dispute entered a new phase on Tuesday as Charlotte County Commissioners discussed how to balance the concerns of homeowners with the Sheriff's Office responsibility to train deputies.

"The bottom line is now, we have an issue," said Commissioner Joe Tiseo. "And we can sit here [and say our arms are tied] but we have taxpayers and homeowners that live next to a range, for whatever reason."

"Again, I don't want to point fingers," Tiseo said. "To me, it's about managing the use now."

After a lengthy debate, commissioners directed county staff to draft a request for proposal to hire an outside engineering consultant to determine if the range can be enclosed. Commissioner Bill Truex said that could ultimately cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Not as simple as just adding a metal building around it," Charlotte County Facilities Manager Travis Perdue told commissioners. "You're taking an outdoor system, you know, semi-structured outdoor system and making it an indoor system."

"We would want the professionals to come in and explain how we would do that," Perdue said.

Commissioners pointed out the firing range, built in the 1970's, outdated the Waterford Estates neighborhood next door, developed in the mid-2000's.

But commissioners also acknowledged the sheriff's office trained deputies at other locations as a legal dispute dragged out renovations to the facility several years ago.

This is not the first time commissioners discussed noise complaints at the firing range. The county previously explored other options, Perdue said, including a sound wall and natural buffering.

Natural buffering requires between 30 feet and 60 feet of dense vegetation to achieve a 3 dB to 5 dB reduction in noise, staff said. But the firing range only has 6 feet of available space.

A sound wall that is 10 feet high and 800 feet long could provide between 5 dB and 10 dB in reduction, staff said. That would cost $500,000, according to the county.

Commissioner Joe Tiseo and Commissioner Christopher Constance suggested a compromise. They asked the sheriff's office if it was possible for deputies to fire long guns at a different location.

"Moving the long guns to a different location would take care of about 80% of the problem," Wendt said. "You know the pistols, I played you a recording, are still loud. But it's not intolerable."

Sheriff's Office Executive Director Andres Rodriguez acknowledged that deputies used other locations during the firing range renovation, including a Sarasota County facility and Boy Scouts of America property. But, he said times have changed.

Now, every deputy in the department carries a long gun, Rodriguez said. Other facilities don't have enough space to handle the sheriff's office more than 500 deputies, Rodriguez said.

Commissioner Christopher Constance said he doesn't want deputies to drive far away for training. But he asked Rodriguez if the Sheriff's Office had inquired about all nearby options, including in DeSoto County. Rodriguez said the Sheriff's Office had not.

Rodriguez said Sheriff Bill Prummell wants to be a good neighbor and has tried to accommodate nearby homeowners.

"We've done our best to adjust our time 'cause we understand that we don't want to impact the lives of our citizens that live next door," Rodriguez said. "We've adjusted our time like many of you have said here. We don't do training at ten o'clock at night," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the sheriff's office posts on it's website when deputies plan to use the range.

Wendt emphasized that she is pro-law enforcement, along with many of her neighbors. She just wants a solution.

"Some consideration should have been taken for this neighborhood," Wendt said.