ROGERS -- They may be residents of Rogers now, but they still want to shoot guns at their homes.
The City Council is set to consider tonight whether to allow residents in an annexed area to continue to discharge guns without violating the law.
Ben Cline, a spokesman for the city, said the need for the ordinance change was realized during a special election this fall to annex land to the west.
"People that lived in the areas to be annexed expressed the need to use firearms to protect livestock and maintain a lifestyle they had moved into the county to achieve," he said.
Cline said those who were shooting safely and legally before the election want to continue to do so after the annexation.
The ordinance amendment applies to all lands brought into the city limits by special election, Cline said. All state and federal laws regarding firearms still apply, he said.
Voters in mid-November narrowly approved annexing land on its western border into Rogers.
Cline said the grandfather provision will remain in effect until the land is rezoned, changes ownership, subdivided or otherwise resized.
"Our legal department worked closely with Rogers police to create this legislation," he said. "As growth occurs in Rogers, it is important to have laws that reflect our growing city."
Cline said city officials will work to address the issue when a law is found to be detrimental to residents.
"This ordinance allows folks to maintain their way of life and allows the city to plan for the future while allowing development to occur naturally," Cline said.
The City Council meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. today in council chambers at Rogers City Hall. The ordinance will first be discussed by the council's public safety committee, which meets at 5:45 p.m. today at city hall.
NW News on 01/23/2018