West Boylston Vs. Wayne's Weaponry (It NEVER ends!)

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DJPaul

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Hi all,

I know there are a few threads here about Wayne's in West Boylston, but I'm here to give an update.

I spoke with Wayne's wife today, and she told me that they're having another fund raiser on October 1 at 2 PM at the Shrewsbury Sportsman's Club. (304 Boylston St. Shrewsbury.)

The "Concerned Citizens of West Boylston" (CCWB) are dragging Wayne back to court in November, and his legal fees are piling up.

Tickets for this event at $15 for adults, and $8 for kids, and can be purchased at his shop in West Boylston, or by calling (508) 835-3690.

Wayne has been a great friend to me and my family over the years. Posting this info is the least I can do for him.

If GOAL can get 5,000 to show up at the State House on a week's notice, let's see if we can help Wayne by getting $5,000+ to help him finally end this.

Paul
 
vicorjh said:
Can you give us a synopsis of the issue?
Click to expand...

Short version:

Wayne's family has been shooting on their property in West Boylston for more than half a century. This property was a sand pit once upon a time ago and is quite remote with more than ample setbacks from any other properties.

Wayne worked for the public works of West Boylston for many years.

Wayne opened a small gun shop on a separate building on his otherwise residential property as a hobby turned passion.

Wayne allows friends and family to use his range area, even if they have not purchased from his store.

New people moved into the neighborhood and new homes were built.

Some of these people are about as Anti-gun as you can get.

They have tried multiple times to get the Building inspector and Zoning board for West Boylston to revoke Wayne's right to shoot on his property.

The neighbors lost at the Zoning Board meeting.

Some from this group now continue to press lawsuits against Wayne.

Wayne is one of the good guys and deserves our support.
 
If Wayne meets all the guidelines such as more than 500' from the nearest house and more than 150' from a public road, what can they sue him for - noise?
 
Darksideblues42 said:
Short version:

New people moved into the neighborhood and new homes were built.

They have tried multiple times to get the Building inspector and Zoning board for West Boylston to revoke Wayne's right to shoot on his property.

The neighbors lost at the Zoning Board meeting.

Some from this group now continue to press lawsuits against Wayne.
Click to expand...


JWPaolilliJr said:
Do some research on that, Some where in the past it was mentioned on this site, that it doesn't apply to a range.
Click to expand...


Wayne apparently meets all the zoning guidelines because post #3 states that the zoning board lost when trying to close his range in addition to the building inspector not being able to close his range. It appears then that any further lawsuits are just frivolous that is costing him a lot of money to defend. I know that attempts have been made to close shooting clubs down, but since the clubs were in existence prior to the homes being built, that hasn't worked either for the new homeowners.
 
This is why the drag strips in the country have dropped. People move in close to them because it's cheap property, knowing they're moving in next to a drag strip. Then they complain and get restrictions on the strip and eventually getting it shut down.
 
It looks like he's got a decent amount of land. I can't imagine that more than like 20 houses are even within earshot of his shooting.

wayne.jpg



Compare that to Mass Rifle in Woburn - surrounded by businesses and homes. My friend lives on Dewey and says that yeah, once in a while he'll hear quiet shots in the distance if he's outside; not nearly loud enough to bother him.

massrifle.jpg
 
Glockster30 said:
Wayne apparently meets all the zoning guidelines because post #3 states that the zoning board lost when trying to close his range in addition to the building inspector not being able to close his range. It appears then that any further lawsuits are just frivolous that is costing him a lot of money to defend. I know that attempts have been made to close shooting clubs down, but since the clubs were in existence prior to the homes being built, that hasn't worked either for the new homeowners.
Click to expand...

To be accurate, neither the Zoning board or the Inspector "lost". The officials of West Boylston were compelled to investigate and hold hearings.

The group opposed to Wayne's continual operation of his private shooting range lost and the leader of this group is retired and simply has no qualms about spending all of his time and considerable money to fight Wayne tooth and nail at every turn until he gets his way.
 
I lived in West Boylston for about 10 years. I had a friend that lived no more than a mile from his range and you could only hear soft echoes in the distance if anyone happened to be shooting, which certainly wasn't all the time. It definitely was not obnoxious. This sounds to me like paranoid yuppy anti-gunners just wanting to get their way. Wayne is a good man and a genuinely nice guy. His range was the first one I went to when I began shooting at 18. I'll try to be at the fund raiser but can't promise. Is there any way to donate?
 
Without knowing and reviewing the facts and details, the use is pre-existing non-conforming. Therefore the town can't stop the use per any zoning ordinance.

The abutter is most likely suing based on it being "private nuisance" and claiming it is interfering with the use and enjoyment of their property.

IANAL


Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 
It seems like he should be suing these people vs having to defend himself. Can't he sue them for harassment or interference on his business or personal life?
 
Vicorjh,

DarksideBlues hit the nail on the head.

He's been dealing with this garbage for a while. These are the same people that have the, "I just bought a home near an airport, but I'm going to complain about the sound of the aircraft" attitude.

If you're on Facebook, please look up IStandWithWayneBenefit, and you'll get all the details.

- - - Updated - - -

Joey,
A lot of us feel that way, but he's got his hands full with this, and he's trying to raise funds to help pay for the lawyer.

I'm sure he's already asked his lawyer about going after them. Not sure if it would hold water.

- - - Updated - - -

It is.
 
Thank you, Mike.

Wayne has been a great friend over the years, and I'd stand up and help any of you if you were going through the same.
(Unless you messed with my steak. That's where I draw the line.)

- - - Updated - - -

Glockster30 said:
If Wayne meets all the guidelines such as more than 500' from the nearest house and more than 150' from a public road, what can they sue him for - noise?
Click to expand...

Noise complaint and trying to tie the range directly to his business.
Stating that he's making money from the range. (He's not.)
 
JoeyD said:
It seems like he should be suing these people vs having to defend himself. Can't he sue them for harassment or interference on his business or personal life?
Click to expand...
His lawyer can file a motion for dismissal as a nuisance lawsuit. If successful he would have his legal fees reimbursed. I have ot assume that after all this time he has to have contacted a knowledgeable lawyer. GOAL can recommend one in his area.


.
 
The CCWB haven't been paying attention. They are going about it the wrong way if they want to close Wayne's range down.

There's a playbook they need to follow to be successful.

I'll not post how they can get a relatively easy win, because they could be reading. but they need not look much further than a few towns over and the map posted above
 
Last edited:
Glockster30 said:
If Wayne meets all the guidelines such as more than 500' from the nearest house and more than 150' from a public road, what can they sue him for - noise?
Click to expand...

There is always a way... They are attempting to rezone. Whether a person has a legitimate cause or not, does not mean they cannot harass or sue a person into submission.

A long time ago a family member worked for EDS which was run by Ross Perot. They would often violate the contracts they had with employees, and if an employee tried to leave for breech of contract, even though they had no cause and would lose, they would spend the 10s of thousands of dollars to sue the person over a course of years to set the example... "We may lose, but we will make your life hell"

Most people will accept the wrong to avoid the pain or prevailing when they are right.

We were fortunate and had a connected lawyer friend who did the work pro-bono. Only reason we got through it. For most people, they are not as lucky
 

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