SULTAN — A controversial shooting range might wind up in the line of fire on Wednesday.

The Snohomish County Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing to discuss turning an east county gravel pit into a no-shooting area at the request of neighbors.

If the pit is closed, the council may solve one problem as it creates another.

“When we try to shut everything down, folks just move to another location,” County Councilman Dave Somers said. “The ultimate answer is to have a facility that’s safe and open to the public.”

A new shooting area may not open soon, however, leaving shooters wondering where they should go.

The pit, located at the end of 116th Street SE off of Sultan Basin Road, didn’t always draw complaints.

It sat fairly idle until last year, when the state Department of Natural Resources started directing target shooters to the spot instead of the Reiter Foothills. The foothills are temporarily closed to the public.

Word spread, and a steady flow of gun owners began coming to the pit. Many behaved themselves, peppering paper targets with holes before carrying out garbage.

Some didn’t, leaving behind empty beer cans and spent shells.

No one can recall an injury at the pit, but residents living within a mile complain of constant noise. They hear gunfire after nightfall, when it’s illegal to shoot. Occasionally, they hear explosions.

“It has been completely out of control,” Chuck Miller, 82, said.

Residents living near the pit gathered 32 signatures on a petition last fall, causing the county to consider closing the spot. They want their quiet mountain setting back.

“All of a sudden, that’s been taken away from us,” Leita Ingalls, 67, said.

Officials with the Department of Natural Resources now agree with the residents, saying the pit should be closed to shooting. They cite growing safety concerns.

“The likelihood of a round going down range, landing in someone’s front driveway or house — we just can’t take that chance,” said Larry Raedel, law enforcement chief for Natural Resources.

People who frequent the pit don’t want to lose it, however. They say the pit, surrounded by a forested wall of earth, is ideal for shooting.

A light afternoon rain didn’t keep Mike Levin from the pit last Wednesday. After an hour of shooting at paper targets, the 67-year-old Marysville resident picked up his trash and packed away his .308 target rifle.

Without the pit, gun owners will go elsewhere, he said. Some may wind up in places where it’s illegal to shoot.

“My challenge to the government is this: If you’re going to close this, open something else first, instead of it just always being one less, one less, one less,” he said.

Levin’s challenge will fall flat. The county is trying to open a new gun range, but the process could take years.

The county may eventually build a gun range on a 186-acre spot farther up Sultan Basin Road. That range is in its infancy, however, and could take years to develop.

Meanwhile, the county could close the gravel pit within weeks.

“I really think there needs to be a place,” Somers said, “but the gravel pit is not a safe location.”

Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com.

Council meeting

The Snohomish County Council will hold a public hearing on creating a no-shooting area at a gravel pit outside Sultan. The hearing is at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Henry M. Jackson Board Room, eighth floor, Robert J. Drewel Building, 3000 Rockefeller, Everett.

More info: 425-388-3494 or contact.council@co.snohomish.wa.us.