The Spurwink Rod & Gun Club in Cape Elizabeth is operating safely under state and local laws and should be licensed by the town, according to a committee established last year to oversee the town’s only shooting range.

The Firing Range Committee issued its findings and recommendations in advance of an independent safety evaluation of the outdoor range.

The committee found that the club at 1250 Sawyer Road has met requirements in the town’s shooting range ordinance to ensure that bullets stay within the boundaries of the 18-acre property. It also found that the club has adequate security to control who uses the shooting range.

“When the range is used as intended, it would appear to have 100 percent shot containment,” the committee found.

The committee also determined that the town cannot restrict noise at the 61-year-old club because state law prohibits municipalities from enacting noise ordinances against existing shooting ranges.

The Town Council is expected to hold a public hearing on the club’s license application and the committee’s findings and recommendations in early August or September, said Town Manager Mike McGovern.

The council passed the shooting range ordinance in March 2014 in response to safety and noise concerns of residents who live near the club. It then formed the Firing Range Committee, including representatives of the club and its neighbors, to oversee the review and licensing of the facility.

The club was established in a gully off outer Sawyer Road in 1954, when the nearest neighbors of the shooting range were sprawling farms.

The Cross Hill neighborhood of $500,000 to $800,000 homes grew up around the club in the last decade, though other neighbors have complained about noise over the last 30 years.

More recently, some Cross Hill residents pushed town officials to address mounting complaints, including claims that some houses have been hit by stray bullets.

While the committee found that state law blocks the town from imposing noise restrictions on the club, the panel has recommended that the council consider changing the weekend hours of operation allowed in the shooting range ordinance.

“Some committee members wanted to make the hours more restrictive to cut down on the noise,” said Councilor Caitlin Jordan, committee chairwoman. “From my perspective (as a lawyer), I don’t see it being possible.”

The ordinance allows shooting ranges to operate from 8 a.m. to a half hour before sunset Monday through Saturday and from noon to a half hour before sunset on Sunday.

The council agreed last year to hire a qualified, independent evaluator to help the committee assess the safety of the firing range. An evaluator visited the club in May but has yet to issue a report, Jordan said.

The committee recommended the council ask the independent safety evaluator to specifically assess the club’s plans to enhance shot containment and determine whether they meet National Rifle Association standards.

The committee also recommended that the council reconsider the amount of liability insurance required under the shooting range ordinance, which is $3 million. Jordan said it’s more than required for shooting ranges in other towns.