Lyon County commissioners voted unanimously this morning against rezoning land at 1151 Road 170 for a shooting range.
Roger Proehl, a member of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department, had planned to use the range for his business, which is training people on the new concealed-carry law. But while the county commission applauded Proehl for wanting to train safe shooters, they also said the business would be better located somewhere else.
“I understand the importance of gun safety,” said Commissioner Bob Davis, who has trained others in hunter safety. “But I’ve got to agree with the planning board ... it is not in the right location. But his intention, his idea is excellent.”
Commissioner Myron Van Gundy said that safety and the interests of the neighboring landowners had to be considered.
“That is a highly concentrated residential area and has been for years,” Van Gundy said. “I’m opposed to it.”
More than 30 people showed up for November’s Lyon County Planning and Appeals board meeting to speak regarding the application. During that meeting, Proehl also said he might consider allowing controlled shooting for beginner shooters and advanced shooting. Proehl said the range would not be used as a public shooting range and shooters would not be unsupervised.
Four valid protest petitions were submitted against the application. That meant it would have taken a unanimous vote from commissioners to approve the shooting range.
Lyon County Zoning Administrator and Flood Plain Manager Steve Samuelson also said that a second “concealed carry” business has begun advertising in the Shopper, meaning Proehl’s is no longer the only choice for training.
Several people commented on the application at Wednesday’s study session and today’s meeting. One person spoke in favor of the application Wednesday, saying that Proehl was trying to create a legal place to shoot and that the additional safety measures such as berms that Proehl was taking were more than ample.
Three people spoke against the application. Joy Brooks, a nearby resident said she has no doubt that Proehl will be careful with the shooting range. Brooks’ concern was the fact that when the land is zoned for a shooting range, the zoning stays with the property, not the owner.
“You’re zoning it permanently to be that way,” Brooks said. “It’s zoned for whoever he sells it to.”
Nina West, another nearby resident, said she is concerned for the neighborhood. Rezoning of agricultural land is supposed to be done for necessities, she said this morning.
“I don’t believe firing a gun is a necessity,” she said.
Chairman Marshall Miller praised Proehl for the work he had put into this proposal.
“I think this can be transferred to a better location than this,” Miller said.
In other action during today’s meeting, commissioners voted to:
F Rezone 1910 Road 175 for heavy industrial use. The site is owned by APAC-Kansas Shears Division which has been at the location for 30 years and always applied for temporary zoning. This decision makes the zoning permanent.
F Rezone 3457 Road U in Reading for a radio transmitting tower, at the request of Howard Gunkel and US Cellular.
F Transfer of $4,500 from special law enforcement fund to court services to support drug court services.
F Spend up to $2,500 from diversion funds to buy the following items for use by the Kansas Highway Patrol: flatscreen TV-DVD-VCR combo; 4-head VCR; two Sony Cybershot digital cameras with memory cards and cases; fiber optic scope.