Planning commission backs conditional use permit for driving range at 1905 Country Ridge Road

The Rolla Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council approve a conditional use permit to allow an agricultural-business golf driving range at 1905 Country Ridge Road, subject to conditions that include a three-year review, a pre-opening inspection by the community development director, a prohibition on outdoor lighting, limits on expansion to the existing 10 tee boxes, and a requirement that the applicant construct and maintain a 26-foot gravel access road built to International Fire Code Appendix D standards.

The proposal would allow a 10-stall concrete tee pad and a driving range of roughly 800–900 feet (about 233–266 yards) on a large parcel south of Highway 72 and adjacent to the planned Highlands/McBride subdivision. Tom, community development staff, told the commission the range’s shortest length is about 800 feet and that “the applicant is saying that that tree line should be good for if somebody did hit it exceptionally far or something like that, shouldn’t leave the property.”

Tom summarized the recommended conditions in the staff report and explained the rationale: the permit would be temporary subject to a three-year expiration unless extended, the site must be inspected by the community development director before opening to verify compliance, the use…