Residents urge council to mitigate noise, lack of notice from new shooting range; council says it will explore options

At the Jan. 28 Orange Beach City Council meeting residents said a new shooting range and police training facility near the city limits has produced disruptive noise and that neighbors were not adequately notified during planning or construction.

David Stewart, who gave his address as 23190 Russian Road, told the council the facility produces sudden, loud noise and said the community was not informed. "You wake up to World War 3," Stewart said, describing the unexpected disturbance. He said the noise affects his bedridden wife and that he believed the presence of the range had reduced his property's market value.

Tosh (Josh) Peters, identified in the meeting as a nearby neighbor, invited the council to "come out the next time y'all have the shooting" so members could hear the noise firsthand and said heavy site work is worsening adjacent dirt roads.

Council members responded with empathy and said they were open to mitigation measures. One council member said, "We addressed that immediately," referring to changes in operating hours after earlier complaints. Council members suggested possible mitigation such as additional vegetative buffering or berms and said the city would continue to look at options that respect both the facility's operational needs and the concerns of nearby residents.

City staff and council also noted that pavement and sewer commitments tied to the project may move forward and could reduce road dust complaints; staff said the city has incurred extra costs and made commitments related to sewer to support the area’s infrastructure.

The public comments portion of the meeting was the forum for these remarks; no formal city policy change or regulatory action was taken at the Jan. 28 meeting. Council members asked staff to continue evaluating mitigation measures and to communicate with affected residents.