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Residents press Randolph County commissioners to amend UDO after noise and growth at Fuller Mill gun range
Summary
Multiple residents told commissioners that the existing Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and state statute limit options to address noise from a long‑established gun range; speakers urged the board to revise zoning rules so ranges can be conforming and better regulated.
Several residents used public comment time to press the Randolph County Board of Commissioners to revise the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) after longstanding noise complaints and recent expansion at the Fuller Mill Road shooting range.
Jonathan Burris, pastor at Sophia Baptist Church, addressed a separate library issue during public comment, while other speakers focused on the shooting range. Isaac (spelled Isaac Hoffman in the transcript) and Amy Wang detailed how the range, established in 2001, grew from a small, four‑lane facility to a club with hundreds of members and covered shooting lanes. They cited North Carolina statute 14‑409.46 (sports shooting range protection), which they said limits nuisance claims against owners and prevents state courts from enjoining range operations on noise grounds when the range complied with local rules at the time it opened.
Speakers said the county’s 2021 UDO amendments effectively restricted new gun ranges to heavy industrial (HI) zoning, and that only about 212.73 acres in the county are zoned HI — less land than the single parcel occupied by the existing range. They argued this made it nearly impossible for new or expanding ranges to become conforming uses, and asked the board to modify the UDO so existing ranges could expand, improve and come into compliance without relocating.
Fritz Wang and other residents offered a proposed UDO revision that would allow gun ranges in HI, HC (heavy commercial), LI (light industrial) and RA (residential agricultural) zones, with noise limits at property lines for HC, LI and RA. They said the proposed change would ease costs for range owners, allow improvements that reduce noise and create a framework to balance the interests of neighbors and shooting enthusiasts.
Speakers also said the county’s sheriff and legal options are limited under the cited state statute, and urged the board to consider zoning changes rather than relying on enforcement action.
No formal action was taken on this topic at the meeting; staff noted the issue and the speakers handed copies of proposed UDO edits to commissioners for the board’s consideration in future meetings.
