Council approves conditional-use permit for home-based gunsmithing business with limits and monitoring

The Brookings City Council on June 17 approved a conditional-use permit allowing a gunsmithing business to operate as a major home occupation at a residence in the city, with conditions meant to limit on-site activity and require periodic verification of federal and state licensing.

The permit, related to Havoc Engineering and its owner Tyler Bridal, passed after council members discussed public-safety and zoning concerns and after the planning commission recommended approval with three conditions: the conditional use is valid to the applicant only and nontransferable; no build classes are allowed on-site; and the applicant must submit proof of all relevant state and federal licensing to the community development department every three years.

Mike Struck, the city's community development director, told the council the request came through with a unanimous planning commission recommendation and said the rezoning/conditional-use request fits the future land-use plan and the council's strategic plan for economic growth. "This does come to you with a unanimous recommendation from the planning commission," Struck said during the presentation.

Applicant Tyler Bridal described the business as a small operation and said much of the instructional work he previously offered takes place elsewhere. "Predominantly, I have a 9 to 5. This is a side thing for me that I just do nights and weekends," Bridal said, adding that much of his work is product-development consulting and government contracting. He said only a small number of build classes have been held recently.

Bridal told council members that serialized firearm components are signed for when delivered and that non-serialized parts are held in a coded lockbox; he also said he maintains a steel-coated lockbox on-site and a private surveillance system. He said larger manufacturing and coating work are performed out of state. "Everything is manufactured off-site in Illinois and Minnesota," he said, and offered to accept an added condition prohibiting industrial-level machining or coating on-site if the council wanted.

Council members sought clarification on how sales, parts deliveries, ammunition and classes would be handled. The applicant said sales occur at licensed Federal Firearms License (FFL) locations; he described arrangements in which serialized receivers are transferred through licensed dealers where the required background checks and paperwork occur. He also said ammunition on-site would be for personal use only and that manufacturing or resale of ammunition would require a separate ATF license and an additional application process.

Council members discussed the location of the residence relative to nearby schools and the limits that zoning places on home occupations. As Mike Struck explained, major home occupations in the city's code restrict external employees and scale: "With a major home occupation, you can't have any more than one person outside of the home employed in the business," he said, noting that the code gives the council authority to add reasonable conditions.

In the council roll call, the permit passed 4-2: Specker, Doran, Mayor Kei Garrett Niemeyer and Hager voted yes; Tiltonburn and Avery voted no.

The approved conditions and the planning commission's unanimous support were the substantive constraints on the operation; the council also noted the ATF's licensing and monitoring role and that the applicant must provide licensing documentation to the city every three years.

The council meeting record shows no additional city-level enforcement actions beyond the conditional-use requirements; any future change in the business model (for example, seeking an ammunition-manufacturing license) would require updated filings with the ATF and notification to the city under the permit's licensing-verification condition.

Ending: The conditional-use permit enables Bridal to continue operating from his residence under the stated limits; the council's approval includes written conditions it will use to monitor compliance, and the planning department will receive periodic licensing documentation as required.