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Tift County staff propose zoning amendment to allow indoor shooting ranges in industrial districts
Summary
County staff presented a draft amendment to the Unified Land Development Code to allow indoor shooting ranges in Wholesale Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial zones with supplemental standards; the planning commission unanimously recommended approval and the proposal is scheduled for the regular meeting for formal action.
County staff on Tuesday presented a draft amendment to the Tift County Unified Land Development Code (TCTA26-01) that would permit indoor shooting ranges in Wholesale Light Industrial (WLI) and Heavy Industrial (HI) zoning districts, adding supplemental development standards for such facilities.
An unidentified staff member said the draft would renumber existing sections to add indoor shooting ranges, require shielding to avoid impacts on adjacent properties, require compliance with federal and state laws and standards, and direct that noise meet the county's code of ordinances. "This will be permissible within the zoning districts of WLI and HI," the staff member said during the workshop presentation. The staff member also told the board the planning commission heard the matter Jan. 8 and "voted unanimously to recommend approval."
Supporters and other speakers described typical mitigation used at modern indoor ranges. One attendee who said he had worked in an indoor shooting range in college said construction and sound-abatement measures usually make nearby noise and operations hard to detect from outside: "I wouldn't see any really issue with having anywhere," he said. Staff noted the draft references lead-disposal and air-quality requirements handled by federal and state authorities; those environmental and public-health rules remain under nonlocal agencies' purview, staff added.
The workshop discussion included questions about hours of operation and details of the proposed supplemental standards. The transcript's rendering of the draft's hours language was unclear; staff described hours and noise guidelines as part of the draft ordinance text to be finalized for formal action. No formal vote was taken at the workshop; the item was placed on the regular meeting agenda for the board to consider.
What happens next: The proposed amendment will appear on the county's regular meeting agenda for formal consideration and any required public hearing or vote by the board.
