Madison County zoning commission hears hours-long public hearing on Vanguard gun club application

The Madison County Zoning Commission opened a public hearing March 19 on an application from the Vanguard development team to build a membership gun club and multi-range shooting complex on about 128.8 acres in Union Township. Zoning administrator Ryan Hobart told commissioners he recommends forwarding a denial to the Board of Supervisors, citing the county comprehensive plan, the facility’s event and retail components and an active bald eagle nest identified near the proposed long-range backstop.

The recommendation matters because the commission’s advice will guide a future decision by the Board of Supervisors. Hobart said the parcel is mapped in the county’s 2024 comprehensive plan as rural residential, primary agriculture and a river-protection corridor and that the application’s clubhouse, retail and event-hall elements look like commercial uses that may be inconsistent with that mapping. He also reported that, as of March 19, staff had received 28 emails in support and 413 letters or petitions opposing the project.

Applicants Keegan Gary and Gabe Lance presented the Vanguard as a law-enforcement and civilian training facility with indoor and outdoor ranges, a simulation ‘‘shoot house,’’ a clubhouse with classroom and retail space, a two-story elevated shooting tower and a long-range section they described as up to roughly 1,000 yards. "We're trying to make our community safer by delivering accessible, high-quality firearms training and education to both law enforcement and civilians," Keegan Gary said. Gabe Lance emphasized projected economic benefits from construction, events and competitions.

The applicants described several mitigation measures. They presented on-site decibel testing they said measured about 80 dB at a nearby reference point and showed conceptual berm and three‑sided bay designs oriented away from neighbors. Lance also described lead-reclamation plans using mobile equipment and said the team would coordinate an emergency-response plan with local services.

Supporters at the hearing — including competitive shooters, veterans and business owners — said the state lacks ranges at this scale and that local departments need training capacity. ‘‘A 1,000-yard range central to the Des Moines metro would bring in competitors and visitors,’’ said Noah Gaspar, a competitive shooter who identified himself during public comment.

Opponents — many of them nearby residents, farmers and agritourism operators — focused on noise, public safety, wildlife and economic harms. Karen Schultz, owner of Rusty Stars Alpacas, told the commission she is not anti‑gun but opposes rezoning the land from agriculture to commercial because impulse noise would harm livestock and agritourism operations. Other neighbors cited studies and personal experience they said show impulse noise can travel long distances, disrupt livestock productivity and reduce property values.

Agency and technical concerns were also raised. A representative of the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District urged more detailed mapping and raised the risk that berm disturbance and lead reclamation near a river corridor could affect water quality and wildlife corridors. Hobart said he had received an email from an Iowa DNR staff member identifying an active bald eagle nest close to the proposed 1,000‑yard backstop and provided US Fish and Wildlife guidance on eagle protections.

Commissioners asked applicants questions about access, traffic on the existing dead-end county road, the zoning implications of combining a gun club with retail and event space, how the 1,000‑yard element would be sited, and enforcement of mitigation (including whether suppressors or other equipment could change noise outcomes). Multiple speakers — both supporters and opponents — asked for independent third‑party noise modeling and clarification about how the county would enforce operating conditions.

The hearing lasted more than two hours; the commission closed the public comment portion at 9:13 p.m. and moved to its internal discussion. No final recommendation on the application was recorded at the hearing; the commission will deliberate and then forward a recommendation to the Madison County Board of Supervisors.

What’s next: the commission will consider the hearing record and staff materials, deliberate and prepare a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The record available to the board will include the applicant materials, the staff report recommending denial, public comment submitted in writing and at this hearing, and any additional studies or conditions the commission requests.