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Board approves gunsmith permit despite neighbor safety complaints; shooting range removed from application
Summary
Supervisors granted a conditional use permit for a gunsmithing business on a 5‑acre property after the applicant removed an on‑site test‑firing range from the application; neighbors expressed ongoing safety concerns about shooting activity on the site and were advised to work with staff and the sheriff if they observe unsafe shooting.
The Goochland County Board of Supervisors on July 2 approved a conditional use permit allowing a gunsmithing business on a 5‑acre Community House Road property, but the applicant removed an on‑site shooting range from the application before tonight’s hearing.
Jamie Sherry, director of community development, explained the applicant — who holds a federal firearms license — had originally proposed a test‑firing range but amended the application to remove that use; because of the amendment the range was not advertised for the hearing. Planning Commission previously recommended approval with amendments that addressed test‑firing conditions, but the amended application before the board covered only the gunsmith shop (repair and sale) with conditions to maintain a residential appearance and to comply with applicable state and federal law.
Neighbor Capel Powell told the board that a predecessor use included an active shooting area that fired toward his property and a creek and that he continues to feel unsafe on portions of his land. "I feel prisoner on my own property because I can't access that part of my property," Powell said, describing what he said were test firings and lead deposition into the creek.
Wendy Hemstock, the applicant's representative, said the shooting‑range use had been removed and that Ian Hemstock operates a small gunsmithing business with federal licensing and manufacturing experience. "He's run the business for approximately two years out of Chesterfield County," she said.
Supervisors said the CUP approval permits the gunsmithing business as presented but does not change a private property owner's by‑right ability to discharge firearms consistent with state law. Board members advised neighbors who believe activity violates the CUP or creates an immediate safety risk to notify county staff and, for urgent hazards, the sheriff's office. The board approved the CUP with the conditions presented by staff.
