Neighbors urge delay or denial of proposed Virginia Sports Park shooting range over noise, lead and traffic concerns

Dozens of neighbors urged Goochland County’s Planning Commission on Dec. 18 to delay or reject a conditional use permit for Virginia Sports Park (VSP), a proposed archery and outdoor shooting facility on roughly 85 acres of Walton Road.

Katrina Dalton, who said she lives 510 yards from the nearest proposed shooting station, called the proposal an infringement on neighbors’ property rights and said mitigation shown on developer maps is insufficient. “Without a formal sound study, I urge you to defer the VSP proposal until a formal sound study can be conducted,” Dalton said, and later told commissioners that the proposed berm and vegetation would not prevent repeated shotgun blasts from reaching neighbors’ backyards.

Why it matters: Residents presented technical claims—about decibel levels, shot fall distance and lead mobility—that they say show the proposed range could cause hearing damage, contaminate wetlands and harm water quality downstream in the Pamunkey watershed. Neighbors said the applicant’s informal August sound check (which VSP reported as a 53 dBA reading at driveways) lacked details on methods, measurement locations and ammunition type, and therefore does not replace a live-fire study taken to ANSI standards.

David Sisson, who said he lives about a half mile from the site, told commissioners the traffic impact assessment (TIA) understates effects because it modeled the site as a golf course (ITE code 430) rather than a multi‑purpose recreational facility or sporting-clays course (ITE code 435) that hosts multiple events. “We must require VSP to provide another traffic impact analysis report that more faithfully models the actual conditions around the proposed site,” Sisson said, and urged limits on hours and the number of events per month.

Multiple speakers raised environmental concerns. Sisson and other neighbors noted the site sits in or adjacent to wetlands and FEMA floodplains and urged an EPA‑certified lead management plan. “There’s no amount of lead that is safe for a child,” Sisson said, and urged a prohibition on firing over or into wetlands, floodplains or waterways.

Commission staff previously placed the proposal on the Planning Commission’s Jan. 15 public hearing list; at the Dec. 18 meeting residents said they received limited advance notice and asked the commission to require more time and independent studies before forwarding any recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.

What commissioners heard: Residents provided specific mitigation requests, including (1) a formal live-fire sound study by a licensed engineer with measurements at property lines using Type 1 sound meters and ANSI methods; (2) a property-line sound limit (speakers referenced 72 dB as a comparable permit limit used elsewhere); (3) a certified lead‑management and monitoring plan meeting EPA best practices; (4) limits on hours of operation and the number of public events; and (5) no firing over wetlands or floodplains.

What the record shows: At the meeting neighbors repeatedly asked that the county require that studies be paid for or jointly funded by VSP and Goochland County and asked that the burden of proof rest with the applicant. Commissioners closed the citizen comment period after the sustained testimony; no final action on the VSP CUP was taken at the Dec. 18 meeting.

Next steps: The VSP application remains on the Planning Commission schedule for January (staff listed the application among items to be heard on Jan. 15). Any motion, conditions or vote to recommend approval or denial would be recorded at that later hearing and, if recommended, the case would move to the Board of Supervisors for final action.

Sources: Public commenters during the citizen comment period at the Dec. 18, 2025 Goochland County Planning Commission meeting, including Katrina Dalton and David Sisson.