Bedford County board defers decision on firearms‑transfer special exception after neighbors, mortgage concerns

The Bedford County Zoning Board of Appeals on May 12 deferred for 30 days a special‑exception request to operate a firearms‑transfer professional office at 1438 Highway 64 East.

Staff told the board the 3.69‑acre parcel (Map 101, Parcel 013.01) is zoned A1 and appears to meet local dimensional and parking requirements; staff also noted federal licensing from the United States Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) requires evidence of local zoning approval. Brian Stevens, an applicant who said he resides on the property, told the board the proposed operation would be appointment‑only, would not operate a retail storefront and would not maintain inventory for retail sale. "No retail at all. We will not have any inventory," Stevens said when describing the business model.

The item drew multiple concerns from board members and neighbors. One commissioner questioned whether discharge or a range could occur on the site; Stevens replied the business would not allow customers to fire weapons on the property and said an existing steel backstop is on site. A separate concern raised by a commissioner focused on the landowner’s mortgage: the commissioner read clauses from the owner’s loan documents and warned that certain occupancy, insurance and hazardous‑materials provisions could put the owner in default if the use changes. "If you look at number 21 specifically, it speaks to hazardous waste in his loan," a commissioner said, urging caution about potential mortgage consequences.

A letter from Philip Head was read into the record asking for strict conditions if approval were granted: no retail storefront, no signage, no for‑sale inventory kept on the property, appointment‑only customer visits, and limits on off‑street parking. Members discussed options including making any special exception owner/operator‑specific or attaching an expiration date aligned to the federal Federal Firearms License (FFL), which Stevens noted is renewed every three years.

Commissioner Street moved to approve a three‑year special exception conditioned on the letter; that motion received a second. Commissioner Vick then moved to deny. The board voted on the motions as recorded by the secretary; the motion to deny did not carry and the application remained on the floor. The board then voted unanimously to defer the application for 30 days to allow staff and the applicants to reconcile conditions and clarify how any local approval would align with federal licensing.

The board did not adopt final, permanent conditions at the meeting. The deferral means the applicants and staff have time to return with clarified restrictions (for example, owner/operator limits, signage bans, and an expiration that dovetails with the ATF license) before the board conducts a new vote.