On Oct. 18, the El Paso County Planning Commission voted 4-2 to recommend the denial of an application for a special use permit for a shooting range in Peyton, Colorado. The proposed shooting range, Coyote Crossing Shooting Range LLC, would be constructed on 127.6 acres, and is located about 1 mile south of U.S. Highway 24, at the end of Log Road.John Meyers, owner of Coyote Crossing, plans to build the range in accordance with the National Rifle Associationís specifications; the range will include both clay and target practice shooting stations, according to the proposal document. Berms for safety and noise mitigation, a multi-use building for events and an office are also included in the plans.According to the January issue of The New Falcon Herald, the proposed range will be built in two sections, each having 12 stations capable of accommodating five shooters at a time.Because the area is zoned for agricultural use, which does not allow for a shooting range, Meyers must obtain the special use permit. Regina Spriggs, a resident of the adjacent Blue Springs Ranch subdivision, said the special use permit should be denied because it is not consistent with the master plan of the area.The shooting range is a commercial endeavor and will cause a noise issue that is not in keeping with the character of the surrounding area, she said.As part of the application process, Meyers submitted a noise study intended to demonstrate that noise mitigation techniques could work for the project.ìThey did a noise test in three different locations,î Spriggs said. ìThey had two shotguns, shot them off one at a time, about 5 to 10 seconds apart. To me, that is definitely not indicative of what 24 commercial stations of shotguns, each holding five shooters per station, will sound like.îAt the Oct. 18 meeting, planning commissioners Tim Trowbridge, Bob Null, Allan Creely and Brian Risley voted against the proposal, with Kevin Curry and Jerome Hannigan in favor.ìI fail to see how this is a compatible use with the residential area,î Risley said. ìI am not convinced that there are enough safeguards in place.îLikewise, Creely said he did not think the intended use was compatible and also the sound study was not strong enough. ìI will vote against it only to encourage the applicant to do better before they get to the BOCC (EPC Board of County Commissioners),î he said.ìIt is an allowable special use in that zoning,î Curry said. ìI do not see anything here that says we need to deny this.îThe planning commission is an advisory board, and they can recommend denial but the BOCC makes the final decision. The BOCC will hear the proposal Nov. 8.
