I've been thinking that it would be a good idea for me to get a new hobby. I think I may have the answer.
What used to be a roller skating rink in Crestwood, KY will become an indoor paintball facility and firing range. According to the Courier-Journal (the article isn't online anymore - see extended entry for a copy) work on it should begin next month. Barry Laws, a Los Angeles real estate broker who is the developer behind this project says he hopes to open the range in eight to nine months. There are also plans to build a 10,200-square-foot rifle range.
I've been considering getting a handgun for about a year. The main thing that has stopped me so far is the distance I would have to drive for lessons or to practice...I don't want a hobby that requires a 70 mile round-trip drive. I'm only a few miles outside of Crestwood so this has made me start thinking about it again.
Not everyone is happy about this. Opponents worry that there will be a gun accident in the parking lot.
I don't hang out at gun ranges so maybe I'm wrong, but I would think that the risk of an accidental shooting wouldn't be that high. I'm assuming that the people going here would be likely to take safety precautions.
Firing range gets permit in Oldham
By Leslie Ellis
The Courier-Journal
A Californian won approval yesterday to turn a former Crestwood roller rink into an indoor paintball facility and firing range.
The decision came at the end of a five-hour hearing during which opponents argued it isn't safe to have a gun range in a highly populated area.
The Oldham County Board of Adjustments and Appeals voted 3-1 to approve a conditional-use permit for the range and a variance to allow expansion of the building.
It already is zoned for general business.
Barry Laws, a Los Angeles real estate broker, said he hopes to start work in the next month on the conversion of the building behind the Crestwood Station shopping center, off Ky.146.
He also intends to build a 10,200-square-foot addition for a rifle range.
Laws said he hopes to open the facility in eight to nine months.
He is certified by the California Department of Justice in handgun-safety training and will move to the area next summer to run the range.
Laws said it will give shooters a safe place to practice, will be family-oriented and will increase the county's commercial tax base.
Opponents of the proposal include Kay Powell and Robert Hansen, who live behind the range. Both said they are "extremely disappointed" with the board's decision, and Hansen said he is considering an appeal.
Powell collected a petition with 121 signatures opposing the project.
She and Hansen said their biggest concern is the possibility of someone being hurt from a gun accident in the parking lot.
Shane Jacobs, who owns the Jacobs Ladder Child Care Center in the nearby shopping center, expressed concerns about increased traffic on Cross Keys Boulevard, which children from his center cross to get to a playground.
Board member Vickey Grace, who voted against issuing the permit, shared concerns about the chance of parking-lot accidents.
But board member Frank Fain called the risk of a gun accidentally discharging outside the building "very, very low." He said his biggest concerns are noise and ensuring that no bullets escape the range.
Laws said the building will be renovated in accordance with industry standards developed by the National Rifle Association.
"Nothing will get out of that facility," he said.
He also said he will use sound-suppression materials. "I doubt if you'll hear anything (outside)," Laws said, although he was unable to give specific decibel levels when pressed by the board's Tom Davis.
Supporters included several men who said they would like to have an indoor range where they could take their sons, Scouts and 4-H members to learn how to handle guns.
William Trent of LaGrange said he wants his 8-year-old son to "see people handle weapons in a safe and constructive environment."
Don Helton, a Boy Scout leader from Pewee Valley, said the facility will be good for the county's economy.
And children who want to play paintball will have a "controlled, safe environment" instead of a field or woods, he said.
Posted by marybeth at January 28, 2005 02:05 AM News