Coweta residents wanting a place to practice shooting a firearm got some good news May 17 when the Coweta County Commission granted a conditional use permit for an indoor shooting range to be constructed on Amlajack Way off Ga. Highway 34.
The conditional use permit request submitted by Gary DeGeorge, Jr. proposed the construction of a 20,625 square-foot building to include a 15,625 square-foot indoor shooting range with 24 shooting stalls and a 5,000 square-foot retail space. The site would be located on 4.42 acres on Amlajack Way off Amlajack Boulevard in the Shenandoah Industrial Park.
The site unanimously approved by commissioners is zoned Industrial, the zoning designation specified in the Coweta County Zoning and Development Ordinance.
County zoning technician Lisa Eschman in a recent memo said the site is adjacent to a number of steel fabricators, plastics manufacturing and other industrial firms. The conceptual site plan included nearly 50 parking spaces, 40 of which will be located along the front of the building, Eschman said.
The indoor range and retail space will accommodate 200 customers and five employees, said Eschman. The approval by commissioners includes the condition that, “The facility is required to have certified instructors. The owner or operator of an indoor shooting range shall have on the premises at all times during range operation an individual certified as a firearm or range instructor by the National Rifle Association or the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.).”
Traffic to the site is expected to be low to moderate, with 550 total trips expected on weekdays, 634 on Saturdays and 446 on Sundays.
Commenting on the proposal, a spokesperson for the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office recommended that Coweta County make every effort the encourage and promote the construction of one or more indoor shooting ranges in the county. One of the most common complaints from local residents concerns the lack of shooting facilities, the spokesperson said, adding that residents inquiring about the location of such a facility must currently be directed to Grantville, West Point or Fayetteville.
Eschman noted the December 2009 vote by commissioners to amend the ordinance to permit indoor shooting ranges on property zoned Industrial and Light Industrial with the approval of a conditional use permit request.
The county Planning Department recommended approval of the request.
