Editor’s note: A letter to “The Citizens of Ellisville and Whomever it May Concern” was delivered to the Leader-Call on Wednesday, five days after Publisher Jim Cegielski wrote a column calling out Mayor Lynn Buckhaults for failing to respond to numerous messages asking why Hunter’s Edge owners Lang and Laurie Rogers’ request to build an indoor gun range at their shop was denied.
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In response to an article in the Laurel Leader-Call, we would like to share our reasons for denying an indoor gun range at a particular location in the City of Ellisville. We welcome a gun range in our city, but after thorough research and consideration, there were too many concerns related to this location that prevented us from approving it.
As a policy, we don’t publicly share the details of a prospective new business, but since this has made its way into the public discourse, we felt it was important to clarify our reasons and correct any misconceptions.
As a general rule, gun ranges are only allowed in industrial zones, where the setback distances are much greater and there are no concerns with residential areas and apartments. With this location being in a tightly congested commercial zone, it was difficult to overcome the safety concerns of the close proximity of an apartment complex to the south and residential homes on the back side of the property.
While indoor shooting ranges may be made safe with licensed engineering, the thought of bullets being fired in your direction every day can be troubling for some, no matter how many safety precautions are in place. This fear could affect property values of the neighboring property owners. While we would welcome the extra tax revenue this new addition might provide, the protection of our citizens and their property values had to come first. In the end, this location was not adequate for a gun range.
Although current city ordinances do not allow the discharge of firearms within the city, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen would consider amending these ordinances to allow for an indoor shooting range, provided that the location has the adequate space to provide the necessary buffer area so that the surrounding citizens are not negatively impacted.
As a reminder, the city has open board meetings on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month.
— Mayor and Board
of Aldermen,
City of Ellisville
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Publisher’s note: This explanation from Ellisville officials still doesn’t explain why Mayor Lynn Buckhaults was reportedly asking business owners to not advertise with the Leader-Call.
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