Zoning / Land Use Board and New Shooting Range

[maintenanceguy 510]

I'm toying with the idea of building a legitimate 25 yd. outdoor shooting range. I have a business plan in mind but not completely solidified yet.   I have a lot of construction management experience including site work so I'm comfortable with the construction part.  I'm going to take the NRA range design/construction course as a first step toward design.

It would be a relatively simple 25 yd handgun range that can accommodate 8-10 people shooting at one time with a small classroom/restroom building.  Probably not open to the public but available for rent to NRA/other instructors to use for courses plus my own CCW courses. 

I would be purchasing some very rural land, possible backing up to state land or marshland to keep the noise away from everyone and to make sure I had huge unpopulated area behind the berm.  The townships I would be building in are very gun friendly so I don't anticipate any political opposition. I would be surprised if everyone on the planning board wasn't a gun owner.

Local land use ordinances don't say anything about ranges.  There is general language about public health and safety, noise at the property line, environmental hazards, etc. that would apply. Nothing specifically about shooting ranges being a prohibited use. 

What unusual hurdles would need to be overcome to get approval for this kind of project?  I realize this is a very broad question.  My planing board experience is with buildings, parking lots, other and other "normal" construction projects.  I imagine that shooting ranges would come with additional scrutiny.  If anyone here is on a planning board or has some professional knowledge of the process, I would love to know your thoughts on getting approval for a shooting range.  Since most of NJ is so anti-gun, I'm also wondering if NJ has any specific rules to make this difficult.

[GRIZ 3,369]

A lot of hurdles in front.of you. Can't give you much advice but good luck.

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

Zero knowledge of building a range - but I have other related experience, like 1) a decade or so of planning board experience, 2) observations from watching my former PA range's plans to add a longer rifle range quickly fall apart (due to environmental concerns) AND 3) being on the board of a non-profit that has successfully blocked warehousing in my area for years by raising publicity and engaging various experts to slow the developers down, etc.

Since you're in construction, you may have already anticipated this... but since you posed the question, my advice would be to first find yourself a very reputable environmental engineering firm/consultant in your area, with deep NJ DEP regulatory knowledge, to confer with right from the get-go, even as you're looking at potential properties. You would engage them to scrutinize any potential lots and, among other things, do an in-depth search for any previous mapping/surveys/studies at Fed/state/county levels. You don't want to buy a piece of property and THEN find out there's some issue with the land already identified, but buried in a county office somewhere (e.g., a tiny patch of wetlands that was identified years earlier... or a small - even intermittent - tributary that flows into another waterway deemed "sensitive"... or the lot is part of an area previously identified as a breeding site for some protected animal species... or any number of other environmental issues).

The lead contanimation that occurs at a range could certainly be raised as an issue, but particularly if any number of those special conditions just mentioned (or others) exist on the property... and that could throw a total wrench into your plans. Likewise, someone with environmental engineering expertise would also have at least an awareness of any new related environmental laws coming on to the scene. I personally think you need an expert intimately familiar with all of those issues who can raise those flags before you plunk down any money on property. You also want that person/firm to be experienced enough that they know the NJ DEP folks on a first name basis, too, so they can then grease the wheels AFTER the lot purchase. (That does not come cheap btw!)

You might be thinking "but this area is so gun-friendly, that sounds like overkill" - but  remember, all you need is for one or two determined objectors to catch wind of your plans, start some grassroots PR and fundraising, and then hire their own experts, file a lawsuit, and believe me, they could tie your plans up for AGES... and you'd be left sitting on a bought-and-paid-for piece of property that you can't even do anything with! And in NJ, it is most likely the environmental issues that they would leverage to tie you up in knots. My impression is that even deep South Jersey has changed in recent years post-Covid, with an influx of new people from more northern areas - I think you can assume those folks might carry some anti-gun sentiments, too. So yeah, you COULD run into objectors, even for a relatively small range in an otherwise gun-friendly area. Better to anticipate and clear any hurdles as best you can in advance IMO.

[CMJeepster 2,778]

@Golf battery is the man to talk to about this topic.

[dilbert1967 146]

On 8/23/2023 at 10:15 PM, maintenanceguy said:

I'm toying with the idea of building a legitimate 25 yd. outdoor shooting range. I have a business plan in mind but not completely solidified yet.   I have a lot of construction management experience including site work so I'm comfortable with the construction part.  I'm going to take the NRA range design/construction course as a first step toward design.

It would be a relatively simple 25 yd handgun range that can accommodate 8-10 people shooting at one time with a small classroom/restroom building.  Probably not open to the public but available for rent to NRA/other instructors to use for courses plus my own CCW courses. 

I would be purchasing some very rural land, possible backing up to state land or marshland to keep the noise away from everyone and to make sure I had huge unpopulated area behind the berm.  The townships I would be building in are very gun friendly so I don't anticipate any political opposition. I would be surprised if everyone on the planning board wasn't a gun owner.

Local land use ordinances don't say anything about ranges.  There is general language about public health and safety, noise at the property line, environmental hazards, etc. that would apply. Nothing specifically about shooting ranges being a prohibited use. 

What unusual hurdles would need to be overcome to get approval for this kind of project?  I realize this is a very broad question.  My planing board experience is with buildings, parking lots, other and other "normal" construction projects.  I imagine that shooting ranges would come with additional scrutiny.  If anyone here is on a planning board or has some professional knowledge of the process, I would love to know your thoughts on getting approval for a shooting range.  Since most of NJ is so anti-gun, I'm also wondering if NJ has any specific rules to make this difficult.

Wow, that idea sounds great!  I live in Pinelands myself.  Mrs. Peel is correct, contact an environmental firm before you purchase your property.  In my area,  I can think of three construction projects that were stopped by rare species of animals that lived on the land of the proposed projects. 

IMO, you would be better off south of Hammonton because the environmental headaches would be fewer.

Best of luck to you!

[maintenanceguy 510]

I'm all the way down in Salem/Cumberland Counties.   I would like to build it down here. Less political opposition and lots of inexpensive (for NJ) land.  In construction, I've been involved in environmental projects, or projects that became environmental projects.  I'm not specifically knowledgeable about the environmental requirements for outdoor shooting ranges. 

I've worked with a few environmental firms in NJ, maybe I'll start there.  I actually never considered environmental issues being the big hurdle to overcome but it makes sense.