Agenda - Council - 01/28/2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Our Mission: To work together to responsibly grow our community, and to provie quality, cost-effective, an efficient government services CC Regular Session 7, 4, Meeting Date: 01/28/2014 By: Chris Anderson, Community Development Information Title: Consider Approvals Related to a Request for a Conditional Use Permit to Allow an Indoor Shooting Range at 6001 167th Ave NW; Case of Total Defense, Inc. Purpose/Background: The City has received an application from Total Defense, Inc. requesting a conditional use permit to operate an indoor shooting range on the property located at 6001 167th Ave NW (the "Subject Property"). Total Defense, Inc. has also submitted a Zoning Amendment application to amend the B-1 General Business District to identify Indoor Commercial Recreation as a conditional use, which is being processed concurrently with this application. Notification: Staff attempted to notify all Property Owners within 700 feet of the Subject Property of the Public Hearing and included an invitation to an Open House in which the public could meet the Applicant, review the proposal in greater detail, and provide feedback regarding the proposal. A Public Notice was also advertised in the Anoka Union newspaper. Observations/Alternatives: Total Defense is an existing Ramsey business currently operating at 14063 Saint Francis Blvd NW. Their current operation has two components, enclosed retail (firearms, ammunition, accessories, and gunsmithing) and training (self-defense and martial arts). They are looking to relocate their business to the Subject Property where they could grow their retail and training components and expand their business model to offer an indoor shooting range as well. The Subject Property is located within the B-1 General Business District and is just over two (2) acres in size. The existing building (former Supervalu building) on the Subject Property is approximately 18,000 square feet in size and has been vacant for a number of years. Properties to the west, east and south are also located in the B-1 General Business District and the property to the north is located in the R-1 Residential (Rural Developing) District. The property east of Trunk Highway 47 (Rum River Hills golf course) is a Planned Unit Development (PUD). Along with their retail and training offerings, Total Defense is proposing to install one (1) indoor shooting bay with ten (10) lanes and would, in the future, add a second indoor shooting bay with up to another ten (10) lanes. Secured access to the indoor shooting range would be from the retail floor area through an industry standard dual door airlock entrance/exit. This entrance will not only control access to and from the indoor range, but will also maintain sound and air quality in the retail and training areas of the building. Other security measures proposed include cement bollards around the main entrance (prevents a car from driving through entrance to gain access to firearms), internally barred windows, motion/thermal/impact sensors connected to a monitoring service and a closed caption television system as well. Additionally, within the draft conditional use permit, there is a condition that requires all firearms not in use in the shooting range lanes/stalls to be unloaded and properly cased in accordance with Minnesota laws. The indoor shooting range would essentially consist of a building constructed within the existing building. The range component will include eight (8) inch solid grout filled concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls that will be constructed inside the existing building walls with air space between the two. The exterior building walls consist of twelve (12) inch cement blocks. The combination of the two sets of walls should result in good noise buffering and the eight (8) inch solid grout filled CMU walls themselves accomplish the bullet containment. The final construction design of the indoor shooting range would determine the permissible caliber limit (or more accurately, feet per second limit). Due to the nature of indoor shooting ranges, a good ventilation system is critical to move lead particulates away from the breathing zone of the shooters. Furthermore, the ventilation system is also critical to filter out these particulates prior to exhausting to the exterior of the building. All three (3) of the range manufacturers that Total Defense is considering suggest that the ventilation/exhaust system be equipped with HEPA filtration, which captures the particulates prior to exhausting to the exterior of the building. Staff incorporated that standard into the draft Zoning Amendment that is being considered this evening as well and the Applicant has no concern with this standard. As with any proposed use, the indoor shooting range will need to comply with Chapter 30 (Nuisances) of City Code, including acceptable sound levels. Sound is measured in decibels and the readings would need to be made at the property of where the sound is being heard, not at the source in which the noise is being created. This would be applicable to not only the firing of guns within the indoor shooting range but also to the mechanical ventilation system as well. The Police Department coordinated with the Anoka Police Department to utilize their indoor shooting range briefly so that decibel levels could be tested. At 10-15 feet from the building, decibel levels were at about 64-65 and at about 20-25 feet from the building, decibel levels were about 60. While this was not a MPCA certified sound level test, it does serve as a good reference for noise levels that may be generated by the proposed use. It should be noted that the construction of the proposed range will include two sets of walls, the existing exterior walls of the building of then also the solid, grout filled CMUs of the range itself, whereas the Anoka facility included only a single wall of sand -filled cement blocks. This design should result in reduced noise levels outside the building. Based on a review of aerial photographs, there are at least seventy-one (71) parking stalls on the Subject Property. When determining the minimum required parking for the proposed use, Staff based the calculation entirely on a retail use (one space per 200 square feet of retail floor space). However, a large portion of the square footage of the building was excluded in the calculation as there would not be any persons within the shooting lanes themselves. This resulted in the need for a minimum of fifty (50) parking stalls for the proposed use on the Subject Property, which does take into account the second bay, should it be constructed in the future. Not all stalls are necessary to be striped, but the attached materials and site conditions provide for sufficient 'proof of parking' should additional striping become warranted.