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Don't Shoot from the Hip: <br />Plan and Regulate Shooting Ranges <br />By Erica S. Rocha and Dwight Merriam, FAICP <br />Planners are caught in the middle of a standoff between gun enthusiasts who value <br />gun clubs and shooting ranges and others, particularly residential neighbors, who <br />consider the clubs and ranges to be a nuisance, or worse, a risk to their safety. <br />There is an important role for good planning <br />and regulation here, one that can help all <br />concerned find a middle ground that ends the <br />cross fire. <br />Many shooting ranges and gun clubs ei- <br />ther predate zoning or were established as as - <br />of -right uses. In some cases, residential uses <br />crept up on a range or club over time, in what <br />is sometimes characterized as "coming to the <br />nuisance," creating a standoff between those <br />who engage in shooting sports and neighbors <br />who find the off -site impacts intolerable. Zon- <br />ing is rooted in nuisance avoidance, although <br />we have lost sight of that today in the evolved <br />world of transit -oriented development, new ur- <br />banism, and form -based codes. We need only <br />look back to the very first zoning case to make <br />its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Village of <br />Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, 388 <br />(1926), to be reminded of that core principle of <br />zoning with Justice George Sutherland's oft - <br />quoted observation: "A nuisance may be mere- <br />ly a right thing in the wrong place —like a pig in <br />the parlor instead of the barnyard." Planning <br />almost always works best when there is market <br />failure, where natural forces do not efficiently <br />and effectively allocate land use for the benefit <br />of people today and generations not yet born. <br />Zoning and similar land -use regulations earn <br />their keep when they prevent nuisances. Good <br />planning and regulation of shooting ranges <br />and gun clubs can virtually immunize your <br />community from conflict controversy. <br />GUNS BLAZING <br />More than 34 million Americans participate in <br />target and sport shooting at shooting ranges <br />and gun clubs across the country (Responsive <br />Management zolo). Outdoor sport shooting <br />is an American tradition, and sporting ranges <br />have existed in the United States for over a <br />century. Shooting ranges provide a venue <br />Papertargets as seen from the firing hne at an outdoor shootingrange n ear Pittsburgh. <br />g g <br />for games and training using rifles, pistols, <br />and shotguns and various types of targets. <br />Participants generally use rifles and pistols to <br />shoot at paper targets or at metallic silhouettes <br />shaped like animals and shotguns to shoot <br />at clay discs that are launched into the air to <br />simulate bird targets (Cotter20°3). In recent <br />years, however, the traditional American shoot- <br />ing range has undergone a dramatic transfor- <br />mation. <br />As gun control measures continue to <br />stir debate in America, business is booming <br />for target and sport shooting facilities (Smith <br />2o13). Some ranges have become more com- <br />munity minded and family focused, hosting <br />blood drives, Toys for Tots collections, and <br />"ladies' nights," where women can learn to <br />shoot (Weeks 21313). Other ranges have set <br />their sights on unique (if not eyebrow -raising) <br />ways to capitalize on the growing demand <br />for target and sport shooting. One range in <br />ZONINGPRACTICE 12.13 <br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 2 <br />