THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 8, 1997 TAG: 9701080349
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: 80 lines
For generations, Currituck County has been host to hunters, but the county is not going to provide a home for a state-of-the-art outdoor firing range.
The Currituck County Board of Commissioners voted Monday night to deny a request for an ordinance that would have paved the way for a 3,015-acre target range south of Ranchland in Moyock.
One of the developers of the property said Tuesday the loss was not just his, but the county's.
``We're very disappointed,'' said Erik Prince of Virginia Beach. ``For a county that claims it's a sportsman's paradise, it doesn't bode well for safe-shooting sports.''
Prince, a former Navy SEAL, had hoped to turn the Moyock tract into one of a handful of large, private target ranges in the nation.
The facility, to be designed by Clark-Nexson of Virginia Beach, would have been aimed at use mainly by military and law enforcement personnel, with hunter safety programs for private citizens.
Prince said the range would have attracted visitors and would have helped improve tourism on the mainland, raising local revenue.
Before Prince could ask for permission to build the firing range, the county needed to create an ordinance allowing such operations.
``This would have benefited not just our project,'' Prince said. ``Having a law defining how shooting ranges could be used would have benefited everyone in the county.''
Last year, county officials revised gun laws after a hunter's stray bullets hit a truck and building during school hours at Knapp Junior High in Currituck.
On Monday, Currituck officials questioned a couple of the 19 stipulations that Clark-Nexson and the county had created, based on National Rifle Association guidelines.
Specifically, the county board expressed concerns with the impact on adjacent agricultural areas, which someday may become housing developments, and a proposed 900-foot buffer from the nearest property.
``This 900-foot buffer is no buffer at all, really,'' said County Attorney William R. Romm.
The Currituck County Planning Board earlier had recommended denial of the amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance.
The commissioners' rejection of the proposal came as good news for Troy Breathwaite, a 28-year-old environmental engineer who is building a home for his young family about a half-mile from the proposed site.
During a public hearing Monday, Breathwaite asked county commissioners if they were willing to buy his property since he believed it would be worthless if a firing range were approved.
``Nobody's going to want to live anywhere near a shooting range,'' Breathwaite said.
A moment earlier, Moyock resident Gary Davis also had gone on record as opposed to a firing range anywhere in Currituck County.
``It's not something that's in the best interest of the county. I've not spoken to anyone who is in favor of this,'' Davis said.
Davis, who told the commissioners he was representing several landowners and businessmen, said he worried about excessive noise levels, possible personal injuries and property damage from stray bullets, and the environmental impact.
``I would think it would be a definite detriment to the wildlife in the area,'' he said.
Davis also raised concerns about unexploded ordnance and trucks carrying ammunition along heavily traveled highways.
Prince said he and other investors had an option to purchase the property in Moyock and did not own the property.
He also said he and others now would weigh other options. ILLUSTRATION: RANGE ISSUES
Last year, county officials revised gun laws after a hunter's stray
bullets hit a truck and building during school hours at Knapp Junior
High in Currituck.
On Monday, Currituck officials questioned a couple of the 19
stipulations that Clark-Nexson and the county had created, based on
National Rifle Association guidelines.
Specifically, the county board expressed concerns with the impact on
adjacent agricultural areas, which someday may become housing
developments, and a proposed 900-foot buffer from the nearest
property.