County gives gun club 5-year permit

By Jeff Pope (contact)

Thursday, March 5, 2009 | 4:33 p.m.

Gun owners will be able to continue shooting at the Desert Sportsman's Rifle & Pistol Club after the west valley firing range received a permit to operate for another five years.

Clark County Commissioners on Wednesday renewed the club's use permit through 2014, although the club had sought a 10-year extension.

Citing safety and noise concerns, opposition came from a few neighbors, Summerlin developer the Howard Hughes Corp. and the Clark County School District. Opponents preferred the club operate for no more than three years, saying housing is expected to reach closer to the range by that time.

The club has operated at 12201 W. Charleston Blvd., just east of the entrance to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, since 1959 and now has about 2,000 members.

The shooting areas generally aim south toward the mountains. Every range has an impact berm made of granulated rock to prevent ricochets and the club built earthen berms along the highway to act as sound barriers, said Arland Anderson, the club's executive officer.

But the site for another planned Summerlin community lies just to the north and within view of the club's firing ranges. Howard Hughes plans to develop the neighborhood when the housing market rebounds and asked that the club add berms north of the ranges to reduce sound and the chance of an errant bullet escaping the range.

"The danger is a weapon that is mishandled or an accident. So the line of sight needs to be protected not just in the direction they intended to fire, or wish to fire, but from strays also," said Greg Borgel, a development consultant representing Howard Hughes Corp.

Another potential issue is that the school district has started construction on a career technical academy about a half a mile to the northeast of the club on Charleston Boulevard. The school will open in 2010 and will eventually have 1,350 students.

School Board Trustee Carolyn Edwards said the district does not want the club shut down, but wants a shorter interval between permit renewals so the club's safety record can be reviewed. She asked that the current permit come back in three years.

"We would look to have it revisited to see that we're still feeling safe and sound and our children are still safe as they pursue their education," she said.

The compromise wasn't exactly what either side was looking for, but the club's officers and opponents walked away relatively pleased, for now.

"We weren't trying to put them out of business. We wanted some issues as far as safety and noise concerns addressed, and those are being addressed," said Tom Warden, senior vice president of community and government relations for Howard Hughes. "The longer-term question of the appropriateness of that location is also being addressed by the mere fact that they're bringing it back in five years."

It was the sixth renewal for the club. Executive Officer Arland Anderson hoped for a longer extension but took the commission's ruling in stride.

"Well, a guy's got to worry about everything all the time as far as that goes. Nothing's cut in stone. They could have denied us at any time in the past," he said. "I don't know what kind of track record it's going to take — 100 years, I guess."

As part of the permit renewal, the club will have to build up earthen berms to protect the future neighbors to the north and limit hours of operation to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. instead of 6 a.m. to midnight, the hours it operates now.

The club is popular with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies for training and hosts national tournaments, Anderson said.

Law enforcement officers also use a range on Sunrise Mountain, and the Clark County Shooting Park in North Las Vegas is scheduled to open this summer.

At 2,900 acres, the county park is much larger than the 480-acre Desert Sportsman's Club. When complete, the county park will have 900 acres developed and at least a one-mile buffer from the nearest residence.

"Eventually the shooting range that's out to the north ... would give you the same availability, the time frame, the same costs," Commissioner Susan Brager said.

It may take 10 years for the county park to be fully developed but when it is complete, the intent is to have law enforcement officers and tournaments there, said Commissioner Tom Collins, who was the lone vocal supporter on the board for the 10-year extension.

"I think the shooting club out there deserves every right to stay out there as long as they want to," he said.

Jeff Pope can be reached at 990-2688 or jeff.pope@hbcpub.com.