Just hours before a large crowd showed up for a hearing on a proposed outdoor shooting range in Wayne Township, the application was withdrawn.
Watson Chambers Defense Institute, Columbus, in association with Middendorf Farms Inc., had filed a conditional use request July 16 to operate commercial shooting ranges for handguns and rifles off State Road 11, northeast of Jonesville.
However, staff at the Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department also began receiving emails and letters from people worried about the safety of the proposed mile-long shooting range.
One concern was the lack of 20-foot tall earthen backstops, 8-foot-tall side berms and other structures recommended by the National Rifle Association for this type of range, according to the notifications.
In one letter, Greg and Bonnie Burbrink said their son and daughter-in-law were raising their family directly south of the proposed range.
“We are worried about our farmstead, equipment, animals, buildings — and most of all, we are worried about the safety of our grandchildren and their parents,” the Burbrinks wrote.
The matter was placed on last week’s agenda of the Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals. But just three hours before that meeting began, the planning staff received a letter asking that the application be withdrawn, said Melissa Begley, assistant city/county planner.
The letter was from attorney Peter King, representing Middendorf Farms owners Harold and Marcia Middendorf, Begley said. Since the couple owns the property at 15501 S. Jonesville Road where the shooting range was proposed, the request to withdraw it was granted, she said.
Watson Chambers and Middendorf Farms now must wait at least six months to file another application for the property.
Watson Chambers president Aaron Watson declined to comment whether he intends to reapply.
Even if the application had not been withdrawn, it’s likely the hearing on the shooting range would be have been postponed for another month, according to the planning staff, who planned to seek more information, Begley said.
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Watson Chambers Defense Institute has proposed two shooting ranges on property owned by Middendorf Farms Inc. at 15501 S. Jonesville Road.
The shooting range was proposed to be located on portions of three properties, about 521 acres in size.
The site contains a single family residence and 11 grain bins located near Jonesville Road, while the remainder of the property is predominately unoccupied farmland.
The applicants have indicated that there would be a maximum of six shooters at a time, scheduled by appointment only.
Source: Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department
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