This was posted in the paper today. Of course it is a long ways from plans to an actual range. This will offer some interesting challenges with swirling winds if it is built 15-20' below grade.
St. Tammany Parish Zoning Commission permits new shooting range
By Christine Harvey, The Times-Picayune
May 06, 2010, 4:18PM
A landowner in far northern St. Tammany Parish plans to offer long-range shooting opportunities in the bed of what used to be a lake at a range that appears to be like any other within hundreds of miles.
Ernest V. Richards IV and his family, who live on the site, plan to operate the range on 1,100 acres between Lee and Middle roads, and Louisiana Tung Road and the Washington Parish border.
The range will include the long-range course, which will be 1,000 yards long and inside a lake bed that is 15 to 20 feet deep, plus other, shorter ranges at ground level and a 5,000-square foot "shooting house" that will house classroom instruction and training, said Jeff Schoen, the attorney representing the Richards family.
The isolated site is at least a mile from any other homes and separated from them by dense woods, he said. The Weyerhauser Co. owns the adjacent land just across the Washington Parish line, and Schoen said officials there have no objection to the plans.
People who come to the range must show credentials or certifications to shoot, or they must participate in the training offered by the range, before they are allowed to shoot, Schoen said.
He noted that the family does not believe any ranges with this variety of activities exists within 500 miles of the site.
The St. Tammany Parish Zoning Commission approved the plans for the range this week when it granted Bermuda Range LLC a conditional use permit for the activity. The permit is contingent on the business having a qualified range master on the long-range course when people are shooting and on there being no expansion of the range beyond what is currently planned, Schoen said.
St. Tammany Parish Zoning Commission permits new shooting range
By Christine Harvey, The Times-Picayune
May 06, 2010, 4:18PM
A landowner in far northern St. Tammany Parish plans to offer long-range shooting opportunities in the bed of what used to be a lake at a range that appears to be like any other within hundreds of miles.
Ernest V. Richards IV and his family, who live on the site, plan to operate the range on 1,100 acres between Lee and Middle roads, and Louisiana Tung Road and the Washington Parish border.
The range will include the long-range course, which will be 1,000 yards long and inside a lake bed that is 15 to 20 feet deep, plus other, shorter ranges at ground level and a 5,000-square foot "shooting house" that will house classroom instruction and training, said Jeff Schoen, the attorney representing the Richards family.
The isolated site is at least a mile from any other homes and separated from them by dense woods, he said. The Weyerhauser Co. owns the adjacent land just across the Washington Parish line, and Schoen said officials there have no objection to the plans.
People who come to the range must show credentials or certifications to shoot, or they must participate in the training offered by the range, before they are allowed to shoot, Schoen said.
He noted that the family does not believe any ranges with this variety of activities exists within 500 miles of the site.
The St. Tammany Parish Zoning Commission approved the plans for the range this week when it granted Bermuda Range LLC a conditional use permit for the activity. The permit is contingent on the business having a qualified range master on the long-range course when people are shooting and on there being no expansion of the range beyond what is currently planned, Schoen said.