If you go
› What: Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission’s December meeting› When: Monday at 1 p.m.› Where: Hamilton County Courthouse, 625 Georgia Ave.
The Regional Planning Agency could make a key recommendation Monday on a special permit application submitted by two men seeking to construct a commercial firing range in rural Hamilton County.
Dead Zero Shooting wants to operate the firing range on a 184-acre site along Retro Hughes Road on Bakewell Mountain in the county's northwest corner.
But some nearby landowners building homes in the area oppose the plan. They say noise, traffic, lead and safety concerns brought by the range will cause undue hardship for its neighbors.
A Hamilton County Commission vote will ultimately decide whether the special permit is approved, but the recommendation to be issued by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency during its 1 p.m. meeting at the county courthouse Monday could guide commissioners' votes.
RPA staff last week recommended deferring the permit, saying the agency lacked the expertise needed "to ensure the proposed development is safe in relation to the residential uses in proximity to the site."
RPA Executive Director John Bridger said the staff's options are to approve, approve with conditions, deny or defer action on the permit. If RPA members vote to defer, the proposal would be heard again in January or February, giving the applicants more time to bring in experts and develop answers to questions raised by the planning commission and RPA staff.
Bridger's staff noted in its case report that four new homes are at various levels of construction around the site.
"The pending construction of several new homes across from the site does raise more concerns from staff regarding the appropriateness of this use at this location," the RPA staff recommendation reads.
The report calls for Dead Zero to provide experts in ballistics, shooting range design and noise abatement at the planning agency meeting.
Justin Whaley, a co-applicant for Dead Zero's permit application, said the company will provide in-house experts at the meeting, adding that the company is attempting to bring in a range development expert from the National Rifle Association.
"A shooting range, it's one of those things where you have to make sure everything is done and done correctly," Whaley said. "They're going by the book and we're happy with that."
The proposal was first scheduled to go before the planning agency on March 14, but the RPA spotted two missing items in the permit application and Dead Zero withdrew the application temporarily.
Initially, the firing range proposal drew criticism from Cumberland Trail advocates, who noted its location across the street from the trail. The RPA staff noted that any land-clearing activities for the range should be minimized because of its location near the trail and that "any development should respect the setting of the plateau and enhance the Cumberland Trail experience."
Proponents and opponents of the proposed firing range plan to attend the meeting.
Ashley Clayton plans to build a home on land she and her husband, Derek, own near the site of the proposed firing range. She said she and several neighboring landowners plan to be at Monday's meeting "in full force" to oppose the range.
"The supporters are not the ones living next to the proposed development," she said. "That's the problem."
Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.