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Rural community split over noise, crowds from gun range: 9 Investigates

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Since 2017, residents in rural Lake County have been dealing with a massive shooting range on land that is not zoned for one. Now the county will decide if the range can continue.

“It started out small and it just kept getting bigger, and bigger and bigger,” said resident Lowrie Brown.

In numerous videos posted online, the property is shown with dozens of people lining up to shoot guns ranging from handguns to long rifles and even a flamethrower.  Residents in the area say the noise from these events is constant and the traffic created on the small two-lane country road leading to the range blocks them in on their own property.

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“The traffic and the people coming down,” says local resident Louise Crews. “There are so many cars coming down on the road, my daughter-in-law can’t get out to even go to the grocery store.”

The events are carried out by Ares Firearms Training LLC on land referred to as the Treasure Island Range and owned by the John P. Wilkerson Revocable Trust.

In part, due to the shooting, the Saint Johns River Water Management District has been forced to close off part of its conservation area which backs up to the range.  The Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area is managed by SJRWMD and has been closed off for the last 18 months.

In November 2017, the owners of the land began the process of obtaining a conditional use permit to allow them to continue operating the range on the land. Because the land is zoned agricultural, a CUP is needed to continue with shooting range operations. The CUP proposal, filed with Lake County, calls for increased berms, shooting stalls, noise abatement, lead removal, limited hours of operation and only four large events per year.

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Lake County’s Planning and Zoning will consider the CUP at its February meeting, with the Lake County Commission getting the final say later in the month.

“This isn't a second amendment issue, I consider it to be a property rights issue," said Brown, who plans to deliver a letter to his county commissioner opposing the operation.

An attorney that represents the gun range told Channel 9 in an emailed statement:

"...There has not been a finding that the property owner has violated anything. However, we want to be good neighbors and are instead working with the neighbors and others to craft a workable framework that takes their concerns into consideration. To that end, we are voluntarily agreeing to limit hours of operation and special events, enhance safety requirements to the levels recommended by the NRA and limit operations of the range. We believe these accommodations address stated concerns while allowing for the operation of this valuable asset to the community – operations which include safety training for local law enforcement personnel."

This story started as a tip from a Channel 9 viewer. Click here to contact 9 Investigates reporter Christopher Heath