CUP PZ2024-079
The Issue
PETITION OPPOSING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
CASE PZ2024-079 — THE WICKED ARSENAL GUN RANGE
To: The Lake County Planning & Zoning Board and the Lake County Board of County Commissioners
We, the undersigned residents and property owners of Lake County, Florida, formally register our strong opposition to the proposed Conditional Use Permit (CUP), Case PZ2024-079, which would allow an outdoor firearms training range on approximately 54.56 acres in the Agriculture (A) zoning district.
The proposed facility is located in a rural agricultural community characterized by large properties, agricultural operations, livestock, wildlife, wetlands, natural areas, and quiet residential uses. The County’s own conditional-use review standards require consideration of effects on nearby properties, neighborhood compatibility, and the adequacy of public facilities. We respectfully urge the Planning & Zoning Board and Board of County Commissioners to DENY this permit for the following reasons:
1. Environmental Threat to the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern
The proposed range is located in the Green Swamp region, an environmentally sensitive area for which Lake County has adopted additional protections. The County’s Comprehensive Plan specifically establishes policies intended to protect the surface and groundwater resources of the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern and to minimize adverse impacts on the Floridan Aquifer.
An outdoor firearms range would introduce spent ammunition, including lead and other metals, into the soil over the operational life of the facility. Florida’s environmental guidance recognizes the need to manage lead at shooting ranges because lead can potentially migrate through soil and water.
Before approving a use of this nature, the County should have clear, site-specific evidence addressing groundwater, surface water, wetlands, stormwater, aquifer recharge, soil contamination, and long-term lead management.
We ask: Who will be responsible for environmental monitoring, testing, and remediation if contamination occurs years after the range begins operating?
2. Severe Noise Nuisance and Incompatibility With the Rural Neighborhood
The proposed commercial firearms training range is fundamentally different from the existing agricultural, residential, and recreational uses surrounding it.
The property has already been used for firearms activities, and neighboring residents have experienced gunfire significant enough to result in complaints to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Granting a permanent CUP would transform intermittent activity into an established and potentially recurring commercial use.
The County’s Land Development Regulations recognize the importance of evaluating noise impacts, and Lake County has required noise studies and noise-mitigation measures in other conditional-use cases.
We ask that the County not allow surrounding residents to become the test case for determining whether the range’s noise is acceptable.
If this application is considered further, an independent acoustic study should evaluate the worst-case operating conditions, including maximum simultaneous shooters, caliber of firearms, operating hours, weekends, and noise levels at the nearest residences and property boundaries.
3. Harm to Agricultural Operations, Livestock, Horses, and Working Animals
This is an established agricultural community. Many residents maintain livestock, horses, poultry, working animals, and other agricultural operations.
Repeated rapid gunfire—particularly tactical or training-style firearms activity—can create significant disturbance for animals and interfere with normal agricultural activities. It also creates concerns for people working livestock or operating equipment near property boundaries.
The County should consider whether this proposed use is compatible with the existing agricultural character of the surrounding properties rather than simply considering whether the applicant’s property is large enough to accommodate the facility.
Agricultural zoning should not be interpreted to mean that every intensive recreational or commercial use is compatible with an established agricultural neighborhood.
4. Inadequate and Narrow Rural Roads for Increased Commercial Traffic
The roads serving this area are small rural roads that were not designed for a high-volume commercial recreational facility.
Chatham Road, Crawford Road, and the surrounding rural road network are narrow and have limited shoulders and infrastructure compared with the roads typically serving commercial recreational facilities. Lake County’s own road inventory identifies a two-lane asphalt segment in this area with a listed pavement width of approximately 20 feet.
A firearms training facility could generate recurring vehicle traffic from customers, instructors, employees, deliveries, emergency vehicles, and other visitors. Increased traffic on narrow rural roads creates additional concerns regarding:
Safe passage of vehicles traveling in opposite directions;
Visibility and sight-distance concerns;
Roadside pedestrian and bicycle safety;
Emergency vehicle access;
Increased wear and deterioration of the existing roadway;
Traffic during peak training periods;
Dust and roadside impacts;
Parking and vehicle queuing near the facility.
We ask the County to require a specific traffic and road-capacity analysis before approving this CUP and to identify who will pay for any necessary road, intersection, drainage, or safety improvements resulting from the development.
5. Emergency Services and Public Safety Concerns
The proposed facility would introduce a concentrated commercial use involving firearms and potentially large numbers of people into a remote rural area.
The County should determine whether law enforcement, fire rescue, and emergency medical services can adequately reach the property during an emergency, particularly if there is a serious injury, medical emergency, fire, vehicle accident, or other incident requiring an immediate response.
The adequacy of public facilities—including police, roads, fire and emergency medical services—is a legitimate consideration in conditional-use review.
We ask: Has the County obtained input from the Sheriff’s Office, Fire Rescue, and emergency medical services regarding response times, access, staging, and the adequacy of the existing road network for this proposed use?
6. Projectile Containment and Safety of Surrounding Properties
The County must consider not only what happens on the range itself, but what happens if a projectile leaves the designated shooting area.
The surrounding area contains agricultural properties, residences, roads, animals, natural areas, and other privately owned land.
We ask the County to require independently verified engineering information regarding:
Backstop and berm construction;
Maximum firearm calibers;
Maximum shooting distances;
Number of firing positions;
Number of shooters permitted simultaneously;
Baffles and ricochet-control measures;
Property-line setbacks;
Downrange property and road locations;
Procedures for inspecting and maintaining containment structures.
The surrounding residents should not be responsible for discovering whether the range’s projectile-containment system is adequate.
7. Stormwater, Drainage, and Long-Term Environmental Management
The Green Swamp is particularly sensitive to changes in drainage and water movement. A firearms range involves repeated disturbance and use of portions of the property, including areas where spent ammunition and associated materials may accumulate.
The County should require a detailed stormwater and drainage evaluation addressing how runoff from the range will be managed and how contaminants will be prevented from entering wetlands, surface water, groundwater, or neighboring properties.
Any environmental protections should be enforceable for the entire life of the CUP—not merely during initial construction.
8. Permanent Change to the Character of the Community
This is a rural agricultural neighborhood, not an established commercial recreation corridor.
The issue before the County is not whether firearms training is a legitimate activity. The issue is whether this particular activity belongs on this particular 54.56-acre property, surrounded by existing agricultural and residential uses and served by a narrow rural road network.
Approving the CUP would establish a permanent commercial use that could materially change the character of the surrounding community through noise, traffic, activity, environmental impacts, and safety concerns.
The County should protect the existing rural character of this area rather than allowing an incompatible intensive use to establish itself and then asking residents to live with its consequences.
9. Precedent for Future Development
Approval of this CUP could establish an important precedent for what types of intensive commercial recreational uses may be considered compatible with Agriculture zoning in this area.
We respectfully ask the Board to consider:
If this facility is considered compatible with this agricultural neighborhood, what prevents similar intensive commercial recreational uses from seeking approval in other rural portions of the Green Swamp?
The County should carefully consider the cumulative effect of development decisions on the long-term character and environmental integrity of this region.
10. The Burden Should Be on the Applicant to Demonstrate Compatibility
The surrounding residents should not have to prove that this facility will cause harm before the County acts.
The applicant should be required to demonstrate, with objective and independently verifiable information, that the proposed range can operate without creating undue adverse impacts on neighboring properties, roads, emergency services, agricultural operations, wildlife, groundwater, wetlands, and the surrounding rural community.
Where significant information is incomplete or potential impacts have not been adequately evaluated, the appropriate course is to deny the CUP rather than approve the use first and attempt to address problems afterward.
OUR REQUEST
For all of these reasons, we respectfully request that the Lake County Planning & Zoning Board and the Lake County Board of County Commissioners DENY Conditional Use Permit Case PZ2024-079.
We ask the County to protect:
The Green Swamp and its water resources;
The Floridan Aquifer and groundwater;
Existing agricultural operations;
Livestock, horses, and working animals;
The safety and quiet enjoyment of neighboring properties;
The existing rural character of the community;
The capacity and safety of the local road network;
Adequate access for emergency services; and
The long-term interests of Lake County residents.
We respectfully ask the County to deny PZ2024-079 and preserve the rural and environmentally sensitive character of this community.
539
The Issue
PETITION OPPOSING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
CASE PZ2024-079 — THE WICKED ARSENAL GUN RANGE
To: The Lake County Planning & Zoning Board and the Lake County Board of County Commissioners
We, the undersigned residents and property owners of Lake County, Florida, formally register our strong opposition to the proposed Conditional Use Permit (CUP), Case PZ2024-079, which would allow an outdoor firearms training range on approximately 54.56 acres in the Agriculture (A) zoning district.
The proposed facility is located in a rural agricultural community characterized by large properties, agricultural operations, livestock, wildlife, wetlands, natural areas, and quiet residential uses. The County’s own conditional-use review standards require consideration of effects on nearby properties, neighborhood compatibility, and the adequacy of public facilities. We respectfully urge the Planning & Zoning Board and Board of County Commissioners to DENY this permit for the following reasons:
1. Environmental Threat to the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern
The proposed range is located in the Green Swamp region, an environmentally sensitive area for which Lake County has adopted additional protections. The County’s Comprehensive Plan specifically establishes policies intended to protect the surface and groundwater resources of the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern and to minimize adverse impacts on the Floridan Aquifer.
An outdoor firearms range would introduce spent ammunition, including lead and other metals, into the soil over the operational life of the facility. Florida’s environmental guidance recognizes the need to manage lead at shooting ranges because lead can potentially migrate through soil and water.
Before approving a use of this nature, the County should have clear, site-specific evidence addressing groundwater, surface water, wetlands, stormwater, aquifer recharge, soil contamination, and long-term lead management.
We ask: Who will be responsible for environmental monitoring, testing, and remediation if contamination occurs years after the range begins operating?
2. Severe Noise Nuisance and Incompatibility With the Rural Neighborhood
The proposed commercial firearms training range is fundamentally different from the existing agricultural, residential, and recreational uses surrounding it.
The property has already been used for firearms activities, and neighboring residents have experienced gunfire significant enough to result in complaints to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Granting a permanent CUP would transform intermittent activity into an established and potentially recurring commercial use.
The County’s Land Development Regulations recognize the importance of evaluating noise impacts, and Lake County has required noise studies and noise-mitigation measures in other conditional-use cases.
We ask that the County not allow surrounding residents to become the test case for determining whether the range’s noise is acceptable.
If this application is considered further, an independent acoustic study should evaluate the worst-case operating conditions, including maximum simultaneous shooters, caliber of firearms, operating hours, weekends, and noise levels at the nearest residences and property boundaries.
3. Harm to Agricultural Operations, Livestock, Horses, and Working Animals
This is an established agricultural community. Many residents maintain livestock, horses, poultry, working animals, and other agricultural operations.
Repeated rapid gunfire—particularly tactical or training-style firearms activity—can create significant disturbance for animals and interfere with normal agricultural activities. It also creates concerns for people working livestock or operating equipment near property boundaries.
The County should consider whether this proposed use is compatible with the existing agricultural character of the surrounding properties rather than simply considering whether the applicant’s property is large enough to accommodate the facility.
Agricultural zoning should not be interpreted to mean that every intensive recreational or commercial use is compatible with an established agricultural neighborhood.
4. Inadequate and Narrow Rural Roads for Increased Commercial Traffic
The roads serving this area are small rural roads that were not designed for a high-volume commercial recreational facility.
Chatham Road, Crawford Road, and the surrounding rural road network are narrow and have limited shoulders and infrastructure compared with the roads typically serving commercial recreational facilities. Lake County’s own road inventory identifies a two-lane asphalt segment in this area with a listed pavement width of approximately 20 feet.
A firearms training facility could generate recurring vehicle traffic from customers, instructors, employees, deliveries, emergency vehicles, and other visitors. Increased traffic on narrow rural roads creates additional concerns regarding:
Safe passage of vehicles traveling in opposite directions;
Visibility and sight-distance concerns;
Roadside pedestrian and bicycle safety;
Emergency vehicle access;
Increased wear and deterioration of the existing roadway;
Traffic during peak training periods;
Dust and roadside impacts;
Parking and vehicle queuing near the facility.
We ask the County to require a specific traffic and road-capacity analysis before approving this CUP and to identify who will pay for any necessary road, intersection, drainage, or safety improvements resulting from the development.
5. Emergency Services and Public Safety Concerns
The proposed facility would introduce a concentrated commercial use involving firearms and potentially large numbers of people into a remote rural area.
The County should determine whether law enforcement, fire rescue, and emergency medical services can adequately reach the property during an emergency, particularly if there is a serious injury, medical emergency, fire, vehicle accident, or other incident requiring an immediate response.
The adequacy of public facilities—including police, roads, fire and emergency medical services—is a legitimate consideration in conditional-use review.
We ask: Has the County obtained input from the Sheriff’s Office, Fire Rescue, and emergency medical services regarding response times, access, staging, and the adequacy of the existing road network for this proposed use?
6. Projectile Containment and Safety of Surrounding Properties
The County must consider not only what happens on the range itself, but what happens if a projectile leaves the designated shooting area.
The surrounding area contains agricultural properties, residences, roads, animals, natural areas, and other privately owned land.
We ask the County to require independently verified engineering information regarding:
Backstop and berm construction;
Maximum firearm calibers;
Maximum shooting distances;
Number of firing positions;
Number of shooters permitted simultaneously;
Baffles and ricochet-control measures;
Property-line setbacks;
Downrange property and road locations;
Procedures for inspecting and maintaining containment structures.
The surrounding residents should not be responsible for discovering whether the range’s projectile-containment system is adequate.
7. Stormwater, Drainage, and Long-Term Environmental Management
The Green Swamp is particularly sensitive to changes in drainage and water movement. A firearms range involves repeated disturbance and use of portions of the property, including areas where spent ammunition and associated materials may accumulate.
The County should require a detailed stormwater and drainage evaluation addressing how runoff from the range will be managed and how contaminants will be prevented from entering wetlands, surface water, groundwater, or neighboring properties.
Any environmental protections should be enforceable for the entire life of the CUP—not merely during initial construction.
8. Permanent Change to the Character of the Community
This is a rural agricultural neighborhood, not an established commercial recreation corridor.
The issue before the County is not whether firearms training is a legitimate activity. The issue is whether this particular activity belongs on this particular 54.56-acre property, surrounded by existing agricultural and residential uses and served by a narrow rural road network.
Approving the CUP would establish a permanent commercial use that could materially change the character of the surrounding community through noise, traffic, activity, environmental impacts, and safety concerns.
The County should protect the existing rural character of this area rather than allowing an incompatible intensive use to establish itself and then asking residents to live with its consequences.
9. Precedent for Future Development
Approval of this CUP could establish an important precedent for what types of intensive commercial recreational uses may be considered compatible with Agriculture zoning in this area.
We respectfully ask the Board to consider:
If this facility is considered compatible with this agricultural neighborhood, what prevents similar intensive commercial recreational uses from seeking approval in other rural portions of the Green Swamp?
The County should carefully consider the cumulative effect of development decisions on the long-term character and environmental integrity of this region.
10. The Burden Should Be on the Applicant to Demonstrate Compatibility
The surrounding residents should not have to prove that this facility will cause harm before the County acts.
The applicant should be required to demonstrate, with objective and independently verifiable information, that the proposed range can operate without creating undue adverse impacts on neighboring properties, roads, emergency services, agricultural operations, wildlife, groundwater, wetlands, and the surrounding rural community.
Where significant information is incomplete or potential impacts have not been adequately evaluated, the appropriate course is to deny the CUP rather than approve the use first and attempt to address problems afterward.
OUR REQUEST
For all of these reasons, we respectfully request that the Lake County Planning & Zoning Board and the Lake County Board of County Commissioners DENY Conditional Use Permit Case PZ2024-079.
We ask the County to protect:
The Green Swamp and its water resources;
The Floridan Aquifer and groundwater;
Existing agricultural operations;
Livestock, horses, and working animals;
The safety and quiet enjoyment of neighboring properties;
The existing rural character of the community;
The capacity and safety of the local road network;
Adequate access for emergency services; and
The long-term interests of Lake County residents.
We respectfully ask the County to deny PZ2024-079 and preserve the rural and environmentally sensitive character of this community.
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Petition created on September 29, 2026