Bay Area business proposes indoor gun range in Walnut Creek

By CBS Bay Area

A proposed indoor gun range on North Main Street in Walnut Creek is drawing mixed reactions from people who live and work near the site.

Elite Armory is seeking approval to open an indoor shooting range, firearms training facility and retail store at 2615 N. Main St., in a vacant commercial building formerly occupied by Lewis Carpeting.

Francisca Hernandez, a longtime employee of Jim’s Auto Body Shop just a few doors down, said she knows the property well.

“This was the site of a nice furniture shop. I’d always wave to the guy that owned it and see the trucks with loads of carpet.”

When Lewis Carpeting left the location months ago, Hernandez said nearby businesses took plenty of guesses as to what might replace it.

But when she heard an Elite Armory indoor gun range was being proposed, she said she couldn’t see it happening.

“The apartment buildings behind here. And being so close to the freeway, that would worry me.”

The project is before Walnut Creek’s Design Review Commission Wednesday night.

The commission is not voting on whether the gun range can open. Instead, commissioners are reviewing the proposed design and providing advisory comments to the Planning Commission, which will later consider the Conditional Use Permit needed for the project.

The proposal calls for a 1,280-square-foot addition to the existing 3,000-square-foot building.

Elite Armory already operates a gun and ammunition retail location in Castro Valley, but that location does not include a shooting range.

The company said safety is a top priority and that its facilities go “significantly above and beyond” state and federal requirements.

On noise, Elite Armory says it worked with Action Target, one of the country’s largest range builders, to design a facility that minimizes noise both inside and outside.

Not everyone living nearby is concerned about the proposal.

Lori Sandoval said her husband is a hunter and that she has been to several gun ranges herself.

“I’ve been to a few gun ranges, you have to prove that you have a permit. You can’t just walk in and start shooting. They aren’t loud outside, they are perfectly insulated.”

The project still has a long way to go before the Planning Commission considers the Conditional Use Permit.