Zoning Board Will Hear Midland Gun Range Appeal

By Don Del Rosso

The private gun range near Midland wants a second opinion.

In May, Fauquier County Assistant Zoning Administrator Andrew Hushour cited Range 82 for violating its special-use permit by allowing training to take place at the 50-acre facility on Route 610.

Disagreeing, Range 82 last week filed a challenge to Hushour's ruling with the county board of zoning appeals (BZA).

It wants the BZA to overrule Hushour.

Hushour's May 15 letter to Range 82 owner Lee Hollander and landowner William Patton notes that Web sites for Sig Sauer Academy, a well-known weapons training group, and Range 82 refer to training courses at the Midland facility.

But planning consultant Chuck Floyd, who represents Range 82, takes exception to Hushour's conclusions.

In a five-page appeal to the BZA, Floyd said that:

• Hushour fails to provide "any actual evidence the cited violation occurred."

• Range 82 provides no "training, qualification or certifications."

• "Some form of 'training' is an incidental function of a recreational range, as it is with every other recreational use found" in the county zoning ordinance.

For the full story, read the June 24 Fauquier Times-Democrat