SHOOTING PARK DOESN'T BELONG IN CARMEL CANYON'S BACKYARD
The residents of Carmel Canyon bought into a lifestyle when we decided to purchase our home in a community we thought was at the edge of the earth, so to speak. Now that vision and quality of life will be severely impacted by the world's largest shooting park ("Manager calls shooting park safe," Centennial View, Feb. 26). We moved to the outskirts of town to enjoy the serenity of the desert that surrounds us. Unfortunately, our builder failed to disclose that the world's largest shooting park would soon be built in our backyards. Our elected officials failed to disclose during public hearings that this facility would be within earshot of our homes. During our due diligence, we had been told that the land there was zoned in a way forbidding commercial enterprises from being built. But, in fact, the world's largest shooting park is a commercial endeavor, with 196 RV spaces, retail and the capability to host thousands of tourists for competitive events. This use is not compatible with what we thought was our niche in the desert.
My family does not want this shooting park so close to us. It will severely affect our quality of life. Our lives are going to be disrupted by the constant sounds of gunfire throughout the day and night. Our pets will be tortured by the noise of gunshots; like the Fourth of July every day. We worry if we can really keep our family safe. Accidents can and do happen.
The shooting park board members are planning to attract national events, making it a tourist attraction, with the potential to cattle in over 300,000 people. That will cause chaos not only for the communities, but also for Shadow Ridge High School, which is adjacent to the entrance/exit of the shooting park. There will be an increased amount of traffic passing in front of the high school every day. And this is tourist traffic, making it an open invitation to strangers in our neighborhoods and near our children.
Let's get one thing straight; we are not against legal guns or a shooting park. There are many Nevadans who own guns and need a place to go and shoot legally, but not in my backyard. The shooting park should be built, but not here. Some may argue the shooting park was here first, however, it is the responsibility of those who knew the park was sited here to make responsible zoning decisions and consider the impact of homes so close to the park. And, at the very least, the very least, make it a condition of zoning approval to require full disclosure of the plans, size, scope and location of the world's largest shooting park. There is other land that can be acquired in parts of town that are miles away from any residential community, where they can ensure that no land is sold to developers to build homes as close as Carmel Canyon ended up. That is the responsible and neighborly thing to do.
-- Renee Lella, Theresa Nolan, William DuBois, Gina Falkowitz, Nick Uchyn, Chrystal Villa, Alex Villa, Lorraine Lennard and Richard Lennard
Las Vegas
PROXIMITY OF PARK A PLUS FOR NORTHWEST AREA RESIDENTS
I just finished reading your article about the new Shooting Park ("Manager calls shooting park safe," Centennial View, Feb. 26) and the complaints expressed by the nearby residents.
I recently moved into an area near the planned Shooting Park and its close proximity was a plus when I purchased my house. Currently I have to drive to the Desert Sportsmen Rifle & Pistol Club to shoot. Its location at the end of Charleston and the beginning of Red Rocks Canyon places it near some very expensive property that was built long after the Club was established. I doubt that the buyers of the new homes and condos in that area were concerned about the close proximity of the Rifle & Pistol Club. Unless told of its existence they probably aren't aware of it, and it is located closer to homes than the planned Shooting Park. If the residents are concerned about noise they might want to take a drive to the Rifle & Pistol Club and stand at its entrance. I think they'll be surprised that they can hear more noise from the passing cars then from the shooting.
I'm also surprised that anybody living in the North Las Vegas area can complain about potential noise when they are undoubtedly living under the flight path of the jets from Nellis.
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