Zoning Board permits shooting ranges in industrial zones
The Stamford Zoning Board voted this week to allow commercial shooting ranges, by permit, in the city’s industrial areas.
The amendment to city zoning rules passed four to zero, with one member of the board abstaining.
City regulations allowed previously only for ranges to exist in conjunction with other retail or manufacturing businesses as an accessory use. The board modified existing zoning rules to allow explicitly for shooting ranges in the city’s M-G zones, also known as
“As part of the old saying ‘If you see a need, fill a need.’ This business here is filling a need for people to come in to train with a firearm.” Stamford Director of Economic Development Thomas Madden
general industrial districts.
Benjamin Rosenshine and Nikolas Tavlarios — two firearms industry veterans and owners of Reata Sports — brought forth the proposed change to the city’s existing zoning laws in hopes of turning an empty gun manufacturing space into a full-service shooting range and educational facility.
“Regardless of your political affiliation, regardless of your feeling about the good or bad of firearms — the fact of the matter is that firearms do exist,” said Rosenshine.
Rosenshine and Tavlarios both own shooting ranges in N.Y. state. Rosenshine’s Blueline Tactical and Police Supply in Elmsford, N.Y. would serve as the model for the facility the two hope to open in Stamford at 134 Jefferson St.
The pair emphasized to the zoning board that safety is at the heart of what they want to accomplish by building a range in Stamford.
“What we want to do is the same thing that we did at our Elmsford facility,” said Rosenshine. “That is provide a safe, clean environment where you can get proper instruction on how to properly use a firearm, how to properly store a firearm, how to properly keep it out of the hands of people who should not have it.”
Rosenshine hopes to provide classroom instruction and practice space at a Stamford location to help serve the growing number of people interested in guns.
The number of city residents seeking a Connecticut State Pistol Permit have increased this year. Stamford residents have obtained 347 pistol permits in 2020 thus far, according to figures from the State Police.
That figure rose from 2019, when 320 Stamford residents acquired permits in the entire year.
“As part of the old saying ‘If you see a need, fill a need.’ This business here is filling a need for people to come in to train with a firearm,” said Stamford Director of Economic Development Thomas Madden.
Despite now allowing full-service shooting ranges in parts of Stamford, the zoning board ruled that all customer parking for such facilities must be on-site to prevent patrons from carrying guns far from the range.
The city’s Planning Board advised against allowing shooting ranges in August, when Reata Sports first brought forth its application. The board cited concerns about shooting ranges in industrial zones conflicting with the Stamford Master Plan.
A member of the Planning Board briefly expressed fears about what a shooting range would bring to Stamford.
“I think [the vote] was a referendum on guns and whether you’re for or against guns,” said Nicholas Vitti, the attorney representing Reata Sports. “Not really what the heart of this application was for.”