Paintball and gun range proposed in Crestwood

Oldham County planners will consider tomorrow whether a California man can turn a former Crestwood roller rink into an indoor paintball and firearms range.

Several residents and firearm enthusiasts have written letters supporting Barry Laws' plan, saying there's no comparable facility in the area. But dozens of others have expressed concerns about safety and the noise the range could bring.

Laws, a real estate broker in Los Angeles, must obtain a conditional-use permit and variances from the county Board of Adjustments before renovating the former Champ's roller rink behind the Crestwood Station shopping center. The building is zoned for general business.

If Laws gets approval, he said he hopes to open the range in about nine months.

Some residents, including Harold Boroughs of Centerfield, said the community needs an indoor range.

Boroughs, 75, said it would save him a drive to Clark State Forest in Indiana, where he goes for target shooting. He said it's usually muddy there, and he has to wade through a creek to tend to his targets.

Boroughs said he has been involved in shooting sports most of his life. "I think it would be a boon to all of us."

Kathryn Temple, who lives behind the former roller rink, said an indoor paintball facility would save her house from being pummeled with colored pellets. She said children have played paintball in a nearby field, and her house was hit with paint last summer. The paint has since washed away, but her siding was dented.

"It's good for them to have a safe, contained area to shoot," Temple said.

But Kay Powell, who also lives behind the proposed range, said Laws can't guarantee that accidents won't happen.

Powell said she agrees shooters have a right to their guns and that they need a place to shoot them, but she doesn't want that place to be her back yard. She is circulating a petition against the proposed location, and 97 people had signed it as of yesterday morning, she said.

"If it's in a less-populated area," Powell said, she would support Laws' idea. "We're in Oldham County — let's face it, there are more rural areas to put this in."

Laws said Powell's objection to the location is unfair, saying, "They bought into an area that is zoned for exactly the kind of business I'm opening here."

He said the range is going to be renovated in accordance with industry standards developed by the National Rifle Association. He said his plans include noise reduction and a backstop designed to catch up to .50-caliber rounds.

The range also would rent guns, but Laws said patrons would be given rental guns only when they enter the range and wouldn't be permitted to carry them in open areas of the facility or outside the building.

"It's going to be a very controlled environment," he said.

Laws, who plans to move to Louisville this spring, is certified by the California Department of Justice in handgun-safety training. He said he would conduct all classes and private instruction at the Crestwood range.

He said he sees only positives coming from his venture — giving shooters a safe place to practice, providing potential customers for Crestwood Station and offering safety programs for youth and adults.