Lawrence school board opposes shooting range near school; planning commission to vote Monday

The Lawrence College and Career Center, 2910 Haskell Ave.

Lawrence school board members are voicing opposition to a shooting range and gun shop that is proposed for a location across the street from the district’s new college and career center.

“It’s not an appropriate location for a business that sells deadly weapons — that close to a school,” said school board member Shannon Kimball.

Kimball brought up the topic at the board’s meeting last week, and board members have since written a letter voicing their official opposition, calling the proposal “unreasonable.” The Douglas County Planning Commission will consider the issue at its Monday meeting, in which a public hearing about the rezoning request that would allow for the proposed shooting range and shop is scheduled.

Commissioners will vote on whether to approve the request of Lawrence businessman Rick Sells to rezone an approximately 1-acre property at 1021 E. 31st St. — currently a vacant industrial building — to allow for the indoor shooting range and a gun sales and repair shop, according to the commission’s report. The rezoning request is recommended for approval.

Sells — the former owner of Lawrence Athletic Club and a substitute teacher for the school district — said he is not against the district’s concerns and will be providing details about the safety measures and regulations that would be in place.

“I can understand why people are a little concerned, because when you say guns, it’s a scary topic,” he said, noting that if people from the school district or community have questions, he’d like to answer them.

View Map

The Lawrence College and Career Center, 2910 Haskell Ave., is located across 31st — about 760 feet — from the proposed site. The LCCC is attended by hundreds of students from both high schools. It’s also adjacent to the proposed site for the future Boys & Girls Club teen center, which will run an after-school program for about 300 middle and high school students.

Colby Wilson, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence, said the club supports the school district’s stance, but explained he will be attending Monday’s meeting to learn more about the proposal and safety measures that would be in place.

“We need the club and the college and career center to be a safe place,” Wilson said. “We need people to trust that their kids are going to be safe there, and I’m not sure if this is the best fit for a gun range.”

Amid an increase in school shootings across the country, the district has made efforts to tighten security at its 21 schools. As part of the district’s $92.5 million bond issue, all schools are getting renovations, which include safety updates such as secure entrances, keypad-entry classroom doors and portable remotes that teachers can carry to lock classrooms at the press of a button. Kimball said having a business that sells guns so close to a school is contrary to such measures.

“We have undertaken a massive effort in our district to increase the safety and security of our campuses, and this just feels wrong in that light,” she said.

However, there are no local codes that would prohibit the location of a gun range or shop within 1,000 feet of a school, according to the commission’s report. The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act prohibits possession and discharge of firearms within 1,000 feet of a school but has several exceptions, including on private property.

Sells said he doesn’t think guns are the problem or that the act would necessarily stop violence.

“It doesn’t matter whether that act says 5 feet, 500 feet, 1,000 feet or 10,000 feet, if someone is going to do something stupid, they’re going to do it no matter what,” he said.

The Gun-Free School Zones Act also requires guns be unloaded within the 1,000-foot zones, unless on private property, so customers of the proposed business could not load their weapons until they entered the property. Kimball argues that puts the burden to comply on the individual.

“I don’t think that there’s any way that you can reasonably expect all customers of a business like that to comply with that statue,” she said.

Sells said he thought more gun training and education would be beneficial to public safety. His customers would not only be informed of the law requiring them to bring their weapons unloaded, but also would be required to sign an agreement to do so, he said. In addition, Sells said, a gun safety and range etiquette class would be available for $10 and required for customers under the age of 18.

“We’re going way out of our way to make sure this place is safe,” he said.

Sells confirmed that there is another potential location for the business, in the Malls Shopping Center at the intersection of 23rd and Louisiana streets. He noted that location has a residential neighborhood to its south and is near both Lawrence High School and South Middle School.

The Douglas County Planning Commission is scheduled to meet from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 6 E. 6th St. The rezoning proposal is the seventh of 10 items on the agenda.