HERRIMAN, Utah - Hundreds of Herriman residents gathered at a City Council meeting on Thursday to discuss a proposed gun range in the south part of town. Some residents voiced their support of the range while others are concerned about the safety of residents and about fire danger.
The proposed gun range would be located in the foothills of Herriman a little more than a mile from the Juniper Point subdivision, which is home to Providence Hall Elementary.
The city held a gun range noise test in late October and asked residents to comment on their Facebook page about the noise and the proposed range.
Some residents said they support the range and aren't concerned about possible noise.
"Any potential noise issues shouldn't keep us from allowing this to go forward. The benefits of having it outweigh the potential sporadic noise," Robert Feifer wrote. "I believe the cars and city noise are way more than a gun range that far away."
Others said they heard "popping" noises and are wary of the impact of the range on homeowners.
"All I know is neighbors around here are going to be EXTREMELY upset for building a new house in a great town, only to be ruined by the sound of gun fire. It could halt the new construction and deter a lot of future neighbors who may build up here. Also, a lot of the developers may pack up and build elsewhere," Matt Fillipini wrote.
"While it sounded like construction as someone else mentioned previously, I know that the sound of construction is temporary. This gun fire will last forever," Courtney Ward Duckworth wrote.
Others were worried about fire danger, especially after the 2010 Machine Gun Fire and last year's Dump Fire in Utah County.
"The noise is something we can train out brains to deal with but what about fire risks? We catch fire every summer. Why put the school, families, and our community at risk," Cassy Robinson wrote.
Residents raised concerns for the safety of residents, particularly students at Providence Hall. One student spoke Thursday, saying that the school's cross country team frequently run through the area of the proposed range.
Residents packed the City Council to express similar opinions in a meeting that lasted past 11 p.m. Officials with the gun range, city and local fire agencies also addressed concerns of fire danger, noise issues and other safety issues.
In the end, a motion to continue the discussion until further noticed passed unanimously with council members encouraging further input from residents.
