Shooting Range Legislation On City Council Agenda Tonight

Mentor City Council can vote on a proposed change to the city's zoning code that would allow for a professional indoor shooting range in Mentor.

Planning Commission already approved the proposed change; and, seeing as Council recommended the zoning change in the first place, it would be a surprise if they did not vote for it tonight.

If approved, professional indoor shooting ranges would be possible in the city's industrial zones.

Council already passed a resolution that amends the city's ban on firing guns in the city. They can now be fired -- but only in a commercial indoor shooting range.

The issue initially came up when a business owner asked if it would be possible to open a commercial shooting range in Mentor, City Manager Kenneth Filipiak said previously.

Filipiak added that these resolutions were specifically worded to only allow professional indoor shooting ranges -- and, even then, only in Mentor's industrial zones.

"We don't want private gun clubs because those are much more difficult to control," he said.

Any specific businesses that want to open indoor shooting ranges would still need a conditional use permit from the Planning Commission and a discharge permit from Mentor's safety director, which is also Filipiak.

Also at tonight's City Council meeting:

• Council could approve a one-time, $1,000 grant to help the Confectionary Cupboard build an externally illuminated decorated wooden sign for outside its cupcakery.

The Council has approved similar grants for nearby businesses like the Lawnfield Inn & Suites and Benjamin F. Edwards & Company, according to the Council's staff reports.

The complete legislation for tonight's meeting is attached to this story as a trio of PDFs.