The NIMBYs of Madison County Reject Proposed Gun Range

Last week I covered the controversy over a new outdoor range proposed in Madison County, Iowa, where nearby neighbors were already launching complaints about anticipated noise levels and disruptions to their homes and businesses. The range still needed to win approval from the Madison County Planning and Zoning Commission before work could begin in earnest, and on Thursday the commission met to consider the application from the range’s owners. 

Unfortunately, the not-in-my-backyard crowd won the day, with the commission voting unanimously against the zoning request by the owners of a Waukee, Iowa gun shop called Black Flag Arsenal. 

The commission said as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday, staff had received 28 emails in support of the Vanguard and 413 emails, letters and petitions in opposition to the Vanguard. 

Many community members had strong opposition to the shooting range, with concerns including noise pollution, decreased property values overall safety and increased traffic flow, as well as the impact on livestock and agriculture businesses, an existing preschool and childcare business, the environment and wildlife.

During Thursday’s meeting, Keegan Garrey, an owner at Black Flag Arsenal, said the mission for the Vanguard is to make the community safer. “We believe that responsible, well-trained individuals are the foundation of a safer society,” he said. 

Garrey also noted one of the two indoor gun ranges in the Des Moines metro had shut down within the past year. “There’s nothing to this capacity that exists in the state of Iowa. We’re trying to provide a safe, regulated space.”

Lanz addressed noise concerns as well, and said the tree coverage and natural terrain would help mitigate the sound, and there were plans to include other ways to mitigate the noise. 

As I wrote in my first story on the proposed range, I understand the concerns of those neighbors. But the complaints about noise pollution, increased traffic flow, and potential decreased property values can be made for virtually any location where someone wants to set up an outdoor range. 

“For us, part of it is the lack of good neighbor. They knew they were going to build this and they haven’t talked to any of the landowners around that,” Jane Dawson said.

Jane and Ray intended for their new house to be a peaceful forever home — a dream they say the shooting range would disturb.

“She just retired, and I’m just a few years from it, and we were looking forward to being able to, you know, wake up in the morning and go sit on a porch and watch the sunrise and sunset in peace and quiet,” Ray Dawson said. 

Yeah, I’d say the “lack of good neighbor” is a very small part of the Dawsons’ complaints. If Lanz and Garrey had driven over to the Dawson home and informed them of their plans, would they really have been on board? Given that the pair say the range would disturb their “peaceful forever home,” I’m guessing not. 

And even without a commercial range, there’s nothing stopping the owners of Black Flag Arsenal from hosting family, friends, and customers on the property to do as much shooting as they’d like. I don’t know if Garrey and Lanz have any plans to do that, but they’d be well within their rights as property owners. 

Most folks who move to the country with the idea that they’re going have peace and quiet 24/7 are deluding themselves, at least if you’re anywhere close to a town of any considerable size. There are the sounds of agriculture (as I’m writing this I can hear my neighbor spreading fertilizer on one of the pastures I let him use to grow fodder for his herd of Black Angus cattle). You might hear the sound of heavy saws and toppling trees in areas where logging is source of employment and income. Heck, you might even learn that your neighbor has a machine shop that runs 8 to 12 hours a day, with the whine of machinery drifting across to your property. 

And almost every rural space is going to feature the sound of shooting, whether from a formal range, hunting club, or just folks shooting for fun on their own property. I guarantee I’ll be able to hear at least gunshots from two nearby properties after the guys who live there get home from work today, and more tomorrow as well. 

The NIMBYism that led to the zoning commission shooting down this range proposal is a real challenge for gun owners. We see similar opposition to gun stores and indoor ranges too, and if the NIMBYs always get their way then it could become nearly impossible for many of us to acquire firearms and train with them on a regular basis. What happened with Black Flag Arsenal’s proposed range is a cautionary tale, and a reminder that our rights aren’t just threatened by anti-gun politicians in D.C. and our state capital. Even in states with good gun laws like Iowa, the threat can be much closer to home. 

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to lie about gun owners and the Second Amendment. 

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