Juneau Veterans for Peace and Juneau Mercantile and Armory are being encouraged to settle an appeal of a permit for an indoor shooting range at a proposed gun shop near the Juneau airport.
The CBJ Community Development Department and the two parties met yesterday (Thursday) in a pre-hearing conference with City Attorney John Hartle and Assembly member Loren Jones. He’s been appointed presiding officer for the issue.
The Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit last month for a 13-thousand square foot building that would sell guns, and rent guns to be used in the underground shooting range – including automatic weapons.
The local Veterans for Peace chapter appealed the permit, saying city development staff did not thoroughly review the effect on “public health or safety.”
Jones says Community Development must produce the record of the Planning Commission process by January 29th.
“And then the parties get a chance to read that over, see if there’s anything in there that they think is wrong, or in error, or something not there,” Jones says.
He says he hopes Veterans for Peace, Mercantile owners and the city will continue to talk among themselves about a possible settlement.
“So when we get back on the 12th, they may have independently talked and reached a better understanding of where we go, or the outline of a settlement,” he says.
Even if a settlement is reached, the Juneau Assembly will still hear the issue and would have to approve the settlement.
