Brownhelm Township residents at odds with gun range over zoning permits

BROWNHELM TWP. — A company on Cooper Foster Park Road will be allowed to keep a pole barn on its property following a ruling by the Board of Zoning Appeals earlier this week. Residents appealed a building permit granted to Zero9 Solutions and its co-owner, Ryan Allen, to construct an 80-by-160-foot pole barn on the same property as Northern Ohio Tactical Training Center gun range, arguing the property owner previously was noncompliant with the township's zoning resolution. Most recently amended in December 2018, the resolution outlines local zoning regulations approved by the Township Board of Trustees. Carl Wilms Jr., who filed the appeal with support from his neighbors, alleged the site was not compliant with zoning codes because the driveway is gravel — when a paved lot is required unless the site was grandfathered in — and the plumbing, which was reportedly connected to the existing septic system, hadn't been approved by Lorain County Public Health. "You cannot get a permit if there's violations and the violation should be taken into consideration to get a permit, because that's what our resolution says," Wilms said. "And if you don't follow the resolution there's no reason to have the resolution because things have to be followed, proceduralized. … The permit cannot be granted until everything has previously been satisfied." He also alleged the number and size of the gun ranges on the property were different from those approved in initial site plans in 2016. Much of residents' complaints on Tuesday referenced problems dating to 2016, when the gun range opened. Lorain County Prosecutor Dan Petticord and BZA Chairman Ron Zaleha reiterated several times that the issue of the meeting was only whether the pole barn was in compliance, not what had happened prior to Zoning Inspector Shawn Cline's approval of the conditional use in March. In a November 2020 letter from former Lorain County Assistant Prosecutor Gerald Innes to Wilm's lawyer shared with The Chronicle-Telegram, Innes states meeting minutes where the range's original application was considered were not completed until a "substantial time afterwards," and compiled from memory of what had occurred. Due to the time gap in creation of the minutes, and the gun range owners' assertion that any site plans submitted were approximations, there is no basis to challenge the original permit. Allen spoke briefly during Tuesday's meeting, stating the permit was issued correctly. Township Fiscal Officer Marsha Funk noted there is a contract with a state-certified building inspector to confirm all plumbing, electrical and other services are up to code, which are outside of the zoning inspector's purview. Cline stated he'd spoken with Allen and was told the county was aware of plans to connect the barn's sewer to the existing septic system on the property. After the meeting, Cline confirmed the parking lot is currently gravel, but once construction on the pole barn is complete it is his understanding the owners plan to pave it. As for violations, there were none open when he approved the permit. Resident Angel Pinkerton, who researched extensively for Wilm's appeal, argued that the gun range would have to have corrected any past zoning violations to receive a certificate of compliance from the township — again touching on the issue of a gravel parking lot and number of parking spaces required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which the township's zoning resolution uses as a guide. Petticord said the BZA would take her statements into account, but that the hearing was not the time to reopen any other issue than whether the barn could be on the lot. The Board of Zoning Appeals sided unanimously with Allen and Zero9 Solutions, allowing the barn's construction to continue. Wilms and other residents can appeal the decision in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. It is not the first time residents have sparred with the gun range or its ownership. In 2017, residents packed a township trustees meeting to voice concerns about noise coming from the recently opened range. At that time, Innes told the group the trustees have no control over the Board of Zoning Appeals' permit process. Residents did not appeal the board's decision for the range's original permit within the 30-day window, Innes said, meaning the range was allowed to move forward. This story has been corrected to reflect Brownhelm residents appealed a building permit, not conditional use permit. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.