FIRESTONE - It would be one of the largest gun ranges and training facilities in Colorado, but neighbors in Weld County say they don't want the facility near their homes.
Second Amendment Firearms Experience (SAFE) wants to put a gun range and training facility on roughly 900 acres of land one mile north of Firestone. The location is convenient to Denver and others along the Front Range.
"Most of our shooting will be done in a covered facility," Ronald Abramson with SAFE said.
Still, many neighbors worry about the noise.
"We picked this site because of the view," Paul Salazar said, whose home overlooks the proposed site.
"They're going to be shooting towards us," Salazar said.
Others near the proposed location point out the gun range would need to be annexed into the town.
"There's about a hundred neighbors. Everyone I know around here is against it," said Joe Miller, of Miller Farms in Platteville.
Abramson with SAFE says the community is behind his efforts. He says they've halved the number of outdoor shooting bays as a result of feedback from the community and they say they will have sound mitigation in place.
"We're only using one percent of that property. 99 percent of that property would be designated open space," Abramson said.
The space isn't annexed into Firestone just yet. Two public meetings, on Feb. 5 and Feb. 13, will take place in Firestone.
As for families like the Salazars, they are worried about a number of issues: noise from shooting; their view; safety for children; even what might happen to the wildlife.
They hope Firestone will hear them out.
(KUSA-TV © 2013 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)