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Two separate shooting ranges have been proposed at Eagle in the past year, one in Aviemore moving forward and another near Spring Valley still in the planning stages.
The first project proposed by the City of Eagle in March would be an 80-acre shooting sports park on Willow Creek Road north of Beacon Light Road. It will be built on a 300-acre parcel donated to the city by Utah-based developers The Clyde Companies and GWC Capital, which is building the planned community Spring Valley next door.
The shooting sports park is proposed to include separate ranges for archery, 3D archery, rifles, shotguns and pistols and a separate locked law enforcement range for training.
The other range is planned for Pearl Road in Boise County, west of Highway 55 near Aviemore. The range is located on 40 acres of land owned by Aviemore and leased to non-profit Crowfoot Range. According to KTVB, the area is already regularly used for illegal shootings.
Both ranges are divided. Residents and equestrian groups near the range sites are concerned about noise from the range, disturbance to the peace and quiet of the area, potential impacts on recreation from the development and a fire hazard from projectiles on the rocks. But supporters say the ranges will provide residents with a much-needed amenity and provide a safe, structured place to shoot so people will stop using the areas for illegal target practice.
Boise County approved the range near Aviemore in September, while the City of Eagle completed a round of studies on the parcel and hopes to bring a full proposal out to the public for input in January.
What is the status of the City of Eagle range?
When asked about the status of the project, city spokeswoman Dana Biberston declined to provide details and instead directed Boysdev to the city’s page for meeting agendas and the city web page for the project.
But the topic came up at a Nov. 1 town hall hosted by the Eagle City Council. At the meeting, Pearce responded to a question about the plan, saying now that the city has completed its study of the parcel and is ready to move forward with further planning. Although a final decision has not been taken on whether the project will be built, scrutiny is continuing.
“Once we have all the information to know exactly what we’re doing, we’ll take it out to the public for input,” Pierce said. “We’ve done those studies, and now what happens is, once we get all the information we’re going to go. Again say to the public, ‘Here’s the final product, what do you think? ‘
On Oct. 25, the Eagle City Council heard an update on the project and voted unanimously to move forward with a request for proposals to create a final design with built-in noise mitigation measures. City of Eagle receives more funding.
Since the project was introduced, the city has completed an environmental study, a noise study and a traffic study of the area. An opinion survey was also conducted on the project, in which 59% of the 836 responses supported the sports park.
Nicole Baird Spencer, Eagle City’s director of long-range planning, told the council that a noise study found the site met all state, county and local standards for noise and “met or exceeded requirements.” As for the recommendations, a second outside peer-reviewed study suggested opening at noon, limiting operation to Sundays and changing the orientation of the shotgun range if the range is at 7 p.m. or before sunset, she said. Make sure sound travels north from homes.
The traffic study found that Willow Creek Road would still meet the service requirements of the Ada County Highway District and would not require a traffic light. Environmental studies should include wildlife-friendly fences, efforts to plant new grass on any disturbed soil, and care should be taken to wash equipment going in and out of the site to deter invasive species.
Avimor range approved
It took Boise County nearly a year to say yes to the Crowfoot Range, but county commissioners finally gave it the green light.
The Planning & Zoning Commission held its first public hearing on the project in October 2021, but tabled the project to hear more testimony. This was followed by a series of separate meetings regarding the shooting range on the proposed site itself and the Garden Valley Shooting Range. Another public hearing was held in February 2022, before being tabled again until April when it was approved with conditions.
The project was immediately appealed by many Boise County homeowners and was given consideration by the Boise County Commissioners. They held a public hearing on the range in July, tabled the matter for August, and finally agreed to uphold the Planning & Zoning Commission’s decision in September. .
The plan had various conditions, including rules preventing anyone from using it until ten-foot-high berms were built in the first two phases to prevent stray bullets from leaving the area. The long-range rifle shooting area also cannot be used until a ten-foot-high, 300-foot-long berm is constructed on the northeast side of the shooting bay.
Each shooting lane must have a shooting shelter to prevent stray bullets from flying, and the range must follow rules set by the Eagle Fire Department, including seasonal regulations to prevent fire hazards, and the range is open six days a week from 8 a.m. or one hour later. Close at sunrise, whichever is later, at 6 pm or one hour before sunset, whichever is earlier.
Crowfoot Range must have fire protection around the property and maintain a 5,000-gallon tank on the property for fire suppression.
The range also has to comply with noise standards set in Idaho code.
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