An application for a private gun range on Smithbridge Road was withdrawn after the applicant heard the only person to testify against his plan.
“That was an incredible presentation,” said Brad Bernstein. “If my wife heard that she’d slap me upside the head.”
He then withdrew his request.
Bernstein was responding to testimony from Cecil Morgan, of Foothill Path, who cited multiple reasons that the Chadds Ford Board of Supervisors should reject Bernstein’s plan for a pistol range on his property at 1201 Smithbridge Road.
Morgan, who referred to himself as a Vietnam veteran who still jumps at the sound of gunfire, collected 31 signatures from neighbors in the area who opposed the range and cited a variety of reasons against it.
He said it violates the Pennsylvania law that requires a safety zone of 150 yards around homes and other buildings where weapons can’t be fired and he cited a number of other safety concerns.
Morgan said his house was only 30 yards away and that ricochets and overshooting a target could lead to problems for bicyclists and horseback riders who are frequently in the area. They could also injure or kill pets and wildlife.
If the board allowed the range, Morgan was asking for a number of conditions including insurance policies for up to $2 million in damages in the event of loss of life and that there would need to be a certified instructor on the premises who was equally insured.
He added that there was a public indoor range — Target Master — just a mile away on Route 202.
Prior to the hearing, Bernstein said, “It would be nice to go into my yard and shoot a couple of magazines without needing to go to a range.”
Bernstein said he’s been going to an outdoor range about 45 minutes away.
He testified that his proposed range was about 30 feet long and that targets would be in front of a berm that was 30-40 feet high.
The board closed the hearing right after Bernstein withdrew.
Other business
• Supervisors voted to forward a request for a zoning change to the township Planning Commission and the Delaware County Planning department.
K. Hovanian Homes wants to build a 114-townhome community on the 21-acre parcel along Brandywine Drive between Hannum’s Harley Davidson and Painters Crossing shopping center.
That parcel is currently zone PBC —planned business center. The site would have to be rezoned residential for multi-home use before the plan could go forward.
• Board members also set a hearing date for a liquor license transfer for Not Your Average Joe’s restaurant going into Glen Eagle Square where Outback used to be. The hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., right before the start of the March 5 supervisors meeting.
The license is coming from the former Olive Branch on Route 202, but the approval for that license was written with only that location in mind. The applicant wants those site-specific restrictions removed. One of those restrictions is that there be no alcohol service in an outdoor seating area.
• Supervisor George Thorpe was absent from the Feb. 5 meeting.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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