New Spokane Gun Club project moves forward

The Spokane Gun Club has filed preliminary permits with Spokane County to build a new location on the West Plains.

County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to remove a 450-acre site from a designated no-shooting area west of Fairchild Air Force Base and bounded by McFarlane Road to the north and Thorpe Road to the south. The area had been designated as a no-shooting area since 1993.

The land is owned by Western Pacific Timber LLC, with a sale contingent upon approval of the conditional-use permit.

The gun club plans to build controlled pistol, trap and skeet shooting ranges as well as a clubhouse, according to an environmental review.

The gun club’s plans were supported by Fairchild following an agreement on how to orient shooting ranges to ensure safety. Shooting would be contained to a 300-yard designated area within the site and efforts would be made by the club to isolate noise.

The conditional-use permitting process will address the club’s operating hours and type of use for the site.

The gun club sold its former 99-acre site in Spokane Valley to the Central Valley School District last year to make way for the district’s third comprehensive high school.

The sale was somewhat controversial among club members, with some concerned about ability to find a new site and obtain permits.