Firing range approved for Mt. Lebanon public works facility
If all goes as planned, a new firing range is coming to Mt. Lebanon’s public works facility property.
The township’s commissioners on Feb. 13 approved an amendment to the site plan for improvements at the facility, effectively moving the location of the range there instead of at Mt. Lebanon Golf Club, as had received approval in December. The vote was 4-1, with Commissioner Kelly Fraasch opposing.
The change came about largely because of Keystone Oaks School Board’s December vote to limit the range’s use “for law enforcement only,” effectively barring Mt. Lebanon High School’s rifle team from practicing and hosting matches there. Under the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, Keystone Oaks had a say in the usage because the golf course site is within 1,000 feet of the district’s Myrtle Avenue Elementary School in Castle Shannon.
During the discussion session preceding the commission’s regular meeting, Fraasch asked whether Mt. Lebanon School District had made a financial commitment toward the range. One had been located in the high school since the 1930s, but the district opted not to include a new range in the school’s recent $110 million renovation.
Municipal manager Keith McGill said he discussed the matter with school board member Al Frioni, the liaison to the municipality, and learned: “There appears to be general support for moving forward” with a financial commitment from the school district.
“Had we stayed with the golf course site, this project was always financially planned to be able to move forward without contribution from the school district. So the capacity’s there from a budget standpoint,” McGill said about municipal resources, “and we’re looking for the school district to partner because we’ll create one facility that meets the needs of both groups.”
Police use the existing range at the public works facility, which is accessed from Lindendale Drive, but a longer one is needed to meet training requirements. Construction of a new range is included in Mt. Lebanon’s Department of Public Works Master Plan, drafted in 2014.
The amended site plan received recommendation from the municipal planning board in January, and the parks advisory board also favored the change after reviewing the plan on Feb. 6. It calls for a trailhead connection to the adjacent Robb Hollow Park, and the area around the firing range to be used for recreational green space.
The range is designed as a 5,400-square-foot structure outfitted for maximum sound mitigation.