DOVER — Should the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment grant a variance to allow commercial recreation in the industrial-zoned Enterprise Park?

That is the question ZBA members are poised to answer Thursday when they take up a request from White Birch Armory to relocate its business to Dover, including indoor firing ranges, on land currently owned by the city’s Dover Business and Industrial Development Authority. Some land-owning abutters have expressed concern about the location of the business being too close to single-family dwellings.

Assistant city planner Elena Piekut, who is the city’s zoning administrator, said the Planning Department has recommended the ZBA approve the variance to allow commercial recreation with the condition that it would only allow an indoor gun range as a commercial activity in the future.

Piekut said that, by law, variances “run with the land.” If the ZBA approved it, and White Birch Armory built and operated its business and then closed for whatever reason, a similar tenant could take over as long as the building had not been vacant for more than a year. If it were empty for a longer period of time, another indoor gun range business would need to seek a new ZBA variance.

Currently, White Birch Armory operates off Great Falls Avenue in Rochester, where it sells firearms, ammunition and accessories to retail and wholesale customers, including law enforcement. White Birch is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business and receives federal contracts, according to owner and founder Sean Manning, an eight-year U.S. Marine veteran and Purple Heart recipient who had multiple tours in Iraq doing reconnaissance and as a scout sniper.

White Birch Armory does not have a gun range in Rochester, but Manning had sought to build one at the current home of the business. When that fell through, and with a bank willing to provide the needed capital, he turned to the parcel on Quality Way in Enterprise Park in Dover he had previously considered.

Manning said he and staff members met with DBIDA and answered questions about the business before receiving the board’s unanimous support. Manning was previously employed as a master firearms instructor for Sig Sauer Academy in Epping and as a test and evaluation manager at Sig Sauer. He said gun safety is the top concern of his business. Part of the business in Dover would be dedicated to safety training for beginners and advanced gun users.

According to initial plans, White Birch Armory seeks to build a 15,000-square-foot facility featuring three indoor firing ranges: a standard firing range for the public; a dynamic one for members and law enforcement training; and an underground range for large-caliber firearms. The building would also include offices, a classroom and retail area. It would be located at the end of the Quality Way cul-de-sac. Manning said the shooting ranges would be state of the art for both safety and sound concerns. He said the majority of the business is wholesale, and there would be staff in the building making sales calls and speaking with customers, so it will be important to control the impact of noise from gunfire.

“Our building is probably going to be one of the quietest of Enterprise Park,” he said, noting it is vital "not just for the surrounding area, but for our own peace of mind."

The building is proposed to be located about 100 yards away from a single-family residence on Quail Drive owned by Douglas and Yukari Porter, according to property records. Douglas Porter expressed concern about the potential business diminishing their property value.

Porter said he understands the area is zoned industrial, but he said the businesses currently in Enterprise Park have standard hours with little to no weekend hours. He worries White Birch Armory would bring a lot of traffic every day, including weekends, and he's concerned about noise. Even with the dampening of the sound indoors, Porter believes he and others will hear the gunfire.

“It’s a bit concerning for us in the Quail Drive neighborhood. We have a very quiet neighborhood. The quality of life has been very good,” Porter said. “I don’t think this is the right place for this type of business.”

The ZBA meeting is Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Dover City Hall.