Ramsey gun range application withdrawn

RAMSEY — A controversial proposal to open a 60,620-square-foot indoor firing range –which triggered both fierce opposition and support – has been withdrawn, borough officials announced Monday.

The move comes after months of back-and-forth with the owners of the Spring Street property where the range would have been located, Mayor Deirdre Dillon said in a statement.

“We appreciate the good faith efforts the owners have shown in deciding that the use of the property be consistent with the family-oriented atmosphere that we have in Ramsey and we thank them,” Dillon said.

Dillon said she did not know why the Planning Board application was withdrawn. The applicant's attorney, James E. Jaworski, did not return a call for comment.

Alexander Roubian, president of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, expressed dismay at the decision.

"We believe this is a huge disappointment for supporters of the Second Amendment," he said Monday.

The development – dubbed The Screaming Eagle Club – would have transformed the Liberty Travel building on Spring Street into a full-service firing range, complete with 67 firing stalls, a space for retail sales, gun rentals and a restaurant.

Peter Cuttone, the developer, had said the venture would be unique in the state for its size and scope. Members of the club would have had access to locker and bath facilities, and a country-club-style room with a fireplace, billiards and gaming.

The project, however, pit concerned residents against Second Amendment activists at raucous Planning Board meetings that began in January. Residents started petitions seeking to protect what they said was the borough’s safe, residential atmosphere, while gun rights activists launched their own petitions endorsing the proposal.

One resident, Chance Parker, raised nearly $25,000 for a legal fund to challenge the application. He used that money to hire an independent planner, engineer and environmental consultant to review the application.

The Borough Council entered the fray in January by introducing an ordinance that would have effectively blocked the range by banning the use of firearms anywhere in the borough.

The New Jersey Second Amendment Society and Cuttone subsequently threatened the borough with litigation. In response, the borough mounted its own legal defense, retaining New York law firm Troutman Sanders on a pro bono basis to defend the proposed ordinance against litigation.

The borough, however, never adopted the law. Dillon said Monday that the borough had tabled the gun ordinance while in discussions with Screaming Eagle.

Multiple planning board members had expressed reservations about potential safety issues with the proposed gun range, taking issue with plans to allow daily gun rentals to users as young as 10.

During a January hearing, former member Rudy Iorio referenced a 2016 report by The Record that stated seven suicides had occurred at New Jersey gun ranges since 2014, some committed by patrons who rented guns on site.

Cuttone had said background checks for criminal and mental health issues would be conducted on each person who enters the range. All first-time arrivals would go through a check-in procedure, which would involve demonstrating competency with a plastic gun and completing a written and physical safety evaluation.

A 16,000-square-foot gun range in Woodland Park, Gun for Hire, broke ground last year on a $12 million, 55,000-square-foot expansion.

In August, the Wayne Planning Board approved a 13,500-square-foot gun range with 15 shooting lanes.

Email: nobile@northjersey.com