Protested gun range near elementary school approved in Lyon Twp

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A plan to build a shooting range next to an elementary school has been approved by city leaders in Lyon Township.

The vote came in Monday night after much debate, and despite some parents calling it outrageous and a danger to their children. The $6 million indoor gun range is 750 feet from Dolsen Elementary School.

It is not the business they don't like, but where they are putting it has people concerned.

A group of parents gathered at Monday night's board of trustees meeting to ask that Huron Valley Guns, an indoor range and recreational center, be put somewhere else. The board decided in the end, though, to grant the special permit for the 39,000 square foot facility.

"If I thought there was even the slightest chance that someone's child could get hurt from a firearms training facility I was putting in, I wouldn't do it," said Ed Swadish, owner of Huron Valley Guns.

"If it wasn't 100 percent safe, if I was only 90 percent sure, I would not have supported it," said Lannie Young, Lyon Township supervisor. "That is how confident I am."

The owner of the gun range said he is starting construction on the property tomorrow and will have it done by April.