Orange County NC Website
Article 5: Uses <br /> Section 5.7: Standards for Recreational Uses <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Orange County, North Carolina – Unified Development Ordinance Page 5-68 <br /> <br />(b) Outdoor shooting ranges shall:28 <br />(i) Be located a minimum of 300 feet from all property lines, <br />street rights-of-way, or access easements; <br />(ii) Be located a minimum of 1,000 feet from occupied dwelling <br />units external to the property; and <br />(iii) Have shooting activities directed into a projectile-proof <br />backstop consisting of concrete, steel, earth, wood or <br />combination thereof, a minimum of 15 feet in height and 30 <br />feet in depth. <br />(iv) Operate only from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily.29 <br />(v) Maintain a Type F land use buffer, as detailed in Section 6.8, <br />around the perimeter of the range. <br />(c) Indoor shooting activities shall: <br />(i) Be located a minimum of 50 feet from all property lines, <br />street rights-of-way, or access easements; <br />(ii) Be located a minimum of 500 feet from occupied dwelling <br />units external to the property; and <br />(iii) Have shooting activities directed into a backstop to keep the <br />shot within the structure. <br />(iv) Maintain a Type B land use buffer, as detailed in Section 6.8, <br />around the permiter of the property. <br />(d) Nothing in Section 5.7.2 (B) shall be construed as regulating hunting <br />activities or the operation of a shooting range developed for, and <br />exclusively utilized by, local, State, and/or Federal law enforcement <br />agencies. <br />(e) Nothing in Section 5.7.2 (B) shall be construed as regulating or <br />prohibiting: <br />i. Hunting activities or the operation of a shiooting <br />range developed for, and exclusively utilized by, <br />local, State, and/or Federal law enforcement <br />agencies. <br />ii. The holding of turkey shoots or other similar <br />activities conducted as a fundraiser or <br />community event so long as such activities <br />occur no more than three days in a given <br />calendar year on a parcel of property30, <br />iii. The incidental discharge of a firearm, the <br />discharge of a firearm in self-defense, or <br /> <br />27 Bold Blue Underlined text represents a change made in consultation with the County Attorney’s office after the  <br />Quarterly Public Hearing and is designed to address a BOCC concern over overregulating the ‘incidental’ discharge  <br />of a firearms.  <br />28 Bold Green Underlined text represents a change to address comments from the September 8, 2015 Quarterly  <br />Public Hearing to ensure setback/development standards for shooting ranges are similar regardless if they are for  <br />private or public use.  <br />29 Bold Blue Underlined text represents a change made in consultation with the County Attorney’s office after the  <br />Quarterly Public Hearing to consolidate regulations governing outdoor shooting activities into a central section.   <br />30 Staff did not want to inadvertently prohibit what has become a lucrative fundraising opportunity for several local  <br />organizations.  As a result language was included to allow for turkey shoots and other similar activities to occur.  <br /> 125