COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A plan intended to revitalize a neighborhood is fueling a heated debate.
The Livingston Avenue Area Commission approved a shooting range to be put in the former Sun TV building on Alum Creek Drive. A gun store could also be opened in the same space.
The Commission hopes that filling the vacant space will be a catalyst for economic development. However, residents disagree on whether it will help or hurt the neighborhood.
"A third of all the guns they find that are associated with crimes, that were used in criminal activity, can be traced to a purchase within three years from a federally licensed firearms dealer," said area resident Jonathan Beard.
"The people that are using the guns in the middle of the night on the block next to me are not going to a gun range to practice," shared resident Shavonn Harris.
The landlord is assuring residents that the tenant will have rules to follow. Everyone who uses the range will have to be a member, they will have to pass a federal background check and they will have to pay a fee.
But a representative for the landlord wouldn't comment on allegations that the proposed tenant has been in hot water for hiring illegal immigrants, paying unfair wages and selling liquor to minors.
"Why we feel it's not relevant is because there is a landlord-tenant relationship there," said Todd Dillon, the Director of Development with R.E.D. Consulting and spokesperson for the landlord. "Irregardless of that, we don't know the business we don't want to be involved with the business. We want to do what we know which is being a landlord."
State Representative Tracy Maxwell Heard fired back, saying she has heard more opponents than supporters of the issue.
"I'm very disappointed to hear that you [Todd Dillon] feel that the business or the background of the business owners is irrelevant," said Maxwell Heard. "A person's business character is very relevant to how they have historically and will continue to do business."
The chair of the Livingston Avenue Area Commission says even though they have heard a lot of outcry against the shooting range, it is too late. The Commission will not reconsider the vote. He says residents can appeal the decision within the next 30 days.
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