The Eldred Township meeting room was packed Wednesday with people speaking out against and in favor of an outdoor shooting range.

The range would be located 3,200 feet behind Mrs. Bush's Personal Care Home and the former Eldred Township Elementary School.

RTSP LLC, a New Jersey company, and its legal representation from MHK Attorneys in Brodheadsville, approached the supervisors with an amended ordinance for private outdoor ranges within a rural resource zoning district.

In January, the supervisors denied the request for a hearing to change the zoning.

The property in question is owned by David J. Tanzosh and Timothy J. Tanzosh of Kunkletown and was used as a farm. The Tanzoshs have a contract to sell the property to RTSP LLC, but it is contingent upon the zoning amendment approval, said Joseph Hanyon, the attorney for RTSP.

The shooting range would be pointed in a direction away from the personal care home and into a mountainside.

RTSP owns an indoor shooting range in East Randolph, New Jersey.

Eldred Township supervisor Vice Chairman Mary Anne Clausen said, "I haven't seen anything that makes me think this is a good idea."

Supervisor Gretchen Petit said that the Tanzoshes have had a shooting range on the property for many years. For this reason, she thinks the land use is grandfathered in.

"I think if we can allow them to have a shooting range with the abatements they can provide, then I think it is quieter and cleaner than a race track," Petit said.

"I don't think this qualifies for what most people would qualify as a private range," Clausen said.

David Tanzosh told the supervisors they have operated a hunting range twithout any sound barriers for years. RTSP's range would have them.

"We had this. I don't understand why you're being so difficult," Tanzosh said.

Robert Kidwell, an attorney for Mrs. Bush's Personal Care Home, said that the issue is not only the decibel of the sound, but also the intensity of the sound, the rate at which the sound is occurring.

"During hours of operation, it could be pretty intense," Kidwell said.

Jessica Scheffner, a registered nurse and administrator at the personal care home, said, "We're taking care of fragile people. They require a lot of careful care and support from professionals.'

See the complete story in Thursday's edition of the Times News.