COUNTYWIDE : Walls Considered in Gun Range Plan

Simi Valley officials said Wednesday that they are considering adding sound walls to a proposed outdoor police shooting range to appease nearby residents opposed to the project.

Councilwoman Sandi Webb said city officials, while in Washington over the weekend for the National League of Cities conference, consulted with FBI experts about how best to resolve noise and safety issues related to the outdoor range. The shooting range would be built on county land about half a mile north of the Indian Hills subdivision.

Webb said city officials were told that sound walls built around the range would significantly reduce noise outside the area. She said the city must now determine how much it would cost to build the walls.

But Indian Hills residents said they will continue to push the city to find another site or build an indoor range.

Eileen Gordon, a member of the neighborhood group Citizens for a Safe and Scenic Simi Valley, said the sound walls might resolve their concerns about noise, but that there are still safety and environmental issues that have not been addressed.

Webb said officials are looking at other options, saying she met Wednesday with Bernard Hoene, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy interested in building an indoor range in the city.

Webb said Hoene will make a presentation to the City Council on Monday night.

The city has searched for more than two years to find an appropriate site for an outdoor range, which would cost about $60,000 to build.

Officials say the city can save up to $50,000 each year if it has its own range. The Police Department now pays officers overtime and travel expenses to practice at a range in Camarillo.