Delray Beach’s planning and zoning board has rejected a proposal to allow an indoor gun range in the Wallace Drive Overlay District, but the plan will still move forward to the city commission for consideration.
Wallace Drive LLC owns the 18,400-square-foot warehouse at 1215 Wallace Drive and is seeking approval for an ordinance that would permit indoor gun ranges within the overlay district. The site, which was built in 1983 and spans 1.8 acres, is located next to a senior housing community and a church, and sits about 1,000 feet from Pine Grove Elementary School.
At a meeting held Monday evening, four of seven board members voted against recommending the proposal. Neil Schiller, attorney for Wallace Drive LLC, said the intended gun range would be used by private members as well as Delray Beach police officers for firearms training.
If approved by the city commission, the ordinance would also allow owners of 12 other parcels within the overlay district—bounded by Southwest Tenth Street, Georgia Street, Southwest Ninth Avenue and Wallace Drive—to seek permission to open their own gun ranges. The area currently includes self-storage facilities, warehouses, single-family homes, and vacant parcels—three of which are owned by the city.
Schiller stated that each property owner would need separate approval from the city commission. He added that any gun range would have to provide 24-hour security, comply with National Rifle Association safety standards, follow noise regulations, and prohibit alcohol sales on-site.
Despite these assurances, some board members expressed concern over absent minimum distance requirements from homes and schools in the proposed regulations. Board member Mitch Katz highlighted that while recent discussions had addressed distance rules for vape shops near schools, no such restrictions were included here. “But gun ranges? Well, we can just put them across the street from a school,” Katz remarked. Schiller responded that his client’s building is at least 1,000 feet away from Pine Grove Elementary School.
Board member Dedrick Straghn voiced apprehension about placing a private gun range close to both a church and senior residences. He also noted that another facility—the Delray Shooting Center—is already permitted under current zoning less than half a mile away in another district. “This doesn’t smell right to me,” Straghn said.
Mark Grafton, another attorney representing Wallace Drive LLC’s interests, said their planned facility would be state-of-the-art and meet specific needs of local law enforcement—including low-light shooting training and door-breaching exercises.
Chairman Gregory Snyder suggested adding requirements such as keeping future gun ranges at least 500 feet from schools or churches and limiting exterior noise levels to no more than 60 decibels beyond property lines. However, only Snyder, Katz and Roger Cope supported this amendment; Straghn along with Price Patton, James Chard and Judy Mollica voted against it.
Wallace Drive LLC is managed by Delia Lalchan; they purchased the property at 1215 Wallace Drive for $5.8 million in March from Aram LLC.
The site lies approximately 1.5 miles from where Kolter Group plans to build Alton Delray—a residential project featuring workforce apartments under Florida’s Live Local Act—and less than two miles from Aura Delray Beach. The latter apartment complex was acquired recently by an affiliate of Related Companies for nearly $117 million.
“This doesn’t smell right to me,” Straghn said during deliberations on allowing a new private range so close to community institutions.
