HomeMy WebLinkAboutDevelopment of Police Department Gun Pistol Range Law Enforc YD Z'W
JJ CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION
HUNTINGTON BEACH
TO: Mayor and City Council Members
VIA: Ray Silver, City Administrator
FROM: Kenneth W. Small, Chief of Police ( W
DATE: January 7, 2004
SUBJECT: Huntington Beach Police Department Gun Range <
Issue y
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The Huntington Beach City Council has established a committee to explore
alternative sites for development of a Police Department firearms training facility.
The essential elements involved are land and funding, complemented by an
appropriately designed facility.
This report will first briefly recount the history behind the need for the firearms
facility. It will then consider the land, cost and design aspects. Use of land
adjacent to the current helicopter facility has been proposed as a possible
location. Other locations, however, should not be ruled out.
Background
For a number of years, a range facility was operated by the Huntington Beach
Police Officers' Association (POA) at 18221 Gothard St., Huntington Beach. It
was leased on a year-to-year basis to the POA by the City. In addition to use by
the public and Huntington Beach Police Department personnel, numerous local,
state and federal agencies as well as the Golden West College and Fullerton
Police Academies conducted firearms training there. The lease arrangement
was eventually terminated in December of 1996. The facility was permanently
closed shortly after the lease agreement was ended. It is not currently capable
of being reopened.
Since the closure, HBPD officers have had to qualify at various firearms facilities
including Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises range in Norco and the Seal Beach
Naval Weapons Facility range. In comparison to the original Huntington Beach
range, use of these alternatives has been costly due to extended distances from
the City and limited availability. For nexample, for December, 2003 firearms
qualification, the Department could only obtain four training days at the Seal
Beach range. Situations such as this—which happen often--create a very
condensed training opportunity where range time is obviously limited. Due to
this, 50 of our officers were not able to attend the December training. When on-
duty officers are able to participate, their presence at the range translates into
their not being available for patrol duties due to the extended time involved.
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Overtime costs for officers who have to attend off-duty also becomes a factor.
When officers are not able to go through the training, a number of issues surface
including the fact that due to lack of practice, police personnel may not be as
proficient with their firearms as they could be.
There is a clear need for a new Huntington Beach Police Department Firearms
Training Facility.
The Heliport Proposal
The area available is along the east perimeter of the Heliport, which is defined by
the wall of a privately owned, "tilt up" concrete construction, commercial building.
It is bordered on the north by the existing Huntington Beach Search & Rescue
Facility (also known as the 'White House"). To the south lies a single-wide
mobile home trailer. The latter is used by our helicopter crews as both a "ready
room" and a classroom. To the south of this trailer is a permanent emergency
generator required to provide back up power for the Heliport. A wrought iron
fence separates the 'Heliport driveway area from the two helicopter hard stands
and refueling area. (This fence cannot be moved further west due to the fact that
it serves as a safety barrier to keep people away from the helicopters. In
addition, moving the fence could interfere with the helicopter refueling equipment
adjoining the hard stands.)
Adjacent to the Heliport and the Search & Rescue facilities are the Santa Ana
College Basic Fire Services Academy and the Huntington Beach Fire
Department's Gothard Station. In combination with the Police Department
facilities, this whole area will be referred to as the Gothard Complex. It is
necessary to drive through the fire department related areas in order to reach the
Heliport and the proposed site for the range. Please refer to the attached
diagram and photo.
There have been two general options suggested for a firearms training facility on
the Heliport grounds. The first (Option #1) is for an elongated, narrow building
with a limited number of firing positions. This would be oriented along a north-
south axis between the helicopter crews' ready room and the Search & Rescue
building. Conceivably, it could encompass a 50+ yard range and a limited
number of firing positions, probably ten at most. Estimated dimensions could be
roughly 180' x 40'.
The second construction option (Option #2) is to build a rectangular facility with
exterior dimensions of approximately 110' x 150'. The east wall would be
adjacent to the commercial building along the Heliport's east perimeter.
Depending upon design limitations, firing distances would only be approximately
,
20 yards. The trade off would come in the increased number of firing positions,
most likely 20 plus. The use of these positions and the facility in general could
be maximized through the construction of a ballistic wall dividing the facility with,
for example, 12 firing positions on one side and 8 positions on the other. With
such a configuration, two separate training sessions could be conducted
simultaneously. This would allow the Police Department to maximize use as well
as creating an additional revenue source by charging other agencies for their
time at the facility. Option #2 has distinct advantages—as well as increased
costs—over the first alternative.
In preparing this report, relevant issues were discussed with the City Building and
Planning Departments, the HBPD Aero Unit Supervisor, the Search & Rescue
Coordinator, an Orange County architectural firm that specializes in such projects
and representatives of the Cypress Police Department. The latter agency
recently completed its own range project. The following is a compilation of
information from the above sources. It should be stressed that this report is
based on very preliminary opinions and research. More detailed work would be
necessary for a completely accurate assessment.
Financial
A general formula for estimating construction costs employs a $200 per
square foot figure. Using the above designs as conceptual starting points,
this translates into:
Option #1: 7,200 square feet x $200 = $1,440,000.00
Option #2: 16,500 square feet x $200 = $3,300,000.00
Each option would provide the following:
• Labor costs.
• The proposed structure itself(Option #1 or#2) with an appropriate vertical
construction to provide an interior height of 10-12'.
• Construction would be of masonry block with a wood timber roof. (NOTE:
While concrete "tilt up" construction was also considered, it was decided
that the limited work space available at the Heliport and the adjacent Fire
Department facility would make such a construction method difficult to
employ at best.)
• Electrical and plumbing.
• Ballistic back stop
• Ballistic overhead baffles and side walls for projectile containment
• Air Handling/Filtration system in compliance with EPA and Cal-OSHA
requirements for a firearms facility
• Sound dampening material
• Range office/control room
• Shooters' ready room
• Target systems
• Rest rooms
• Based on the above input, an additional concern would focus on the cost
of architectural services:
• Approximately $7,000 may be required for a preliminary study by
an architectural firm to provide proper guidance. As with other
similar services, this would require the City Council's approval.
• Overall architectural services and plans would be based on a fee of
approximately 8% of the total cost. Using the above estimate,
these would tentatively cost about $115,200.00 for Option #1 and
$264,000.00 for Option #2.
• Total cost based on the above estimates, including architectural services,
would be:
Option #1: $1,662,000.00
Option #2: $3,671,000.00
• If the City's agreement with Operation Alliance/JTF-6 were to be activated,
the use of military construction assets in building the facility would have a
very positive effect on the financial impact, considerably reducing the cost
of either option. (It should be noted that Operation Alliance/JTF-6 still
considers construction of the range as a viable project. However, its
parent entity, the Department of Defense, may prioritize such a
commitment as below other demands including assignments outside the
United States.) The City Planning Department estimates that labor costs
could be reduced by as much as 50-60% if the Operation Alliance/JTF-6
relationship is fully developed. Using 50% as a conservative figure, labor
cost savings would be in the realm of $720,000.00 for Option #1 and
$1,650,000.00 for Option #2.
Before continuing, however, there is an additional aspect to the Operation
Alliance/JTF-6 agreement with the City of Huntington Beach that should
be understood. Basically, this agreement was sponsored within the
Federal government by the local Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
office with the understanding that the DEA would, in return, have access
to the firearms training facility on a par with our Department's use. The
original 1999 Pulse Marketing design for a Huntington Beach Police
Department firearms training facility that led to the Operation Alliance/JTF-
6 agreement, was based in part on the DEA's training needs. This design
was for a facility with dimensions larger than Option #2's, incorporating a
firing distance of at least 25 yards, a live fire shoot house and a tactical
training area. It is possible that Option #2—and certainly Option #1--will
not be of sufficient size to satisfy the DEA's requirements. This could
conceivably lead to that agency withdrawing from the original sponsorship
and with that, the termination of the Operation Alliance/JTF-6 agreement.
• The estimated net cost--including architectural fees--for each option if
Operation Alliance/JTF-6 assists with construction, is approximately:
Option #1: $ 842,000.00
Option #2: $1,921,000.00
Land Use Issues
• The proposed site at the Heliport may fall within the scope of that facility's
Conditional Use Permit (CUP #84-8) as issued by the City in 1984 and
modified in 1998. Either an amendment to the current CUP will be
necessary or a new CUP would be required to address the issue of
building the firearms training facility. The land use approvals required
depend on compliance with the permitted uses and development
standards identified in the Huntington Beach Zoning and Subdivision
Ordinance, as well as the conditions of the original CUP for the subject
property.
• If a new CUP is required, the normal process for land use approval of the
facility will include review by the Zoning Administrator or City Planning
Commission. This process can take up to six months.
• Due to the nature of the project and its physical setting, it is likely that the
facility could be categorically exempted from environmental review.
Related Issues
• The construction of a firearms training facility would have at least some
impact on the overall operation of the entire Police Department and Fire
Department Gothard complex.
• Depending upon the type and level of on-going activities, the Fire
Department's training and normal operations could be affected, as
well as that of the Santa Ana College Basic Fire Services Academy.
Typically, these training areas are booked in advance for various
training functions related to the fire services. When training is in
progress, fire department personnel and vehicles take up a
considerable amount of room at the complex.
• The Heliport is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved facility.
As such, it operates under a number of regulatory guidelines from various
agencies including the FAA and the California Department of
Transportation. Before construction could begin, any changes in the
Heliport's layout would have to be approved by the Department of
Transportation. These are partly addressed below with the explanation of
parking and access issues. Still another issue would be the construction
of the firearms facility within the area where helicopters take off and land.
Based on this, it is my opinion that construction of a firearms training
facility at the Heliport may have an adverse impact on police helicopter
operations.
• If construction required the removal of the pilots' ready room/classroom
trailer, it would have to be relocated or a new one constructed.
Conceivably, it could be incorporated into the design of the firearms
training facility. There is no room within the Heliport's hanger for the ready
room and classroom functions.
• A significant issue that will have to be addressed is that of adequate
parking and vehicular access:
• As required by code, one or two dedicated handicap parking
spaces will have to be immediately adjacent to the facility.
• A number of general use parking spaces will be needed for the
firearms training facility, yet the space available for such a purpose_
is clearly limited. Because of the Operation Allinace/JTF-6
agreement, sufficient parking would be needed to accommodate
vehicles from at least our Department and the DEA. While there
may be some room for parking at the nearby Fire Department
facilities, this would require the cooperation of that agency and the
Fire Academy that also use the area in question. In addition,
currently available parking for Heliport operations and the
Huntington Beach Search & Rescue Explorer Post would be
impacted.
• An additional issue is that of access for fuel trucks delivering
aviation gas. Adequate room for these trucks to get in and out of
the Heliport facility is specified in the original CUP and represents
another significant factor that would have to be addressed before
deciding to go forward with construction. This issue alone may
make untenable the construction of a firearms training facility
adjacent to the Heliport.
• Ultimately, the construction and operation of a firearms range at the
Heliport will have an impact on not just that facility but also on the
entire Gothard complex. This includes both the Huntington Beach
Police Department Search & Rescue Explorer Post and the fire
services related operations. Especially if other law enforcement
agencies participate in the use of the firearms training facility, the
flow of traffic will likely interfere to one degree or another with
normal training and other functions at the Heliport as well as the
Huntington Beach Fire Department Gothard Station and the Santa
Ana College Basic Fire Services Academy.
Conclusion
The construction of a firearms training facility at the Heliport has a number of
issues attached to it that at this time make it questionable at best. These include
the Operation Allinace/JTF-6 agreement and IDEA sponsorship, the need for
adequate parking, the impact on the entire law enforcement/fire services Gothard
complex and regulatory agencies' guidelines/restrictions. All of these would have
to be fully addressed in a manner beyond the scope of this report before the City
could embark on such a project at the proposed location.
While the committee recommends that the City no longer consider the Heliport
site, we will continue to look at alternative sites including doing a feasibility study
for developing a training facility at the Joint Forces Training Base at Los
Alamitos.
12/3/2003 1:25:30 PM
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7. General area of proposed firearms training facility
S 8. Commercial building
City of Huntington Beach 9• Pilots' ready room/classroom
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CITY OF HUNTINGTON B H
City Council Interoffice Communication o
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To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members N CD
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From: Gil Coerper, City Council Member
Date: September 25, 2003
Subject: H-ITEM FOR OCTOBER 6, 2003, CITY COUNCIL MEETING—
PURPOSE OF GUN RANGE
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
Every other month, the 220 Huntington Beach Police Officers are required to train and
qualify with their firearm at a firearms training facility. The Department makes
approximately 1200 trips annually to a range for these basic qualifications.
Currently, firearms training are conducted at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station
Firearms Range. However, the available hours for this facility are limited and subject to
periodic closures due to a variety of operational issues at the Station. Approximately
one-third of all officers complete the training on an overtime basis due to the limited
hours of the range. This is a significant cost to the City. In addition, the type of training is
limited to stationary shooting positions. Contemporary training places an emphasis on
situational-based shooting with movable shooting positions.
When the Seal Beach facility is not available, officers are required to qualify at
Raahauge's Range in the City of Norco. This has occurred twice within the past ten
months and likely will occur again in the future. Raahauge's Range can accommodate
moving shooting positions and the hours of operation are more flexible to meet the
needs of the Police Department. However, approximately 25% of all officers still must
complete the training on an overtime basis. Additionally, travel time alone is an average
of three and half hours for each officer. Besides the cost to the City, the on-duty
officers are not providing necessary police services in the City for an extended period of
time.
The Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station charges $5.50 per officer for each qualification
($4,400.00 per year for all officers) and Raahauge's Range charges $12.50 per officer
for each qualification ($5,000.00 per year for all officers). Due to the limited hours of
operations at both ranges, the overtime costs for officers to qualify are approximately
$90,000.00 per year. Therefore, yearly estimated costs for qualifications are
$100,000.00. Travel costs, such as vehicle fuel, for the trips to the ranges are additional
expenses.
H-ITEM FOR OCTOBER 6,2003,•Y COUNCIL MEETING—PURPOSE OF GRANGE 9/25/2003Page 2
Locating a firearms training facility within the City is critical from a financial and service
to the community perspective. One potential site I have identified is on City-owned
property, located on the heliport grounds of the joint Powers Training Center on Gothard
Street (Attachment 1). Conceptually, funding would consist of multi-law enforcement
agencies contributing to the cost of building the structure and through the use,of
possible grants. The Huntington Beach Police Department's Training Bureau would
operate the range. Due to these factors I believe further study is warranted.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
F DA
Request staff to prepare a f4&&s+3,i4+fWstudy to determine the cost of constructing an
indoor, state-of-the-art law enforcement personnel-only gun range on City-owned
property on the heliport grounds of the Joint Powers Training Center on Gothard Street.
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Attachment
Xc: Ray Silver
Bill Workman
Connie Brockway
Chief Ken Small
ATTACHMENT 1: Heliport Grounds at Training Center (east of landing pad)
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BOB POLKOW
21772 Oceanview Lane Z
Huntington Beach,Ca 92646-8215CITY O
Home Phone 962-4810 HUiN€"IPKIGIF0 /.j CA
Email RPolkow@aol.com
2003 OCT —b A
October 06,2003
SUBJECT: Agenda item H-la forwarded after publication of the agenda.
TO: City Council
Agenda item H-1 a reflects that a great deal of time has been expended to create
statistics, statistics, and more impressive verbiage and dollar signs.
The city of Huntington Beach (HB) is a civilian community, not a police state.
H.B. still has not obliterated the sting the Police Officers Association (POA)
perpetuated for years at the expense of our tax money. The POA and their
confiscation of the last range will not be forgotten.
First, why does a sworn police officer require constant training. As any war
veteran will attest we were required to quality for the use of arms intended for our
use, against an adversary that also would be so trained. Once qualified any
additional "training" was not required. If a qualified arms bearer used a firing or
training range after qualifying it was considered "recreation" not training.
Secondly, the size of the cadre of officers required to qualify and carry arms
certainly does not warrant a"Taj Mahal" to be used as a club house, off limits to
civilian personnel.
Third, why should H.B. erect a grandiose "firing and training facility" to
accommodate outside law enforcement agencies? Does it not make more sense to
have one or two of these "outside" agencies, probably Federally employed to
provide a costly facility and accommodate our small police force?
Fourth, this subject has constantly been pushed by the POA that has, in the past
shown disdain for our elected officials. The people of H.B. have made it loud and
clear through their elected representatives. We do not want a police only range in
our city. Is this so hard for the POA to understand? The local NRA members (I
have been a NRA member since discharge at the end of WWII) did at one time
propose a joint civilian/police range but this was dismissed as stated before, we do
not have room in our city and further"the voting majority do not want a range
within our city's limits."
I humbly suggest that the originator/originators of this agenda item consider
whether this proposal is absolutely necessary for training or is it intended as a
source of income for the POA and recreational purposes.
If the contract with the POA declares this constant training and expenditure of
overtime is a negotiated line item, I suggest our city attorney take a close look as
to how it came into being. If there is no alternative until next date of negotiation
our city's controller, I am sure, can find that grounding one police helicopter
would eliminate enough logistics money from this one copter to more than pay for
the costs of present training as composed by author/authors ofthe agenda item.
RESPECTFULLY:
4ePLKOW,el7e72%ceanview Lane, Huntington Beach, Ca 92646-8215
(714)962-4810
FROM FAX NO. 9t. 06 2003 03:49PM P1
TOPPER HORACK
21742 Fairlane Circle
Huntington Beach, CA 92646 4
714-963-5200 (phone/fax) C=,
email: thotack@hbuhsd.k 12.ca.us -�
cr 2-1
6 October 2003 CD .z;
Mayor Boardman, Council Members "'
1 am opposed to any discussion on a new gun range that is on the agenda tonight as an H
item. This item should be tabled until the previous gun range is cleaned up. If the PO.A
wants to fund the gun range with a private developer that has land available, then go
ahead. The city and the taxpayers are now paying for the mess the POA created in the
previous gun range and should not have to in the future.
If Councilman Coerpeir has money to spend maybe he can figure out how to come up
with $800,000 to do the maintenance on the new Sports Center that will be required on a
yearly basis.
i
incerely,
Moracle
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;Study-Session 1—
The Chief of Police and Captain,Chuck Thomas will update the City Council and
make recommendations regarding the effort to develop a gun range for law
enforcement training.
Study Session 2
Community Services will present an overview of the conceptual plans for Phase
II of the Sports Complex including the projected income and management
contract.
City Administrator
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