Residents ask to hear more on bullet firm

Planning Commission to air questions on special permit

Argenta neighborhood residents in North Little Rock are wanting more information about a new company proposing to move into an empty warehouse at 501 W. Eighth St. to manufacture and test bullets, a neighborhood representative said Friday.

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map showing NLR bullet with enlarged area

A request for a special-use permit to allow the business will go before the North Little Rock Planning Commission at the panel's 4:45 p.m. meeting Tuesday at City Hall.

Information included in the commission's agenda packet states that the request is to allow "production and testing of ammunition and bullets," though there is language adding that there won't be any "explosive component" involved that could harm adjoining properties.

"Right now we're a startup company looking at producing bullets for center-fire ammunition," Patrick Franklin, the applicant, said in an interview.

The tentative name of the company is Precision Brass and Bullet, he added. "It'll be just your standard pistol and rifle type of ammunition. It's just strictly the bullet, the projectile."

The former warehouse site is zoned for commercial use and next to a railroad yard. There are single-family residences to its north and a low-density residential zone to its east. City staff has recommended approval of the special-use permit, with conditions that all applicable licenses and permits are issued.

The special permit request was a topic at Thursday night's meeting of the Argenta Neighborhood Boosters, said John Pflasterer, the group's president. Mainly, he said, neighbors want more specifics about the business.

"I think what we need is a little more clarification on exactly what they will be doing over there," Pflasterer said. "When it was brought through the [city] fire marshal's office, it was said that all they would be doing is milling the projectile part of the bullet. There wasn't going to be any explosive involved.

"We know there's part of the Planning Commission agenda that mentions ammunition and explosives, and in the more detailed portion of that, it says it's just milling the projectile part," he said. "I think some folks plan on going over there Tuesday at 4:45 and seeing exactly what it is all about."

Robert Voyles, city Community Planning director, said the language isn't meant to confuse -- it's meant to disclose what will be done by the company.

"They make the bullet but not the shell," Voyles said of the company. "We're calling that ammunition, even though it doesn't have explosives.

"Ammunition manufacturing is a serious matter, so we wanted to make sure we have full disclosure," he added. "They [the applicants] want to argue that it is not really ammunition but is a component of ammunition. We're making them go through the special use in order to disclose everything."

Franklin said some testing would be necessary within the building for quality assurance of their product.

"Our plans were to have a 50-yard, fully enclosed range just to test the product," he said. "It won't be anything that's open to the public. It will strictly be a small range to validate our production process, to test performance of the bullet.

"You really shouldn't hear anything outside of the building," Franklin added. "We're right next to a rail yard, too, so compared to the noise of the rail yard, you shouldn't hear anything outside of the building."

Converting the former warehouse for the business and adding soundproofing for an indoor testing area will probably mean operations won't start until December, he said.

Metro on 06/09/2014

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