Nearly eight months have passed since people in Jackson had their say about a proposed indoor shooting range, but the respite has done little to change their feelings.

About 100 people packed the township building Tuesday for the continuation of a public hearing on a proposal by JRAD Ventures, which wants to build a facility on Steeb Road.

The first hearing, held Oct. 20, was continued until May 11. During those five hours, the developer presented plans. JRAD is proposing an indoor, 14-lane shooting range which would include training rooms and a retail shop that would sell guns and other accessories.

Tuesday night, dozens of people spoke about the plans with the vast majority opposed.

Diane Standish, of Zehner School Road, echoed the feelings of many who spoke when she said the shooting range would be a commercial use and should not be permitted in the rural agricultural zoning district. The developer has argued that a shooting range is a recreational use, which would be permitted in that district.

Mrs. Standish said she feared the business would attract lawbreakers to what is now a residential area.

Neighbor Mary Anne Mason said she estimated the business would bring an additional 40,000 cars onto Zehner School Road each year and that the road was not built to handle heavy traffic.

Jay Aldridge, of Briar Hill Road, said allowing the business would set a precedent.

But Paul Whitehouse, of Youngblood Road, who was one of a handful of people who supported the plan, said he'd lived next to a shooting range for years and had suffered no ill effects.

Mr. Whitehouse said his home was about 300 yards from the shooting range of the Conway Sportsmen's Club.

"Safety is an issue, but it's a manageable issue," he said. "And [shooting ranges] do not negatively affect land values."

Others expressed concern about noise, air quality, the safety of children in the neighborhood and the potential loss of peace and tranquility.