About 20 acres of property between Cloverdale and Clear Creek roads in Shasta County has caught the attention of neighbors, county planners and state wildlife officials.
The property on Modesta View Court is home to Clear Creek Gun Club.
“Scenic mountain views and picturesque sunsets, there isn’t a better way to end a day of shooting at Clear Creek Gun Club,” the club posted on its Facebook page on Dec. 5. On March 9, the club posted a Facebook video of a backhoe moving gravel to “expand youth shooting sports opportunities.”
But according to Shasta County Resource Management Director Sean Ewing, the property is not zoned for a gun club, and the owners have not applied to the county for a permit to open a gun club.
Some neighbors have expressed concerns about the gun club and the grading that has happened there in recent years.
The property owner applied for and obtained a grading permit in 2019, but the grading exceeded what the permit allowed, according to the county. The county issued a work stop order which has not been lifted. And last summer, a state hearings officer upheld county fines levied on the property owner, 14800 Modesta View Court LLC.
Amrit Kulasekaran, a managing member of 14800 Modesta View Court LLC, said they have a permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to operate a hunting club. He emailed a copy of the license to the Record Searchlight. The license says it was issued in June 2025.
He also contends that a hunting club is a permitted use on the property under the county’s zoning code.
The tenant on the property, Clear Creek Gun Club, is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit “whose mission is to promote equitable access to educational programs relating to firearms safety,” Kulasekaran said in the email to the Record Searchlight.
But Shasta County Resource Management Director Ewing said CDFW would not necessarily influence whether the property is zoned for a gun range.
Activities at the gun club have neighbors like, Horsetown-Clear Creek Reserve, wary.
“We are in a slow time right now. But pretty soon, people will be out there every Saturday and Sunday, and I can’t imagine the gun club is going to let us enjoy those hikes,” Horsetown-Clear Creek Preserve board president Cathy Scott said, adding that the nonprofit has been hosting community hikes on their property for decades.
The preserve is about a mile east of the Modesta View Court property, Scott said.
Meanwhile, 14800 Modesta View LLC is appealing the fines levied against it last summer. The next hearing for the appeal is scheduled for May 22 in Shasta County Superior Court.
The property owner was ordered to pay $105,900 in fines at an administrative hearing last July for unpermitted grading after a California hearings officer upheld the county’s nuisance and abate violations. The hearings officer also ruled that the county was entitled to recover the $16,019 it cost to abate.
Ewing and county code enforcement officer Michelle Harden had testified that more than 250 cubic yards of dirt at the property had been removed, the equivalent of about 27,000 square feet of dirt when spread at a depth of 3 inches.
In the email to the Record Searchlight, Kulasekaran said in part that they were cultivating agricultural products under the county’s land-use agricultural exemption rule, which does not put any limits on how much dirt can be removed.
Kulasekaran said you need to put into perspective the relevance of the exemption.
“The average tilling depth for gardening and various staple crops is 6 inches. This would mean the average farmer would breach this threshold at only 13,500 (square feet) of plantable space. For reference 13,500 (square feet) is equal to approximately only 0.31 acres of plantable crop space, far under the size of many amateur or hobbyist farms/gardens in the County,” Kulasekaran said.
During the hearing in July 2025, neither Kulasekaran nor Mohit Kulasekaran, also a managing member of 14800 Modesta View Court LLC, could provide an example of what they were growing and offered that they might plant hay.
The county has stated that no agricultural products are being cultivated or produced at the property and therefore 14800 Modesta View LLC does not qualify for the exemption.
Amrit Kulasekaran and Mohit Kulasekaran have also been charged with 15 misdemeanor counts that include water pollution and diverting or obstructing the natural flow of a river or stream, according to Shasta County District Attorney spokeswoman Briona Sisneros. The next settlement conference for the case is scheduled for April 6.
“This is an ongoing CDFW (California Department of Fish and Wildlife) law enforcement investigation and court case. CDFW wildlife officers conducted a criminal investigation and requested that the Shasta County District Attorney file charges against the two property owners,” CDFW spokesman Peter Tira said in an email to the Record Searchlight.
Charles Dethero, a Horsetown-Clear Creek Preserve board member, said they have been working with CDFW to restore salmon and steelhead on Clear Creek.
“A whole bunch of sentiment and rock deposits has flowed into the creek up from us. Some of that are slides coming off Clear Creek Road, some is the grading. That has to be adding to the problem,” Dethero said.
Amrit Kulasekaran referred questions about the criminal case to their attorney, Nathan Dondi.
Dondi on Monday, March 9 did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly “Buzz on the Street” column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County gun club property facing legal troubles
Reporting by David Benda, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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