While it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as things like “assault weapon” bans or “red flag” laws, one of the most pernicious ways the anti-gunners are going after our Second Amendment rights is the use of zoning laws to block gun shops from opening for business. It’s hard to keep and bear arms if you can’t acquire one, but from California to New Jersey (and plenty of places in between) we’re seeing the plans of FFLs scuttled by local officials who use zoning restrictions to keep them from opening their doors.
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One of the latest locales to engage in this practice is the Detriot suburb of Berkley, Michigan, where the city council is set to impose draconian restrictions on where gun shops can operate after a local business owner tried to set up shop in the downtown business district.
The business, Storm Strong Arms, had submitted an application Aug. 20 to open a location at 2758 Coolidge Highway. However, the shop withdrew its application Sept. 9.
According to the city, there are no plans for Storm Strong Arms to resubmit its application.
Mayor Bridget Dean stated at the meeting that she understood that the plans caused concerns, especially given the proximity to the high school.
“I appreciate these concerns and want you to know that we take them very seriously,” she said. “In response to community feedback on this matter, our city staff plans to recommend that the Planning Commission consider new restrictions for firearms retailers. The proposal would limit these businesses to the Woodward (Avenue) and 11 Mile (Road) retail districts with a 1,000-foot buffer from schools and from each other. This change, if approved by the Planning Commission and then the City Council, would limit locations where firearms retailers could be located, giving us more local control over such decisions in the future.”
Under the current zoning ordinances, Dean said, a firearms retailer is classified as a general use, and general retail uses are permitted in downtown Berkley. As such, if a business were to meet all safety, legal and zoning requirements, the applications couldn’t be denied by the city.
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In theory, an FFL could still open up for business in the retail locations outlined by the city, but in practice it’s going to be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to do so.
Berkley has a total area of just 2.62 square miles, and there are at least eight schools within the city limits; four elementary schools, a K-8 school, one middle school, one high school and a school/daycare for infants through pre-school. At least two of those schools are very close to the 1,000 foot boundary the city wants to put in place around the retail districts, which could put even more limitations on the locations of future gun stores.
Even if those schools are more than 1,000 feet away from Woodward Avenue and 11 Mile Road, limiting gun shops to those retail districts means that FFLs have to find an empty building that suits their needs. I haven’t done an exhaustive search of available retail space in the town, but on the real estate website LoopNet there are currently just two retail locations in town that are listed for lease, and neither of them are in the retail districts where the city wants to confine gun stores.
If Berkley’s City Council does move forward with these new zoning restrictions, an FFL may be able to challenge them in court, but that’s a lengthy and expensive process, and prospective gun store owners could easily decide it’s not worth the hassle. I think that’s exactly what city officials are hoping for, and unfortunately, they’re likely to get their wish.
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