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• Planning Commission Meeting <br />2/27/95 <br />Page 3 <br />DISCUSSION ON ZONING FOR STORES THAT SELL FIREARMS <br />Susan Hoyt, city administrator, gave a report on the city's current commercial <br />development moratorium on stores that sell firearms. <br />INTRODUCTION <br />The current commercial development moratorium restricts the city from issuing <br />a business license to any store that sells firearms until the moratorium expires <br />on September 30, 1995. The purpose of the moratorium is to allow the <br />planning commission and city council time to determine the most appropriate <br />way for the city to zone for stores that sell firearms prior to permitting such a <br />use to locate in the city. Although the council approved an extension of the <br />moratorium until September 30, 1995, it has encouraged the planning <br />commission to make its recommendation on how to deal with the issue by May <br />of this year. <br />• ATTORNEY COMMENTS <br />Under §471.633, a governmental subdivision may regulate by reasonable, <br />nondiscriminatory and nonarbitrary zoning ordinances, the location of <br />businesses where firearms are sold by a firearms dealer. A firearms dealer is a <br />person who is federally licensed to sell firearms and a governmental subdivision <br />is an entity described in §471.633 and §471.634. Under 471.635, Falcon <br />Heights is authorized to regulate the location of gun shops by "reasonable, <br />nondiscriminatory and nonarbitrary zoning ordinances." <br />NEIGHBORING CITY <br />The City of St. Paul is currently considering an ordinance that restricts new gun <br />shops and shooting galleries to an industrial zone and requires them to be 1,000 <br />feet from any residentially zoned property or protected uses (parks, day-care <br />centers, schools and churches). <br />CONSIDERATIONS <br />When considering how to zone for stores that sell firearms, two aspects of the <br />ordinance must be considered -definitions and location. The definition of a <br />• firearms store can include all stores that deal in any type of firearms or it can <br />exclude stores that sell sporting goods with firearms as an accessory use. <br />