Redwood City extends gun sales ban

Councilmembers initially approved an emergency 45-day moratorium on firearm sales in late October in response to two inquiries from two separate gun retailers interested in opening up shops, one in Roosevelt Plaza and the other at 648 El Camino Real.

Assistant City Manager Michelle Flaherty said the city does not intend to use land use policy to fully ban the sale of firearms or to prevent residents from purchasing guns or ammunition. Officials instead argued the matter is a land use issue that needs to be addressed to ensure guns are sold safely in the city. Hale also asserts the sales of firearms is a safety issue for children given that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Health have recently found that the number one cause of death for children ages 1 to 19 is guns.

The city doesn’t currently have an ordinance regulating where a firearm shop can be located, as it does with cannabis retailers and adult shops, which are limited from being placed near sensitive areas like schools and child care centers.

Councilmembers and members of the public shared support for taking a similar approach when limiting where gun shops can open within the city. A review by staff found that shops would be limited to the north end of Veterans Boulevard near Highway 101 or the eastern end of the city near Bayshore Road.

Councilmember Alicia Aguirre raised concerns for isolating controversial uses like firearm shops on the city’s eastside, noting the area is often home to some of the city’s most underserved or low-income earners.

“It’s an issue of equity. … A lot of industries are there, folks live in a lot of apartments. So, to me, that’s a big red flag,” Aguirre said. “For the community, this is something of a big concern just based on what’s happening all around us in our nation. I think it’s important for us to take the time to study what the options would be, just like we did for cannabis and some of the other businesses.”

Staff found that more than 20 gun retailers are located within 30 miles of the city, the closest being on the border of Redwood City and San Carlos. Three additional unconfirmed sellers are also either located in the city or in unincorporated North Fair Oaks with one having an active business license with the city, staff noted.

During the initial moratorium period, staff began reviewing firearm sale regulations in neighboring jurisdictions in addition to similar moratoriums, local Second Amendment case law regarding zoning and communication from community members and interest groups including a letter to Hale from the Second Amendment Foundation, an organization advocating for broad interpretations of the Second Amendment, Flaherty said.

But more time is needed to continue public outreach and engagement with interest groups and to complete staff’s research, Flaherty said. Councilmembers unanimously agreed to grant staff an additional 10 months and 15 days to conduct their work, as permitted under emergency moratoriums.

Policy recommendations could come sooner though, Flaherty said. Under the current time frame, staff would present a recommendation to the Planning Commission in May of 2023 followed by the council that June.

“We would certainly make every effort to move as quickly as we can with this,” Flaherty said. “We want to do the analysis that the council expects and make sure we’ve got a community engagement process in place but it’s our hope that we can do it in well under 10 months.”