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NJ: Gun shop dispute is political correctness and
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Gun shop dispute could go to court
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
By PETER J. SAMPSON
Staff Writer
RIDGEFIELD - The dispute over the opening of a gun shop near an elementary school could soon shift to a courtroom, following a Board of Adjustment decision rescinding the municipal approvals granted for the shop.
During a standing-room-only meeting Monday night attended by more than 100 supporters and opponents of the gun shop, the board granted an appeal filed in April by schools Superintendent Richard Sabella challenging the permits issued to Bergen Sporting Goods, which was open for a single day before being shut down.
By a 5-0 vote, with one abstention, the Board of Adjustment accepted the school district's position that the shop owner did not follow proper procedures under Ridgefield's zoning code because he failed to apply for a required zoning permit and submit drawings and other documents for review.
School officials lauded the decision Tuesday and noted that the public will now have the opportunity to see that adequate safeguards are in place in the event the shop applies for a zoning permit.
"It's just a clear and obvious and beneficial decision for the community," Sabella said. "I just believe we have to ensure that there is appropriate and meaningful safeguards for children. And that's a community responsibility, and I think the community made the right decision [Monday] night."
Evan F. Nappen, the attorney for shop owner Ronald Granito, said the board's decision was not a surprise and that an appeal would be filed in Superior Court within 45 days.
"They're bending over backwards because of the political correctness and hysteria associated with [the gun shop]. I'm sure as soon as we get a fair hearing on the law, we'll win," Nappen said.
Granito received written approval from the borough's zoning official in October to open a business selling guns and ammunition at 649 Bergen Blvd. After extensive renovations and federal and state inspections, the store opened May 17, about 25 feet from the property line of the Bergen Boulevard School. The borough closed the shop the next day for failing to obtain a zoning certificate.
Granito testified that he relied on the zoning official's letter saying his business was a permitted use, and maintained that he was never informed that he had to file an application for a zoning permit.
Responding to the outcry from school officials, parents, and concerned residents, the Borough Council has tightened its zoning rules in a bid to prevent the shop from reopening. Under revisions adopted in May, gun shops are now a conditional use and are not permitted within 100 feet of a school or a church. The owner also must apply to the Planning Board for site-plan approval.
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=51&page=4309437
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
By PETER J. SAMPSON
Staff Writer
RIDGEFIELD - The dispute over the opening of a gun shop near an elementary school could soon shift to a courtroom, following a Board of Adjustment decision rescinding the municipal approvals granted for the shop.
During a standing-room-only meeting Monday night attended by more than 100 supporters and opponents of the gun shop, the board granted an appeal filed in April by schools Superintendent Richard Sabella challenging the permits issued to Bergen Sporting Goods, which was open for a single day before being shut down.
By a 5-0 vote, with one abstention, the Board of Adjustment accepted the school district's position that the shop owner did not follow proper procedures under Ridgefield's zoning code because he failed to apply for a required zoning permit and submit drawings and other documents for review.
School officials lauded the decision Tuesday and noted that the public will now have the opportunity to see that adequate safeguards are in place in the event the shop applies for a zoning permit.
"It's just a clear and obvious and beneficial decision for the community," Sabella said. "I just believe we have to ensure that there is appropriate and meaningful safeguards for children. And that's a community responsibility, and I think the community made the right decision [Monday] night."
Evan F. Nappen, the attorney for shop owner Ronald Granito, said the board's decision was not a surprise and that an appeal would be filed in Superior Court within 45 days.
"They're bending over backwards because of the political correctness and hysteria associated with [the gun shop]. I'm sure as soon as we get a fair hearing on the law, we'll win," Nappen said.
Granito received written approval from the borough's zoning official in October to open a business selling guns and ammunition at 649 Bergen Blvd. After extensive renovations and federal and state inspections, the store opened May 17, about 25 feet from the property line of the Bergen Boulevard School. The borough closed the shop the next day for failing to obtain a zoning certificate.
Granito testified that he relied on the zoning official's letter saying his business was a permitted use, and maintained that he was never informed that he had to file an application for a zoning permit.
Responding to the outcry from school officials, parents, and concerned residents, the Borough Council has tightened its zoning rules in a bid to prevent the shop from reopening. Under revisions adopted in May, gun shops are now a conditional use and are not permitted within 100 feet of a school or a church. The owner also must apply to the Planning Board for site-plan approval.
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?level_3_id=51&page=4309437
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878