Residents of an idyllic California beach community are livid after a gun store announced plans to open next door to a daycare center - prompting rallies, an online petition and an urgent response from city officials.
The controversy erupted in Goleta, a small coastal community of around 30,000 people just west of Santa Barbara, where the arrival of Goodland Guns has become an unlikely flashpoint in the affluent, family-oriented town.
The firearms retailer is preparing to open its new premises on Hollister Avenue, one of Goleta’s main thoroughfares, immediately beside Here We Grow Early Learning Center.
News of the proposed location quickly sent shockwaves through the neighborhood, with opponents questioning why a gun shop should be allowed to operate so close to young children.
Residents gathered at a park beside the daycare on Monday, August 3, to protest the planned opening, while an online petition called on officials to stop the business from setting up at the location.
One petitioner wrote that children from nearby Ellwood Elementary regularly walk past the site and argued there 'must be a more appropriate place' for the retailer than a family neighborhood beside a preschool.
But despite the backlash, Goodland Guns owner Dan Ashton has confirmed that the store is moving ahead.
The business held a soft opening on August 10, with its grand opening is still on track for September 5.
The gun shop, which used to be in Old Town Goleta, recently signed a 25-year lease on the Hollister Avenue location in an empty commercial space that once was a 7-Eleven.
Yet residents appear most unwelcoming of the new addition to the community as they took to the streets protesting it's proximity to the daycare immediately on Aug 3 after hearing the news of the purchase
Parents are concerned over the impact the gun shop could have on local children's route to school
Ashton has since revealed the relocation was not his first choice, telling SFGATE that he had spent three years searching for a suitable commercial property while remaining in regular contact with the city during the previous year.
The search became urgent, he said, after his former landlord gave him 30 days’ notice to leave the Old Town Goleta location where the business had operated for 11 years.
Ashton said the landlord wanted to 'double the rent.'
'I no longer had the luxury of waiting,' he said.
He argued that the shortage of commercial and industrial space in the region made finding a suitable location particularly difficult for a firearms retailer subject to strict state regulations.
The businessman also rejected the suggestion that the city was responsible for the controversy, instead blaming California’s regulatory environment and rising commercial costs.
'The real issue is the crushing regulatory environment the State of California has created for small businesses,' he said.
Yet for residents, the issue is much more immediate.
Locals have turned to social media, the streets and city officials in a desperate attempt to halt the opening
Ashton remains undeterred by the locals pleas saying that the location wasn't his first choice as the shop's grand opening is set to commence on Sep 5
The petition opposing the store’s opening describes the neighborhood as a 'safe haven for our families' and urges officials to intervene before the business opens.
The proximity to the daycare has been a particular source of concern.
Ashton, however, says he has attempted to respond to those worries rather than ignore them.
He said Goodland Guns has installed a privacy screen along the fence shared with the daycare and pointed to security measures at the neighboring 7-Eleven property.
He also said his appearance at the community rally resulted in productive conversations with some residents.
'We want to be good neighbors,' Ashton told SFGATE, saying the business had implemented feasible measures in response to concerns raised by neighbors.
But the controversy has now reached Goleta City Hall.
City officials acknowledged that the town currently has no specific restrictions preventing a gun store from opening at the proposed location.
Goodland Guns received its business license for the new premises in early June.
The uproar has nevertheless prompted officials to consider changing the rules governing where firearms retailers can operate.
Goleta City Manager Robert Nisbet told the outlet that officials are preparing options that could result in changes to zoning rules or a new ordinance creating additional restrictions on gun-store locations.
The issue is scheduled to come before the Goleta City Council on September 1.
Nisbet said the city currently permits gun stores in commercial zones but indicated officials are considering the creation of more tightly defined 'sensitive zones' around locations such as daycare centers.
He also cautioned that any new restrictions would probably not affect Goodland Guns’ current location.
And there is a constitutional complication.
Nisbet said the city could not simply impose a blanket ban on gun stores, noting the protections surrounding the right to bear arms.
Instead, the likely approach would be to determine where firearms retailers could operate and impose additional restrictions around particularly sensitive locations.
For now, however, the clock is ticking.
Goodland Guns is scheduled to hold its grand opening on September 5, while parents, neighbors and city officials continue to grapple with whether a firearms retailer belongs immediately beside a place where young children spend their days.
SFGATE reported that it contacted Here We Grow Early Learning Center owner Heather Robbins for comment but had not received a response by publication.
Ashton said he has not yet spoken with Robbins himself.
'My door remains open to having a respectful conversation with her about how we can coexist as safe, secure, and quiet neighbors,' he said.
For a community known for its oceanfront scenery, family neighborhoods and laid-back coastal character, the arrival of a gun store beside a daycare has suddenly become anything but quiet.
