Politics & Government

Los Gatos Town Council to Consider Extension of Gun Sales Moratorium

Prohibition could be in place until Feb. 2, 2014.

A 45-day emergency moratorium on the sale of retail firearms, ammunition or destructive devices unanimously adopted by the Los Gatos Town Council on March 4 will expire April 18.

Now, the five-member body is considering extending the prohibition at an upcoming meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, April 15 at Town Hall, 110 E. Main St.

The extension will give town staff more time to research a potential ordinance to designate which areas in Los Gatos would be appropriate for such sales, including proximity to schools, parks and selected establishments. 

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According to a staff report issued by the town April 5, the moratorium can be extended for 10 months and 15 days and may also be extended a second time for up to an additional year.

"The purpose of the moratorium and its proposed extension is to promote the public health, safety, or welfare during the time town staff analyzes commercial operations engaged in the retail sales of firearms, including providing Council with options and recommendation on whether to adopt ordinances regulating zoning and the operation of such establishments," Los Gatos Town Manager Greg Larson and town attorney Judith Propp wrote in the report.

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Legislation is pending on the regulation of firearms and ammunition at the state and federal level, they added, and the town should take into consideration any new measure adopted prior to drafting regulations for the municipality so it doesn't duplicate or pass regulations that may be later pre-empted, they added.

The urgency ordinance that created the moratorium stated that recent events throughout Santa Clara County and nearby communities had generated additional fear of random usage of guns to commit violence on unsuspecting residents, minors and adults.

It also acknowledges that since Los Gatos gun retailer Templar Sports opened in town in December of 2012, there have been three public protests, reports of vandalism, litter and reported threats, directed at both those protesting against and advocating for, the continued operation of the store.

In the past five years, the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno area has experienced an increase in gun-related homicide and gun-assisted property theft, including an armed robbery of a Los Gatos business.

The ordinance also states that the Santa Clara County Suicide Prevention Oversight Committee has gathered data between 2009 and 2011 that shows Los Gatos has the highest per capita suicide rate in the county, and firearms are used in some of those deaths.

Without the prohibition, new commercial gun retail operators could open in town without its government addressing appropriate regulation, resulting in incompatibility of land uses and adverse impacts on residents, businesses and neighborhoods.

—For comprehensive coverage of Los Gatos gun retailer Templar Sports' opening in town, please see our topic page by clicking here.


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