Politics & Government

Pinole City Council Adopts Ban on Home Gun Sales

Amendment to the city code defines commercial areas where sales of firearms and ammunition can be allowed.

Neighboring Pinole is saying bye-bye to gun-related sales in some parts of the city.

The Pinole City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved changes to the city code to prohibit the sale of guns and ammunition in residential areas and in areas near schools, parks and day care centers.

Citing public safety concerns, the council upheld a 7-0 vote by the Pinole Planning Commission to adopt amendments regulating what had been a hole in existing city regulations.

Find out what's happening in Pinole-Herculeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Prior to the vote, about two dozen residents and others outside the city spoke during the council's public hearing, voicing overwhelming support for the restrictions.

The need for the changes came to the attention of city officials after two requests for use permits to home-based gun sale businesses last fall. City officials discovered that a 2010 revision of the city's code inadvertently omitted regulations on residential sales that had been adopted in 1995. In January the on issuing home use permits on gun sales to allow time to address the omission. It sent the issue to the planning commission for consideration.

Find out what's happening in Pinole-Herculeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Tuesday night, council members largely dismissed concerns that residents' Second Amendment right to bear arms would be affected by their vote, calling the matter a zoning issue.

"I separated the right to bear arms with the right sell them," Councilman Tim Banuelos said. "To think this is anything other than a zoning issue is silly."

Although he rose concerns about gun-owning rights before the vote, Councilman Phil Green ultimately approved the amendments to the code.

Pinole Police Chief John Hardester cautioned the council that the presence of gun and ammunition sales could make them targets for burglaries, robberies and traffic.

"It is certainly not a Second Amendment issue, it's a zoning issue, in my opinion," Hardester said.

By adopting the code changes, the council restricted sales to specific areas of the city by zoning designation and subjected the issuance of permits to meeting specific conditions.

The city denied the two use permit applications last year on the grounds that one was proposed in a residence in Pinole Valley Park and the other had been proposed at a residence where the applicant didn't reside.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here