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Please note: I am an elected member of the Select Board, but I provide this information only as an individual resident and not on behalf of anyone else.
Sudbury’s Select Board will present the Town’s first common sense gun control zoning regulations – Article 16: the Firearm Safety Business Use Zoning Bylaw – at Annual Town Meeting on Monday May 6, 2024. The new regulations will for the first time govern where in Sudbury firearm shops are allowed to locate (or not), install strict safety standards for any business to operate, and require a public permitting process. The bylaw is based on similar ones approved and implemented without any issues arising in nine (9) nearby communities and under consideration in three (3) others.
Today, Sudbury’s Zoning Bylaws do not specifically define or regulate firearm businesses, so little to no public oversight of any potential firearm business application is available. The new bylaw would differentiate firearms businesses from other retail businesses and provide a level of local permitting and control not in place now.
The Current State
Because firearms are not mentioned in the Zoning Bylaws, any application to open a firearm business in town today would be treated the same as any other business. This means a firearm retail shop permit application would be handled via internal staff review the same as a shoe shop or baby clothes shop application, with no difference in the level of scrutiny and requirements.
Firearms businesses applying to open in Town could be allowed “by right” in up to 7 of Sudbury’s 10 zoning districts. Sudbury could end up with a firearm business in any non-residential zone, or any available property of the approximately 536 commercial/industrial parcels in Town. Right now, these businesses would NOT be subject to any special review or safety standards, with the Town having little legal justification to request operational changes or impose conditions. The types of “by right” reviews might include whether there are enough parking spaces available and a review of the building’s exterior appearance.
The New Bylaw
Adopting the Firearm Safety Business Zoning Bylaw will restrict the operation of firearm businesses to only one zoning district, Industrial District, and only by special permit granted by a 4-1 or better vote of the Select Board. Special permits require businesses to meet higher standards compared to “by right” permits. Special permits require a public hearing with abutter notification and empower the permitting authority with greater ability to impose conditions, safeguards, and/or limitations on the time or use of a site, or even to deny an application for good cause.
This bylaw will limit two firearm businesses to locate in Sudbury at any given time. The bylaw aligns with similar bylaws approved in nine (9) nearby communities, follows a model law created by the Gifford Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and includes regulations on best business practices and security to maintain safety for the general public. All other relevant state and federal regulations will still apply. The bylaw adds a number of minimum requirements not currently in place, including:
- Reduces the locations available to firearms businesses from 7 of 10 zoning districts available today to just 1
- Cuts the number of eligible parcels for firearm business locations from 500+ parcels down to approximately 5
- Requires a minimum 250-foot setback from sensitive locations – schools, public parks, churches, senior living centers, childcare centers, rail trails, liquor stores, and more
- Requires a security plan be submitted to and approved by the Sudbury Police Department
- Requires 24-hour video surveillance and video storage for 3 years
- Requires after-hours lock up and secure storage requirements
- Allows additional site-specific conditions in consideration of abutters, public safety, or public good
The adoption of zoning restrictions to govern firearm businesses has been endorsed by Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, leaders from the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, Stop Handgun Violence MA, and Newton Gun Violence Prevention Collaborative, among others. Similar bylaws have been successfully implemented in Acton, Newton, Littleton, Wellesley, Plainville, Brookline, Dedham, Watertown, and Westwood and are under consideration in Maynard, Stow, and Westford.
This new bylaw—discussed at 14 different public Select Board meetings and reviewed by Town Counsel—provides commonsense policies intended to provide oversight without infringing on individual or Constitutional rights. A dedicated public information forum was held March 28, with information available on the Town website at www.sudbury.ma.us.
In addition, the Planning Board voted unanimously to support this bylaw.
Approving the Firearm Safety Business Use Bylaw will help provide new oversight and local control to maintain Sudbury’s character.
Annual Town Meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 6, 2024 at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.