Planners Turn Down Merchant’s Bid for Gun Store in Santa Paula : Government: Owner of Port Hueneme weapons shop fails to secure approval as commissioners point to proposed site’s effect on downtown.

Saying a gun shop would make downtown Santa Paula less tourist-friendly, the Planning Commission has denied a merchant’s application to open a weapons store near the city’s core.

The commissioners voted 4 to 1 Tuesday night to deny a weapons store on the grounds that it would not enhance the city’s plan to make its downtown more pedestrian- and tourist-oriented.

The store, proposed by a Port Hueneme gun shop owner, would have operated out of a building at 112 S. 8th St.--less than a block from downtown Main Street.

“I will vote no, not because of guns, but because of the location and impact it would have in our downtown,” said Commissioner R.L. Smith. “This type of business could work in another part of the city. It would not go with the integrity and character of the location.”

Commissioner William Nash voted for the store, arguing that a gun store would not debase Santa Paula’s business area.

Commissioners Monique Castro and Richard C. Cook were absent.

Had it been approved, this would have been the first new weapons shop in the city in 15 years, said City Manager Arnold Dowdy.

The K mart is the only store in the 24,000-person city that sells firearms, Dowdy said.

Applicant David Palmer, who owns Dave’s Weaponry in Port Hueneme, said he chose Santa Paula for the site of his second store because a large number of his clients are from there.

“This is a rural community and a lot of people are hunters,” Palmer said. “It’s a market that has not been explored, and I think we can serve this community in a safe manner.”

Palmer said that if he does not find another location for his shop in the next two weeks, he will appeal the decision to the City Council.

Most of the residents who attended the meeting Tuesday opposed a gun shop anywhere in the city.

“The reason people come to live here is because they want to feel safe, so we need to be responsible to the community,” said Jayne Cooper, one of a dozen residents who opposed the permit. “I’m not saying that it will increase crime in the community, but it certainly won’t do anything to decrease it.”

Cooper said she used to sell rifles and handguns at her hardware store in downtown Santa Paula but decided four years ago that selling weapons was wrong for the community.

“I felt that I had an obligation to be responsible for this community, and selling firearms was not a responsible choice,” Cooper said. “I’m not against guns, but this is a small community, and we need to protect it.”

Russell King, an attorney who has an office near the proposed gun store site, told the commissioners that a weapons shop would attract drug dealers and criminals.

“We are no longer a society of order and discipline,” King said. “Years ago, people used to buy guns for hunting, but now they buy them to kill each other.”

Defending his position, Palmer said most people who buy guns want only to protect themselves.

“There is a misconception in this business,” Palmer said. “People who buy guns are basically law-abiding citizens. We don’t see gang members walking into our shop wanting to buy guns.”