Source: Campus Safety Magazine [follow link for complete article]
With Concealed Carry Laws, Operational Uncertainties Confuse School Administrators
By Brian Armes · December 29, 2014
This former principal describes the questions and concerns he and other K-12 officials would have should a person who is not in law enforcement legally bring a gun onto school property.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Sunday, December 28, 2014
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms
Source: American Journal of Public Health
Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms
Jonathan M. Metzl, MD, PhD, and Kenneth T. MacLeish, PhD
Jonathan M. Metzl is with the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society and the Departments of Sociology and Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Kenneth T. MacLeish is with the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society and the Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University.
Contributors
Both authors conceptualized and designed the analysis and wrote and edited the article.
ABSTRACT
Four assumptions frequently arise in the aftermath of mass shootings in the United States: (1) that mental illness causes gun violence, (2) that psychiatric diagnosis can predict gun crime, (3) that shootings represent the deranged acts of mentally ill loners, and (4) that gun control “won’t prevent” another Newtown (Connecticut school mass shooting). Each of these statements is certainly true in particular instances. Yet, as we show, notions of mental illness that emerge in relation to mass shootings frequently reflect larger cultural stereotypes and anxieties about matters such as race/ethnicity, social class, and politics. These issues become obscured when mass shootings come to stand in for all gun crime, and when “mentally ill” ceases to be a medical designation and becomes a sign of violent threat.
A .pdf format of the article is available here.
Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Politics of American Firearms
Jonathan M. Metzl, MD, PhD, and Kenneth T. MacLeish, PhD
Jonathan M. Metzl is with the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society and the Departments of Sociology and Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Kenneth T. MacLeish is with the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society and the Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University.
Contributors
Both authors conceptualized and designed the analysis and wrote and edited the article.
ABSTRACT
Four assumptions frequently arise in the aftermath of mass shootings in the United States: (1) that mental illness causes gun violence, (2) that psychiatric diagnosis can predict gun crime, (3) that shootings represent the deranged acts of mentally ill loners, and (4) that gun control “won’t prevent” another Newtown (Connecticut school mass shooting). Each of these statements is certainly true in particular instances. Yet, as we show, notions of mental illness that emerge in relation to mass shootings frequently reflect larger cultural stereotypes and anxieties about matters such as race/ethnicity, social class, and politics. These issues become obscured when mass shootings come to stand in for all gun crime, and when “mentally ill” ceases to be a medical designation and becomes a sign of violent threat.
A .pdf format of the article is available here.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
PBS - PLEASE WATCH "Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA" on Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Source: PBS
FRONTLINE investigates the politics and power of the NRA.
In Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA, FRONTLINE goes inside the politics of America's gun debate. Veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk investigates the NRA, its political evolution and influence, and how it has consistently succeeded in defeating new gun control legislation.
Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA
How the NRA became a powerful lobbying force. Included: remarks from individuals on both sides of the gun-control debate, including former NRA spokesman John Aquilino; Vice President Joe Biden; and former NRA executive vice president Warren Cassidy.
In the Sacramento, CA area, this program airs on KVIE at 9pm.
Source: PBS
FRONTLINE investigates the politics and power of the NRA.
In Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA, FRONTLINE goes inside the politics of America's gun debate. Veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk investigates the NRA, its political evolution and influence, and how it has consistently succeeded in defeating new gun control legislation.
Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA
How the NRA became a powerful lobbying force. Included: remarks from individuals on both sides of the gun-control debate, including former NRA spokesman John Aquilino; Vice President Joe Biden; and former NRA executive vice president Warren Cassidy.
In the Sacramento, CA area, this program airs on KVIE at 9pm.
Source: PBS
Thursday, November 27, 2014
CITY OF RANCHO CORDOVA - SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA ITEM FOR DECEMBER 1, 2014
The City of Rancho Cordova posted a Facebook announcement for their next City Council meeting on Monday, December 1, 2014 and provided a link for the agenda.
I followed the link and discovered in reading the agenda for their SPECIAL MEETING (a CLOSED session held prior to the REGULAR meeting) included this item:
SPECIAL MEETING ITEM
3.1 Subject: Upcoming Zoning Code Amendments – Process and Schedule Overview.
Recommendation: Consider the project information and provide direction relative to public outreach as appropriate.
Result of Recommended Action: Staff is in the process of preparing various amendments to the Zoning Code that will clarify and enhance the standards and procedures within the Zoning Code, consistent with the scope of work presented herein. This discussion will provide Council direction on the appropriate level of public outreach and Council Study Sessions to be conducted within this update process. Council. The Zoning Code Amendments are anticipated to be presented for Council action in Spring 2015.
Staff Report: Jessica Jordan, Principal Planner.
Advances Goals: 1, 2, 6.
There were TWO links to .pdf documents providing additional information for this SPECIAL MEETING ITEM, and they are:
http://ccmeetings.cityofranchocordova.org/sirepub/view.aspx?cabinet=published_meetings&fileid=87677
This one includes:
"There are three major policy areas within the Zoning Code update that would benefit from public input and staff is requesting Council direction of the best approach and level of involvement for these topic areas. These topics include:
· Regulation of gun-related uses (zones where gun related uses should be allowed, indoor versus outdoor ranges, retail sales of guns and ammunition)
· Brewery, winery, distillery, brew pub (clarify and streamline review process, distinguish between tasting rooms and bars/nightclubs)
· Mixed Use Zoning (primary focus on how and when residential should be allowed in office and commercial mixed use zones)"
WHAT YOU - OUR RANCHO CORDOVA PARENTS/NEIGHBORS/FRIENDS CAN DO!
Please, please, please write letters and/or e-mails to the Rancho Cordova City Council and ASK them to include in their Zoning Codes amendments that ANY indoor or outdoor shooting range, and/or retail gun store, should be PROHIBITED from opening within 1,000 FEET of any school.
In addition, that neighborhoods, specifically like the neighborhood of Routier RD between Old Placerville Rd and Folsom Blvd, should be re-evaluated on their zoning code status as OIMU (Office Industrial Mixed Use), which is a carry-over from the Sacramento County Zoning Codes that the City of Rancho Cordova adopted when they incorporated as a City in 2003, and have NOT been updated to reflect the true character/nature of what the neighborhood exists as NOW.
Here is the list of Rancho Cordova City Council members AND their e-mail addresses:
- Mayor Dan Skoglund - e-mail: dskoglund@cityofranchocordova.org
- Vice Mayor Robert McGarvey - e-mail: rmcgarvey@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Donald Terry - e-mail to: dterry@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Linda Budge - e-mail to: lbudge@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member David Sander - e-mail to: dsander@cityofranchocordova.org
I would also include:
- City Manager Brian Nakamura - e-mail: bnakamura@cityofranchocordova.org
- Planning Director Paul Junker - e-mail: pjunker@cityofranchocordova.org
The snail mail address for the City of Rancho Cordova is:
2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
The phone number for the City of Rancho Cordova is: 916-851-8700
The second link provides the long range planning for this process, which includes a Pubic Review scheduled for March 2015.
http://ccmeetings.cityofranchocordova.org/sirepub/view.aspx?cabinet=published_meetings&fileid=87676
I'm thinking START our letters now to the City of Rancho Cordova - let them know the strength of OUR interest and our resolve.
Thank YOU so much. We'll update and/or provide additional information as it becomes available.
I followed the link and discovered in reading the agenda for their SPECIAL MEETING (a CLOSED session held prior to the REGULAR meeting) included this item:
SPECIAL MEETING ITEM
3.1 Subject: Upcoming Zoning Code Amendments – Process and Schedule Overview.
Recommendation: Consider the project information and provide direction relative to public outreach as appropriate.
Result of Recommended Action: Staff is in the process of preparing various amendments to the Zoning Code that will clarify and enhance the standards and procedures within the Zoning Code, consistent with the scope of work presented herein. This discussion will provide Council direction on the appropriate level of public outreach and Council Study Sessions to be conducted within this update process. Council. The Zoning Code Amendments are anticipated to be presented for Council action in Spring 2015.
Staff Report: Jessica Jordan, Principal Planner.
Advances Goals: 1, 2, 6.
There were TWO links to .pdf documents providing additional information for this SPECIAL MEETING ITEM, and they are:
http://ccmeetings.cityofranchocordova.org/sirepub/view.aspx?cabinet=published_meetings&fileid=87677
This one includes:
"There are three major policy areas within the Zoning Code update that would benefit from public input and staff is requesting Council direction of the best approach and level of involvement for these topic areas. These topics include:
· Regulation of gun-related uses (zones where gun related uses should be allowed, indoor versus outdoor ranges, retail sales of guns and ammunition)
· Brewery, winery, distillery, brew pub (clarify and streamline review process, distinguish between tasting rooms and bars/nightclubs)
· Mixed Use Zoning (primary focus on how and when residential should be allowed in office and commercial mixed use zones)"
WHAT YOU - OUR RANCHO CORDOVA PARENTS/NEIGHBORS/FRIENDS CAN DO!
Please, please, please write letters and/or e-mails to the Rancho Cordova City Council and ASK them to include in their Zoning Codes amendments that ANY indoor or outdoor shooting range, and/or retail gun store, should be PROHIBITED from opening within 1,000 FEET of any school.
In addition, that neighborhoods, specifically like the neighborhood of Routier RD between Old Placerville Rd and Folsom Blvd, should be re-evaluated on their zoning code status as OIMU (Office Industrial Mixed Use), which is a carry-over from the Sacramento County Zoning Codes that the City of Rancho Cordova adopted when they incorporated as a City in 2003, and have NOT been updated to reflect the true character/nature of what the neighborhood exists as NOW.
Here is the list of Rancho Cordova City Council members AND their e-mail addresses:
- Mayor Dan Skoglund - e-mail: dskoglund@cityofranchocordova.org
- Vice Mayor Robert McGarvey - e-mail: rmcgarvey@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Donald Terry - e-mail to: dterry@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Linda Budge - e-mail to: lbudge@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member David Sander - e-mail to: dsander@cityofranchocordova.org
I would also include:
- City Manager Brian Nakamura - e-mail: bnakamura@cityofranchocordova.org
- Planning Director Paul Junker - e-mail: pjunker@cityofranchocordova.org
The snail mail address for the City of Rancho Cordova is:
2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
The phone number for the City of Rancho Cordova is: 916-851-8700
The second link provides the long range planning for this process, which includes a Pubic Review scheduled for March 2015.
http://ccmeetings.cityofranchocordova.org/sirepub/view.aspx?cabinet=published_meetings&fileid=87676
I'm thinking START our letters now to the City of Rancho Cordova - let them know the strength of OUR interest and our resolve.
Thank YOU so much. We'll update and/or provide additional information as it becomes available.
Friday, November 14, 2014
SACRAMENTO KCRA NEWS: Owner claims she is being targeted by city of Rancho Cordova
Source: KCRA [Follow link for complete article.]
SACRAMENTO GUN CLUB MENTIONED IN ARTICLE
Owner claims she is being targeted by city of Rancho Cordova
City places moratorium on alcohol-serving businesses next to strip club
By Claire Doan Published 11:04 PM PST Nov 13, 2014
[Please follow link for complete article. I'm posting the pertinent paragraphs here.]
"... "When we welcome new businesses to Rancho Cordova, our goal is to be business friendly, but to also continue to protect the local community and our residents," said Ashley Downton, the communications specialist for Rancho Cordova.
However, the controversial Sacramento Gun Club that is slated to open soon in the city, did not trigger such a moratorium.
"At the City Council meetings in which we had public hearings, we did not have a large turnout in relation to the (restaurant)," Downton said.
KCRA 3 asked why the gun club did not trigger any motion by the City Council.
"That would actually be a legal question for the city attorney’s office," Downton said...
Source: KCRA [Follow link for complete article.]
Or click here for a video of the interview.
SACRAMENTO GUN CLUB MENTIONED IN ARTICLE
Owner claims she is being targeted by city of Rancho Cordova
City places moratorium on alcohol-serving businesses next to strip club
By Claire Doan Published 11:04 PM PST Nov 13, 2014
[Please follow link for complete article. I'm posting the pertinent paragraphs here.]
"... "When we welcome new businesses to Rancho Cordova, our goal is to be business friendly, but to also continue to protect the local community and our residents," said Ashley Downton, the communications specialist for Rancho Cordova.
However, the controversial Sacramento Gun Club that is slated to open soon in the city, did not trigger such a moratorium.
"At the City Council meetings in which we had public hearings, we did not have a large turnout in relation to the (restaurant)," Downton said.
KCRA 3 asked why the gun club did not trigger any motion by the City Council.
"That would actually be a legal question for the city attorney’s office," Downton said...
Source: KCRA [Follow link for complete article.]
Or click here for a video of the interview.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
SEATTLE TIMES INVESTIGATION: PART THREE - CHILDREN EXPOSED TO LEAD
Source: Seattle Times [Please follow link to read complete article]
Young shooters at risk
At a shooting club in Vancouver, Wash., 20 youngsters tested positive for lead overexposure. ‘We would get lead on our hands and eat finger food,’ one teenager recalls.
By Christine Willmsen and Lewis Kamb Oct. 20, 2014
The youngsters knew their sport could be dangerous, even deadly.
But for the junior team at the Vancouver (Wash.) Rifle and Pistol Club, the peril that emerged from their sport didn’t come from a stray bullet.
It came from lead.
In 2010, blood tests revealed that 20 youths had been overexposed to the poisonous metal after shooting in the club’s dirty, poorly ventilated range.
“It was devastating,” said Marc Ueltschi, the junior team coach and a club member. “It scared the life out of me. No one knew anything about lead poisoning and what to fix.”
Vancouver Rifle is just one of several private gun clubs across the United States that have posed health hazards in a sport with growing numbers of youths and women.
While those most likely to be poisoned by lead in gun ranges are the workers themselves, The Seattle Times has found dozens of avid shooters overexposed in such states as Washington, Massachusetts and Alaska.
The most vulnerable are children learning to shoot and compete in clubs operated by volunteers who may have little knowledge of the risks of firing lead ammunition. Gunfire can put lead residue in the air, and on the skin and nearby surfaces...
Of particular interest is their document (with data supplied from OSHA), of the shooting ranges inspected by OSHA. There were 19 California shooting ranges inspected, and there were a grand total of 93 lead violations for just the CA ranges alone.
Source: Seattle Times [Please follow link to read complete article]
Loaded with lead: How gun ranges poison workers and shooters
Young shooters at risk
At a shooting club in Vancouver, Wash., 20 youngsters tested positive for lead overexposure. ‘We would get lead on our hands and eat finger food,’ one teenager recalls.
By Christine Willmsen and Lewis Kamb Oct. 20, 2014
The youngsters knew their sport could be dangerous, even deadly.
But for the junior team at the Vancouver (Wash.) Rifle and Pistol Club, the peril that emerged from their sport didn’t come from a stray bullet.
It came from lead.
In 2010, blood tests revealed that 20 youths had been overexposed to the poisonous metal after shooting in the club’s dirty, poorly ventilated range.
“It was devastating,” said Marc Ueltschi, the junior team coach and a club member. “It scared the life out of me. No one knew anything about lead poisoning and what to fix.”
Vancouver Rifle is just one of several private gun clubs across the United States that have posed health hazards in a sport with growing numbers of youths and women.
While those most likely to be poisoned by lead in gun ranges are the workers themselves, The Seattle Times has found dozens of avid shooters overexposed in such states as Washington, Massachusetts and Alaska.
The most vulnerable are children learning to shoot and compete in clubs operated by volunteers who may have little knowledge of the risks of firing lead ammunition. Gunfire can put lead residue in the air, and on the skin and nearby surfaces...
Of particular interest is their document (with data supplied from OSHA), of the shooting ranges inspected by OSHA. There were 19 California shooting ranges inspected, and there were a grand total of 93 lead violations for just the CA ranges alone.
Source: Seattle Times [Please follow link to read complete article]
Monday, October 20, 2014
THE SEATTLE TIMES INVESTIGATION: Loaded with lead: How gun ranges poison workers and shooters
Source: The Seattle Times [Please follow link for complete article.]
The Seattle Times Investigation:
Loaded with lead: How gun ranges poison workers and shooters
By Christine Willmsen, Lewis Kamb and Justin Mayo Oct. 17, 2014
Indoor and outdoor, public and private, gun ranges dot the national landscape like bullet holes riddling a paper target, as the popularity of shooting has rocketed to new heights with an estimated 40 million recreational shooters annually.
But a hidden risk lies within almost all of America’s estimated 10,000 gun ranges. When shooters fire guns with lead-based ammunition, they spread lead vapor and dust, insidious toxins.
Thousands of people, including workers, shooters and their family members, have been contaminated at shooting ranges due to poor ventilation and contact with lead-coated surfaces, a Seattle Times investigation has found...
Source: The Seattle Times [Please follow link for complete article.]
The Seattle Times Investigation:
Loaded with lead: How gun ranges poison workers and shooters
By Christine Willmsen, Lewis Kamb and Justin Mayo Oct. 17, 2014
Indoor and outdoor, public and private, gun ranges dot the national landscape like bullet holes riddling a paper target, as the popularity of shooting has rocketed to new heights with an estimated 40 million recreational shooters annually.
But a hidden risk lies within almost all of America’s estimated 10,000 gun ranges. When shooters fire guns with lead-based ammunition, they spread lead vapor and dust, insidious toxins.
Thousands of people, including workers, shooters and their family members, have been contaminated at shooting ranges due to poor ventilation and contact with lead-coated surfaces, a Seattle Times investigation has found...
Source: The Seattle Times [Please follow link for complete article.]
Friday, October 17, 2014
CITY OF RANCHO CORDOVA - Fact Sheet Regarding the Siting of the Sacramento Gun Club
Source: City of Rancho Cordova City News
City News
Fact Sheet Regarding the Siting of the Sacramento Gun Club
Posted Date: 10/15/2014
1. The Sacramento Gun Club is an indoor shooting range and firearms related business allowed by right under City, state and federal law. Under the law and the City’s current Zoning Code, no discretionary review of the building permit and business license applications was possible by the City.
2. Once this application was filed with the City, as long as the applicant meets all legal standards for the development, the owners have the right to construct and operate this business. The City has no authority to block its construction and operation or to relocate this business. Only the owner has that opportunity.
3. The indoor gun range is classified as an Indoor Amusement/Entertainment Facility. This use type and the related Indoor Fitness and Sports use cover a broad range of uses that includes climbing gyms, indoor bounce houses and trampolines, indoor party facilities, indoor soccer and basketball venues, go cart racing and many more uses. In recent years the City has had a wide range of activity-oriented uses locate in large format office/light industrial buildings. Under this designation the use must occur entirely within an enclosed building. This use is an allowed-by-right use within the Office Industrial Mixed Use zone, where this site is located.
When the Applicant submitted applications for a business license and building permit, this prompted City Staff to provide an appropriate review which included:
* City staff determination was made that the proposed use is classified as an Indoor Amusement/Entertainment Facility and would be subject to the review and restrictions associated with this use type.
* The property at 3443 Routier is zoned Office Industrial Mixed Use (OIMU) and Indoor Amusement/Entertainment Facility is allowed by right in the OIMU zone. As an allowed use, no City Council review of this project is required or authorized. Public notice is not required.
* Planning Department consulted with internal development team and Police Department regarding regulations applicable to the gun range proposal.
* Following review, business license was issued to Sacramento Gun Club to allow: Gun Control Education, Shooting Range and Retail Sales.
4. Information on State Laws:
* State law requires anyone transporting a firearm to keep it unloaded and in a locked container. This law would apply to individuals arriving and leaving the shooting range.
* California’s Gun Free School Zone Act generally prohibits guns within 1,000 feet of a school. However, the law contains many exceptions, including exceptions for a business on private property when all other laws related to guns are followed. Therefore this private business may locate near a school so long as all gun safety laws are followed - including those regarding transporting firearms in an unloaded fashion and in a locked container.
* California Civil Code section 3482.1 (pertaining to shooting ranges, the ability of a city to regulate the location of sport shooting ranges, and nuisance actions against shooting ranges) does not apply to indoor shooting ranges meeting certain standards.
5. The Gun Club is fully enclosed, and is being built to strict state standards for safety and full containment of any projectiles and all noise produced. The remodel of the long vacant office building is extensive - amounting to a reported investment of over $6 million. The size of facility is 38,698 square feet. The following sound, environmental and other attenuation measures are being addressed:
* The majority of windows and doors of the existing building are framed in and noise dampening treatments are applied.
* Gun ranges are comprised of masonry block walls (filled with concrete) that extend to within 18 inches of building roof. This is a sort of building within a building for safety purposes.
* Within each gun lane sound dampening material will be placed on the walls and over head
* The top of each gun lane contains noise dampening material sandwiched between a double layer of sheetrock.
* The roof of the building received 4 inch layers of sound dampening acoustical foam on the inside and outside surfaces of the roof.
* A sophisticated HEPA air filter system will protect both customers of the facility and neighbors on nearby properties from hazards associated with gun smoke.
* The facility will include a system that captures all bullets. This system contains hazards associated with lead and allows the metals of the bullets to be recycled.
* Applicants anticipate that low level noise from gun fire will be audible inside the sales/lobby portion of the Gun Club and that no audible noise of gun fire will occur outside of the building.
6. To further delineate the Gun Club from adjacent uses and tenants the landscape plan includes the following:
* The Gun Club will install a solid wood perimeter fence on its southern property line that will face George Washington Carver High School.
* Landscape plantings inside the wooden fence will further screen the building.
* A berm along the Routier frontage will be lowered to enhance site visibility and security, with existing trees being removed and replaced.
7. Access to the Club will included Members and the general public. Visitors will adhere to the same rules and regulations as Gun Club members. Employees of the Gun Club will be trained and expected to follow all applicable laws, rules and regulations. All gun sales will be subject to laws regarding waiting periods and background checks. Many of the club members are expected to be current and retired law enforcement professionals who will use the club facilities to maintain their firearm skills. The Gun Club owners have informed the City that nonmembers who attempt to use the facility will be “vetted” by staff and may not always be permitted to use the facility on the same day.
8. In reviewing land uses within the City, and in neighboring jurisdictions, we have identified several cases of firearm related businesses in close proximity to schools, daycare facilities, senior care and assisted living facilities, coffee shops and recreation facilities. To date, the City has no recorded incidents at any of these sites to suggest a negative impact of firearms related businesses on these nearby uses.
9. The Public has stated that the City Planning Department should have given the school and community an early warning. The City did follow all appropriate noticing procedures as required by local and state laws. However, this project has caused the City to assess its project review practices and to establish procedures for additional review and outreach for uses that, while allowed by right, might generate concerns from the City Council or neighbors to a project.
10. A moratorium in this case would very likely create significant legal risk for the City, given the various state laws regulating the planning and mitigation of gun ranges as well as the California Gun Free School Zone Act, which makes it clear that this type of business may locate near a school so long as gun safety laws are followed. When the state Legislature has passed laws regarding a subject matter, the City's ability to legislate is more limited. The Legislature has passed several laws on gun safety, the transportation of guns, and guns near schools. The City would have a very difficult time defending the required findings for the moratorium -- that this business creates an immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare-- given the extensive state laws in existence on this subject. Additionally, the business owner made a substantial investment into this property after receiving a building permit and business license from the City. This also creates significant liability exposure for the City if it were to enact a moratorium on this use.
11. The Gun Club, at its discretion, may wish to offer to adults and children gun safety courses and invite teachers and interested staff and parents to tour the club. The property/facility owner is able to make this decision and the City cannot impose rules and/or requirements that require such to occur. As a good neighbor the City encourages both parties to educate each other on the issues at hand.
12. The Gun Club will be offering the sale of firearms to the general public. The same requirements for firearm sales will apply to the Gun Club as those which are in place under state and federal law for other retailers, such as Big 5 Sporting Goods, the Sportsman’s Warehouse, and other retail establishments which sell firearms to the general public. These include laws related to waiting periods and background checks.
13. The theft of firearms from unattended vehicles can occur regardless of location. Due to the fact that firearms have monetary value it is important that anyone who chooses to transport a firearm in a personal vehicle ensure that it is stored unloaded and in a locked container. Gun club visitors and members are required to follow state laws regarding transporting firearms in a locked container and making sure they are unloaded.
14. In reviewing crime stats within the County, the Sheriff's Department and the City find no evidence of increase in crime in conjunction with any firearms related businesses in Sacramento County.
15. School shootings are horrific, should never occur and should be prevented whenever possible, but there is no evidence that the City is aware of correlating such horrific acts of violence with firearms facilities, such as the one being constructed. The gun range will be a highly regulated and monitored facility, including on site security and extensive video surveillance. All guns outside of the facility must be stored unloaded and in locked cases. It would be much more difficult for a student to gain access to a gun at this facility than through the more typical route of securing a gun from either a friend or a family member.
16. While teachers, parents and students have expressed concern over this facility, the City has also received numerous comments in support of the gun range. Typical reasons for support focus on having a controlled environment for the practice of handling of guns and the offering of gun safety education.
City News
Fact Sheet Regarding the Siting of the Sacramento Gun Club
Posted Date: 10/15/2014
1. The Sacramento Gun Club is an indoor shooting range and firearms related business allowed by right under City, state and federal law. Under the law and the City’s current Zoning Code, no discretionary review of the building permit and business license applications was possible by the City.
2. Once this application was filed with the City, as long as the applicant meets all legal standards for the development, the owners have the right to construct and operate this business. The City has no authority to block its construction and operation or to relocate this business. Only the owner has that opportunity.
3. The indoor gun range is classified as an Indoor Amusement/Entertainment Facility. This use type and the related Indoor Fitness and Sports use cover a broad range of uses that includes climbing gyms, indoor bounce houses and trampolines, indoor party facilities, indoor soccer and basketball venues, go cart racing and many more uses. In recent years the City has had a wide range of activity-oriented uses locate in large format office/light industrial buildings. Under this designation the use must occur entirely within an enclosed building. This use is an allowed-by-right use within the Office Industrial Mixed Use zone, where this site is located.
When the Applicant submitted applications for a business license and building permit, this prompted City Staff to provide an appropriate review which included:
* City staff determination was made that the proposed use is classified as an Indoor Amusement/Entertainment Facility and would be subject to the review and restrictions associated with this use type.
* The property at 3443 Routier is zoned Office Industrial Mixed Use (OIMU) and Indoor Amusement/Entertainment Facility is allowed by right in the OIMU zone. As an allowed use, no City Council review of this project is required or authorized. Public notice is not required.
* Planning Department consulted with internal development team and Police Department regarding regulations applicable to the gun range proposal.
* Following review, business license was issued to Sacramento Gun Club to allow: Gun Control Education, Shooting Range and Retail Sales.
4. Information on State Laws:
* State law requires anyone transporting a firearm to keep it unloaded and in a locked container. This law would apply to individuals arriving and leaving the shooting range.
* California’s Gun Free School Zone Act generally prohibits guns within 1,000 feet of a school. However, the law contains many exceptions, including exceptions for a business on private property when all other laws related to guns are followed. Therefore this private business may locate near a school so long as all gun safety laws are followed - including those regarding transporting firearms in an unloaded fashion and in a locked container.
* California Civil Code section 3482.1 (pertaining to shooting ranges, the ability of a city to regulate the location of sport shooting ranges, and nuisance actions against shooting ranges) does not apply to indoor shooting ranges meeting certain standards.
5. The Gun Club is fully enclosed, and is being built to strict state standards for safety and full containment of any projectiles and all noise produced. The remodel of the long vacant office building is extensive - amounting to a reported investment of over $6 million. The size of facility is 38,698 square feet. The following sound, environmental and other attenuation measures are being addressed:
* The majority of windows and doors of the existing building are framed in and noise dampening treatments are applied.
* Gun ranges are comprised of masonry block walls (filled with concrete) that extend to within 18 inches of building roof. This is a sort of building within a building for safety purposes.
* Within each gun lane sound dampening material will be placed on the walls and over head
* The top of each gun lane contains noise dampening material sandwiched between a double layer of sheetrock.
* The roof of the building received 4 inch layers of sound dampening acoustical foam on the inside and outside surfaces of the roof.
* A sophisticated HEPA air filter system will protect both customers of the facility and neighbors on nearby properties from hazards associated with gun smoke.
* The facility will include a system that captures all bullets. This system contains hazards associated with lead and allows the metals of the bullets to be recycled.
* Applicants anticipate that low level noise from gun fire will be audible inside the sales/lobby portion of the Gun Club and that no audible noise of gun fire will occur outside of the building.
6. To further delineate the Gun Club from adjacent uses and tenants the landscape plan includes the following:
* The Gun Club will install a solid wood perimeter fence on its southern property line that will face George Washington Carver High School.
* Landscape plantings inside the wooden fence will further screen the building.
* A berm along the Routier frontage will be lowered to enhance site visibility and security, with existing trees being removed and replaced.
7. Access to the Club will included Members and the general public. Visitors will adhere to the same rules and regulations as Gun Club members. Employees of the Gun Club will be trained and expected to follow all applicable laws, rules and regulations. All gun sales will be subject to laws regarding waiting periods and background checks. Many of the club members are expected to be current and retired law enforcement professionals who will use the club facilities to maintain their firearm skills. The Gun Club owners have informed the City that nonmembers who attempt to use the facility will be “vetted” by staff and may not always be permitted to use the facility on the same day.
8. In reviewing land uses within the City, and in neighboring jurisdictions, we have identified several cases of firearm related businesses in close proximity to schools, daycare facilities, senior care and assisted living facilities, coffee shops and recreation facilities. To date, the City has no recorded incidents at any of these sites to suggest a negative impact of firearms related businesses on these nearby uses.
9. The Public has stated that the City Planning Department should have given the school and community an early warning. The City did follow all appropriate noticing procedures as required by local and state laws. However, this project has caused the City to assess its project review practices and to establish procedures for additional review and outreach for uses that, while allowed by right, might generate concerns from the City Council or neighbors to a project.
10. A moratorium in this case would very likely create significant legal risk for the City, given the various state laws regulating the planning and mitigation of gun ranges as well as the California Gun Free School Zone Act, which makes it clear that this type of business may locate near a school so long as gun safety laws are followed. When the state Legislature has passed laws regarding a subject matter, the City's ability to legislate is more limited. The Legislature has passed several laws on gun safety, the transportation of guns, and guns near schools. The City would have a very difficult time defending the required findings for the moratorium -- that this business creates an immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare-- given the extensive state laws in existence on this subject. Additionally, the business owner made a substantial investment into this property after receiving a building permit and business license from the City. This also creates significant liability exposure for the City if it were to enact a moratorium on this use.
11. The Gun Club, at its discretion, may wish to offer to adults and children gun safety courses and invite teachers and interested staff and parents to tour the club. The property/facility owner is able to make this decision and the City cannot impose rules and/or requirements that require such to occur. As a good neighbor the City encourages both parties to educate each other on the issues at hand.
12. The Gun Club will be offering the sale of firearms to the general public. The same requirements for firearm sales will apply to the Gun Club as those which are in place under state and federal law for other retailers, such as Big 5 Sporting Goods, the Sportsman’s Warehouse, and other retail establishments which sell firearms to the general public. These include laws related to waiting periods and background checks.
13. The theft of firearms from unattended vehicles can occur regardless of location. Due to the fact that firearms have monetary value it is important that anyone who chooses to transport a firearm in a personal vehicle ensure that it is stored unloaded and in a locked container. Gun club visitors and members are required to follow state laws regarding transporting firearms in a locked container and making sure they are unloaded.
14. In reviewing crime stats within the County, the Sheriff's Department and the City find no evidence of increase in crime in conjunction with any firearms related businesses in Sacramento County.
15. School shootings are horrific, should never occur and should be prevented whenever possible, but there is no evidence that the City is aware of correlating such horrific acts of violence with firearms facilities, such as the one being constructed. The gun range will be a highly regulated and monitored facility, including on site security and extensive video surveillance. All guns outside of the facility must be stored unloaded and in locked cases. It would be much more difficult for a student to gain access to a gun at this facility than through the more typical route of securing a gun from either a friend or a family member.
16. While teachers, parents and students have expressed concern over this facility, the City has also received numerous comments in support of the gun range. Typical reasons for support focus on having a controlled environment for the practice of handling of guns and the offering of gun safety education.
Monday, October 13, 2014
REPLY TO FITE DEVELOPMENT'S/SACRAMENTO GUN CLUB'S TOM BLACK
In the Sacramento Bee article from October 1, 2014, regarding the Lincoln Village United's protest against the Sacramento Gun Club, Tom Black, who is the project manager and partner in the owning entity, Fite Development Co., made this statement:
"... Asked about the school, which has been at the site since 2008, Black was blunt.
“They were the ones who really shouldn’t have put the school up there,” he said. “That was the problem, putting the school in an industrial area..."
I have a REPLY to Tom Black (and the Sacramento Gun Club and the City of Rancho Cordova):
Dear Mr. Tom Black,
I did some research at the City of Rancho Cordova's Planning Department web site, and specifically using THEIR planning department map, I put together a list of the different zoning codes for the ONE block of Routier RD between Lincoln Village/Systems Parkway (to the south) and Vanguard/Ellenwood (to the north).
This is what our neighborhood's zoning looks like:
1. Mayhew Community Baptist Church - 3401 Routier RD.
Zoning: Residential 5 (RD-5)
2. Quail Pointe Apartments - 3435 Routier RD
Zoning: RMU (Residential Mixed Use)
3. Sacramento Gun Club - 3443 Routier RD
Zoning: OIMU (Office/Industrial Mixed Use)
4. Vacant Undeveloped Property - 3477 Routier RD
Zoning: OIMU (Office/Industrial Mixed Use)
5. George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science - 10101 Systems Parkway
Zoning: CS (Community Services)
6. Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center - 3480 Routier RD
Zoning: Parks and Open Space (POS)
7. Lincoln Village Park - 3450 Routier RD
Zoning: Parks and Open Space (POS)H
So, Mr. Black, you WERE wrong.
This ENTIRE Routier RD. neighborhood is NOT zoned as an Industrial area. Only the Sacramento Gun Club and the adjacent vacant lot (which is also owned by Fite Development) is zoned as Office/Industrial Mix Use.
To view the entire Sacramento Bee Article from October 1, 2014, please follow this link.
"... Asked about the school, which has been at the site since 2008, Black was blunt.
“They were the ones who really shouldn’t have put the school up there,” he said. “That was the problem, putting the school in an industrial area..."
I have a REPLY to Tom Black (and the Sacramento Gun Club and the City of Rancho Cordova):
Dear Mr. Tom Black,
I did some research at the City of Rancho Cordova's Planning Department web site, and specifically using THEIR planning department map, I put together a list of the different zoning codes for the ONE block of Routier RD between Lincoln Village/Systems Parkway (to the south) and Vanguard/Ellenwood (to the north).
This is what our neighborhood's zoning looks like:
1. Mayhew Community Baptist Church - 3401 Routier RD.
Zoning: Residential 5 (RD-5)
2. Quail Pointe Apartments - 3435 Routier RD
Zoning: RMU (Residential Mixed Use)
3. Sacramento Gun Club - 3443 Routier RD
Zoning: OIMU (Office/Industrial Mixed Use)
4. Vacant Undeveloped Property - 3477 Routier RD
Zoning: OIMU (Office/Industrial Mixed Use)
5. George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science - 10101 Systems Parkway
Zoning: CS (Community Services)
6. Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center - 3480 Routier RD
Zoning: Parks and Open Space (POS)
7. Lincoln Village Park - 3450 Routier RD
Zoning: Parks and Open Space (POS)H
So, Mr. Black, you WERE wrong.
This ENTIRE Routier RD. neighborhood is NOT zoned as an Industrial area. Only the Sacramento Gun Club and the adjacent vacant lot (which is also owned by Fite Development) is zoned as Office/Industrial Mix Use.
To view the entire Sacramento Bee Article from October 1, 2014, please follow this link.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
CITY OF RANCHO CORDOVA PLANNING DEPARTMENT
Received a Notice of Public Hearing from the City of Rancho Cordova Planning Department.
The Mayhew Community Baptist Church at 3401 Routier RD. wants to install an Electric Monument style sign.
Similar to the one just recently installed in front of the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center at 3480 Routier RD. (I now remember I received a Notice Of Public Hearing for that sign too.)
Oh - here's the kicker. They're (the church) zoned as Residential 5 (RD-5)!
So... in one block, you can start out as Resident 5 (RD-5), and end up zoned as Commercial/Mixed Use (for the Sacramento Gun Club at 3443 Routier RD)?
Is that the way planning is supposed to work?
Or is that just the way Rancho Cordova Planning Department operates?
Anyway, I think one electronic sign per block is sufficient.
The Mayhew Community Baptist Church at 3401 Routier RD. wants to install an Electric Monument style sign.
Similar to the one just recently installed in front of the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center at 3480 Routier RD. (I now remember I received a Notice Of Public Hearing for that sign too.)
Oh - here's the kicker. They're (the church) zoned as Residential 5 (RD-5)!
So... in one block, you can start out as Resident 5 (RD-5), and end up zoned as Commercial/Mixed Use (for the Sacramento Gun Club at 3443 Routier RD)?
Is that the way planning is supposed to work?
Or is that just the way Rancho Cordova Planning Department operates?
Anyway, I think one electronic sign per block is sufficient.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
RANCHO CORDOVA CITY COUNCIL'S MEETING OF OCTOBER 6, 2014, VIDEO IS AVAILABLE
Source: City of Rancho Cordova City Council [Please click link to view the video.]
The video of Rancho Cordova City Council's meeting of October 6, 2014, is now available for viewing.
On the site, look for the list of links under "City Council." October 6, 2014, is at the top of the list. Look to the right of the list, and click on "video." Public comments begin at approximately the 43:30 mark on the video.
You may need to use the Internet Explorer browser to be able to view the video, as I couldn't view the video utilizing the Firefox browser.
Update Oct. 14, 2014: Just noticed an embed code at the City of Rancho Cordova web site. Let's see if this works (it works if you have an Internet Explorer browser):
Normal 2x 4x
There was a total of 42 citizens who presented comments. Not all of the comments directed towards City Council were about George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science vs Sacramento Gun Club. Here's the breakdown:
Supporting George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science vs Sacramento Gun Club - 28 speakers
Supporting Sacramento Gun Club vs George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science - 6 speakers
Against Rancho Cordova Measure H (an increase of 1/2 cent in the sales tax to support city fire and police, etc.) - 2
Citizens fighting violence on W. La Loma Dr. - 6
And a reminder - Lincoln Village United's PROTEST against the Sacramento Gun Club is about its location - within 252 FEET of an existing high school.
The video of Rancho Cordova City Council's meeting of October 6, 2014, is now available for viewing.
On the site, look for the list of links under "City Council." October 6, 2014, is at the top of the list. Look to the right of the list, and click on "video." Public comments begin at approximately the 43:30 mark on the video.
You may need to use the Internet Explorer browser to be able to view the video, as I couldn't view the video utilizing the Firefox browser.
Update Oct. 14, 2014: Just noticed an embed code at the City of Rancho Cordova web site. Let's see if this works (it works if you have an Internet Explorer browser):
Normal 2x 4x
There was a total of 42 citizens who presented comments. Not all of the comments directed towards City Council were about George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science vs Sacramento Gun Club. Here's the breakdown:
Supporting George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science vs Sacramento Gun Club - 28 speakers
Supporting Sacramento Gun Club vs George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science - 6 speakers
Against Rancho Cordova Measure H (an increase of 1/2 cent in the sales tax to support city fire and police, etc.) - 2
Citizens fighting violence on W. La Loma Dr. - 6
And a reminder - Lincoln Village United's PROTEST against the Sacramento Gun Club is about its location - within 252 FEET of an existing high school.
SACRAMENTO CBS' KXTV VIDEO - OCTOBER 7, 2014
Source: CBS KXTV
On Tuesday, October 7, 2014, George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science students, parents, teachers, and their neighbors, staged silent protest picketing in front of 3443 Routier RD (Rancho Cordova) where the new business, Sacramento Gun Club, will be opening sometime soon.
Sacramento's local CBS TV station, KXTV, dispatched a news truck to interview those who participated, and broadcast the video on the evening news.
Rancho Cordova Students, Faculty Protest Proposed Gun Range 250 Feet From School
October 7, 2014 9:36 PM
Students and faculty took to the streets to make their voices heard over a proposed gun range near a school.
Students from George Washington Carver High protested what is already on its way.
“Even though it’s legal, it’s still wrong. you shouldn’t mix schools with guns,” said student Damon Kalerkorinos...
Please follow the link to read the complete text.
And THANK YOU everyone who worked the picket line!
Sacramento's local CBS TV station, KXTV, dispatched a news truck to interview those who participated, and broadcast the video on the evening news.
Rancho Cordova Students, Faculty Protest Proposed Gun Range 250 Feet From School
October 7, 2014 9:36 PM
Students and faculty took to the streets to make their voices heard over a proposed gun range near a school.
Students from George Washington Carver High protested what is already on its way.
“Even though it’s legal, it’s still wrong. you shouldn’t mix schools with guns,” said student Damon Kalerkorinos...
Please follow the link to read the complete text.
And THANK YOU everyone who worked the picket line!
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
NEW SACRAMENTO BEE ARTICLE - 10/6/14 - Protest of gun club dominates Rancho Cordova council meeting
Source: Sacramento Bee (Please follow link for complete article.)
By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Oct. 6, 2014 - 9:19 pm
Protest of gun club dominates Rancho Cordova council meeting
Students and parents packed Rancho Cordova’s City Council chambers Monday night to protest the city’s quiet approval months ago of the Sacramento Gun Club near the Waldorf-inspired George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science.
The five-member City Council listened to protests from speaker after speaker who live near the gun club, attend Carver or have children at the campus. While council members have said they can do little to stop the project as it nears completion, the council intends to review zoning regulations that permit gun-related businesses near schools...
Please follow link for complete article.
By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Oct. 6, 2014 - 9:19 pm
Protest of gun club dominates Rancho Cordova council meeting
Students and parents packed Rancho Cordova’s City Council chambers Monday night to protest the city’s quiet approval months ago of the Sacramento Gun Club near the Waldorf-inspired George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science.
The five-member City Council listened to protests from speaker after speaker who live near the gun club, attend Carver or have children at the campus. While council members have said they can do little to stop the project as it nears completion, the council intends to review zoning regulations that permit gun-related businesses near schools...
Please follow link for complete article.
Monday, October 6, 2014
RATS, IT'S MONDAY! BUT, PLEASE DO PARTICIPATE! RANCHO CORDOVA CITY COUNCIL MEETING!
I borrowed the image from Cute Overload today.
But unlike Mr. Rat, Lincoln Village United would LIKE you to participate (please) at the Rancho Cordova City Council meeting at 5:30pm today, October 6, 2014. We are returning to Rancho Cordova City Council to address the City Council with our varied concerns about Sacramento Gun Club moving into 3443 Routier RD.
PLEASE join us. Help US make History!
Rancho Cordova City Hall is located at 2729 Prospect Park Drive. The nearest cross street is Gold Center Dr. It is just off the Zinfandel Dr. off-ramp from Highway 50.
If you would like to address the City Council, please try to be there BEFORE 5:30pm, as you need to fill out a public comments card, and TURN IT IN before the City Council meeting begins.
We would LOVE to have as many concerned citizens there for a show of public and moral support.
Again, this is for the CONTINUING protest of the Rancho Cordova's approval of the new business, Sacramento Gun Club, moving into the Routier RD neighborhood, within 252 FEET of an existing high school (George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences).
It is also in very close vicinity to the Lincoln Village Park, the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center, the Quail Pointe Apartments, the Mayhew Community Baptist Church, and a "high density" of single family homes.
Looking forward to seeing YOU there!
Thank you!
But unlike Mr. Rat, Lincoln Village United would LIKE you to participate (please) at the Rancho Cordova City Council meeting at 5:30pm today, October 6, 2014. We are returning to Rancho Cordova City Council to address the City Council with our varied concerns about Sacramento Gun Club moving into 3443 Routier RD.
PLEASE join us. Help US make History!
Rancho Cordova City Hall is located at 2729 Prospect Park Drive. The nearest cross street is Gold Center Dr. It is just off the Zinfandel Dr. off-ramp from Highway 50.
If you would like to address the City Council, please try to be there BEFORE 5:30pm, as you need to fill out a public comments card, and TURN IT IN before the City Council meeting begins.
We would LOVE to have as many concerned citizens there for a show of public and moral support.
Again, this is for the CONTINUING protest of the Rancho Cordova's approval of the new business, Sacramento Gun Club, moving into the Routier RD neighborhood, within 252 FEET of an existing high school (George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences).
It is also in very close vicinity to the Lincoln Village Park, the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center, the Quail Pointe Apartments, the Mayhew Community Baptist Church, and a "high density" of single family homes.
Looking forward to seeing YOU there!
Thank you!
Saturday, October 4, 2014
NBC NEWS - MAKING A DIFFERENCE VIDEO: Volunteers Build 26 Playgrounds to Remember Sandy Hook Victims
Source: NBC Nightly News
Nightly News
There were 26 victims of the Newtown shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, now there is a playground to memorialize each of them.
Published October 3rd 2014, 4:54 pm
Nightly News
There were 26 victims of the Newtown shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, now there is a playground to memorialize each of them.
Published October 3rd 2014, 4:54 pm
Friday, October 3, 2014
CBS RADIO STATION 100.5 - Freaky Fact or Fiction: Gun Range To Open 250 Feet From High School
Freaky Fact or Fiction: Gun Range To Open 250 Feet From High School
It’s a freaky fact! The Sacramento Gun Club plans to open an indoor range in Rancho Cordova just 250 feet from George Washington Carver!
They are within their rights, according to the law. So would a strip club be if they wanted to open up 250 feet from a church, but who thinks that’s a good idea? Listen to the audio at the site.
It’s a freaky fact! The Sacramento Gun Club plans to open an indoor range in Rancho Cordova just 250 feet from George Washington Carver!
They are within their rights, according to the law. So would a strip club be if they wanted to open up 250 feet from a church, but who thinks that’s a good idea? Listen to the audio at the site.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!
The three most important things about real estate is location, location, location!
One would think that a property development company would know their own motto of location, location, location.
And that is the backbone of our protest against the Sacramento Gun Club - it's their location, location, location.
1) They are located within 252 FEET of George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences;
2) They are located within 252 FEET of the Lincoln Village Community Park AND the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center (and the swimming pool, the children's play area, the bbq area, the tennis courts...);
3) They are located within 252 FEET of the Quail Pointe Apartment complex, with its 120 units,
4) They are located close to the Mayhew Community Baptist Church,
5) They are located close to a high density of single family homes.
THIS is why we are protesting.
Last night at the Sacramento City Unified School District board meeting, more than one board member mentioned to the City of Rancho Cordova's representatives at the meeting, that it was the board's "moral imperative" to PROTECT their students.
So, please, if you haven't time yet to do so, please, please, please sign our petition of protest. Help US make history!
Thank YOU!
One would think that a property development company would know their own motto of location, location, location.
And that is the backbone of our protest against the Sacramento Gun Club - it's their location, location, location.
1) They are located within 252 FEET of George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences;
2) They are located within 252 FEET of the Lincoln Village Community Park AND the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center (and the swimming pool, the children's play area, the bbq area, the tennis courts...);
3) They are located within 252 FEET of the Quail Pointe Apartment complex, with its 120 units,
4) They are located close to the Mayhew Community Baptist Church,
5) They are located close to a high density of single family homes.
THIS is why we are protesting.
Last night at the Sacramento City Unified School District board meeting, more than one board member mentioned to the City of Rancho Cordova's representatives at the meeting, that it was the board's "moral imperative" to PROTECT their students.
So, please, if you haven't time yet to do so, please, please, please sign our petition of protest. Help US make history!
Thank YOU!
NEW SACRAMENTO BEE ARTICLE NOW ONLINE - OCTOBER 2, 2014
A NEW Sacramento Bee article is now online. (Please follow the link for the complete article.)
Sacramento City district trustees ask Rancho Cordova to move gun club.
Trustees of the Sacramento City Unified School District voted unanimously Thursday night to ask the city of Rancho Cordova to relocate a state-of-the-art gun club under construction near a Waldorf-inspired high school...
Sacramento City district trustees ask Rancho Cordova to move gun club.
Trustees of the Sacramento City Unified School District voted unanimously Thursday night to ask the city of Rancho Cordova to relocate a state-of-the-art gun club under construction near a Waldorf-inspired high school...
VIDEO - KCRA: SHOOTING RANGE SET TO OPEN NEXT TO A SACRAMENTO HIGH SCHOOL
The Sacramento Gun Club’s 4,000-square-foot, $6 million facility is roughly 250 feet from the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences.
Read more: http://www.kcra.com/news/shooting-range-set-to-open-next-to-a-sacramento-high-school/28383746#ixzz3F4cARDp8
Read more: http://www.kcra.com/news/shooting-range-set-to-open-next-to-a-sacramento-high-school/28383746#ixzz3F4cARDp8
Thursday, October 2, 2014
PLEASE HELP US MAKE HISTORY!
Tell YOUR elected officials how YOU feel about guns and schools. Please show YOUR support and make YOUR voice be heard!
Please sign our petition.
Thank YOU!
Please sign our petition.
Thank YOU!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
NEW SACRAMENTO BEE ARTICLE OCTOBER 1, 2014!
A NEW Sacramento Bee article, discussing the protest between the George Washington Carver School or Arts and Sciences students and their parents; teachers and administrators; and their Carver neighbors over the new business, the Sacramento Gun Club's (an indoor shooting range and retail gun store) LOCATION being within 252 FEET from Carver, is now online.
Please read the article, and if you agree with us that the Sacramento Gun Club needs to MOVE, please sign our online petition.
Please read the article, and if you agree with us that the Sacramento Gun Club needs to MOVE, please sign our online petition.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP, PART THREE - WRITE LETTERS TO POLITICIANS!
PLEASE, write letters of concern regarding the Sacramento Gun Club opening within 252 FEET of an existing High School (George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences).
NOTE: UPDATED OCTOBER 17, 2014, TO REFLECT STATE SENATOR CANDIDATES FOR DISTRICT 4!
- Certified Letters are the best option (you get a receipt back that your recipient has received your letter),
- Standard (snail) mail is the next best option,
- E-mail is also an option.
LOCAL OFFICIALS
City of Rancho Cordova, 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
- Mayor Dan Skoglund - e-mail: dskoglund@cityofranchocordova.org
- Vice Mayor Robert McGarvey - e-mail: rmcgarvey@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Donald Terry - e-mail to: dterry@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Linda Budge - e-mail to: lbudge@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member David Sander - e-mail to: dsander@cityofranchocordova.org
SACRAMENTO COUNTY OFFICIALS
- Don Nottoli, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, District 5 - e-mail: nottolid@saccounty.net
CALIFORNIA STATE OFFICIALS
- California State Assemblyman Ken Cooley, District 8. Mr. Cooley is running for re-election, and his opponent is Douglas Haaland.
- For California State Senate District 4, State Senator Jim Nielsen is running for re-election and his opponent is CJ Jawahar.
- California State Attorney General Kamala Harris
- California State Governor Jerry Brown
FEDERAL OFFICIALS
- Senator Barbara Boxer
- Senator Dianne Feinstein
- Congressman Ami Berra is running for re-election, and his opponent is Doug Ose.
- President Barack Obama
Thank YOU!
NOTE: UPDATED OCTOBER 17, 2014, TO REFLECT STATE SENATOR CANDIDATES FOR DISTRICT 4!
- Certified Letters are the best option (you get a receipt back that your recipient has received your letter),
- Standard (snail) mail is the next best option,
- E-mail is also an option.
LOCAL OFFICIALS
City of Rancho Cordova, 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
- Mayor Dan Skoglund - e-mail: dskoglund@cityofranchocordova.org
- Vice Mayor Robert McGarvey - e-mail: rmcgarvey@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Donald Terry - e-mail to: dterry@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Linda Budge - e-mail to: lbudge@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member David Sander - e-mail to: dsander@cityofranchocordova.org
SACRAMENTO COUNTY OFFICIALS
- Don Nottoli, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, District 5 - e-mail: nottolid@saccounty.net
CALIFORNIA STATE OFFICIALS
- California State Assemblyman Ken Cooley, District 8. Mr. Cooley is running for re-election, and his opponent is Douglas Haaland.
- For California State Senate District 4, State Senator Jim Nielsen is running for re-election and his opponent is CJ Jawahar.
- California State Attorney General Kamala Harris
- California State Governor Jerry Brown
FEDERAL OFFICIALS
- Senator Barbara Boxer
- Senator Dianne Feinstein
- Congressman Ami Berra is running for re-election, and his opponent is Doug Ose.
- President Barack Obama
Thank YOU!
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
PLEASE JOIN US AT THE RANCHO CORDOVA CITY COUNCIL MEETING ON OCT. 6TH
Please join us at the next Rancho Cordova City Council meeting on Monday, October 6, 2014 at 5:30pm.
Rancho Cordova City Hall is located at 2729 Prospect Park Drive. The nearest cross street is Gold Center Dr. It is just off the Zinfandel Dr. off-ramp from Highway 50.
If you would like to address the City Council, please try to be there BEFORE 5:30pm, as you need to fill out a public comments card, and TURN IT IN before the City Council meeting begins.
We would LOVE to have as many concerned citizens there for a show of public and moral support.
Again, this is for the CONTINUING protest of the Rancho Cordova's approval of the new business, Sacramento Gun Club, moving into the Routier RD neighborhood, within 252 FEET of an existing high school (George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences).
It is also in very close vicinity to the Lincoln Village Park, the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center, the Quail Pointe Apartments, the Mayhew Community Baptist Church, and a "high density" of single family homes.
Looking forward to seeing YOU there!
Thank you!
Rancho Cordova City Hall is located at 2729 Prospect Park Drive. The nearest cross street is Gold Center Dr. It is just off the Zinfandel Dr. off-ramp from Highway 50.
If you would like to address the City Council, please try to be there BEFORE 5:30pm, as you need to fill out a public comments card, and TURN IT IN before the City Council meeting begins.
We would LOVE to have as many concerned citizens there for a show of public and moral support.
Again, this is for the CONTINUING protest of the Rancho Cordova's approval of the new business, Sacramento Gun Club, moving into the Routier RD neighborhood, within 252 FEET of an existing high school (George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences).
It is also in very close vicinity to the Lincoln Village Park, the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center, the Quail Pointe Apartments, the Mayhew Community Baptist Church, and a "high density" of single family homes.
Thank you!
PLEASE SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION - PROTEST NEW INDOOR SHOOTING RANGE MOVING INTO NEXT TO AN EXISTING HIGH SCHOOL!
PLEASE SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION!
We're protesting the new business, Sacramento Gun Club, a 40,000 square foot indoor shooting range and retail gun store, moving into 3443 Routier RD, in Rancho Cordova, CA.
This address is within 252 FEET of an existing high school, the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences at 10101 Systems Parkway (at the corner of Routier RD and Systems Parkway).
Directly ACROSS the street from the Sacramento Gun Club is Lincoln Village Park, with its swimming pool, children's play area, tennis courts, bbq area, and the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center.
Just north of the Sacramento Gun Club is the Quail Pointe Apartment Complex, and north of the apartments, is the Mayhew Community Baptist Church.
Plus, this neighborhood has a "high density" (according to the City of Rancho Cordova) of single family homes.
The Sacramento Gun Club is presently scheduled to be open from Monday through Sunday, from 9am to 9pm.
According to the Rancho Cordova City Planner, this new business is a legal business and it required no special notice or opportunity for public comment BEFORE it was approved.
A neighbor find out by accident that the new business was moving in, and notified the neighbors about the situation.
The GWCarver students (and their parents); teachers and administrators; and the neighbors have formed an action group to protest this new business moving in.
Please, if you haven't already had the opportunity, sign our online petition at:
http://fb.me/1uPM3SxCE
Tell YOUR elected officials how YOU feel about guns and schools. Please show YOUR support and make YOUR voice be heard!
Thank you!
We're protesting the new business, Sacramento Gun Club, a 40,000 square foot indoor shooting range and retail gun store, moving into 3443 Routier RD, in Rancho Cordova, CA.
This address is within 252 FEET of an existing high school, the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences at 10101 Systems Parkway (at the corner of Routier RD and Systems Parkway).
Directly ACROSS the street from the Sacramento Gun Club is Lincoln Village Park, with its swimming pool, children's play area, tennis courts, bbq area, and the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center.
Just north of the Sacramento Gun Club is the Quail Pointe Apartment Complex, and north of the apartments, is the Mayhew Community Baptist Church.
Plus, this neighborhood has a "high density" (according to the City of Rancho Cordova) of single family homes.
The Sacramento Gun Club is presently scheduled to be open from Monday through Sunday, from 9am to 9pm.
According to the Rancho Cordova City Planner, this new business is a legal business and it required no special notice or opportunity for public comment BEFORE it was approved.
A neighbor find out by accident that the new business was moving in, and notified the neighbors about the situation.
The GWCarver students (and their parents); teachers and administrators; and the neighbors have formed an action group to protest this new business moving in.
Please, if you haven't already had the opportunity, sign our online petition at:
http://fb.me/1uPM3SxCE
Tell YOUR elected officials how YOU feel about guns and schools. Please show YOUR support and make YOUR voice be heard!
Thank you!
Sunday, September 28, 2014
CITY OF RANCO CORDOVA PLANNING DIRECTOR NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
I found a scan of a Notice of Public Hearing on a social network for neighborhood communities (NextDoor).
Here's the scan of the Notice of Public Hearing:
This Notice of Public Hearing was mailed out on August 22, and it concerns a new business at 9980 Horn Rd (Rancho Cordova), for training batting cages and a cafe INSIDE an existing warehouse.
The Sacramento Gun Club is moving into 3343 Routier RD (Rancho Cordova), into an existing building (an office complex that's been vacant for seven years, and used to house offices for both the State of California and the County of Sacramento). The building is owned by Fite Development Company, which owns quite a few properties in the City of Rancho Cordova.
The training batting cages and cafe are ALSO moving into an existing warehouse on 9980 Horn RD (which is in the same neighborhood of Fite Development and FITE MAY own that warehouse as well).
Interesting that this type of business would REQUIRE a Notice of Public Hearing - but NOT an indoor shooting range and gun store - within 252 FEET of an existing high school.
Concerned about the Sacramento Gun Club (an indoor shooting range - with 34 lanes, 12 of them rifle lanes - and retail gun store) moving into the Lincoln Village neighborhood on Routier RD? Within 252 FEET of George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences? With Lincoln Village Park and the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center directly across the street? And the Quail Pointe Apartments and the Mayhew Community Baptist Church just north of the Sacramento Gun Club?
If you are concerned, and if you haven't already had the opportunity, please sign our petition of protest.
Thank YOU!
Here's the scan of the Notice of Public Hearing:
This Notice of Public Hearing was mailed out on August 22, and it concerns a new business at 9980 Horn Rd (Rancho Cordova), for training batting cages and a cafe INSIDE an existing warehouse.
The Sacramento Gun Club is moving into 3343 Routier RD (Rancho Cordova), into an existing building (an office complex that's been vacant for seven years, and used to house offices for both the State of California and the County of Sacramento). The building is owned by Fite Development Company, which owns quite a few properties in the City of Rancho Cordova.
The training batting cages and cafe are ALSO moving into an existing warehouse on 9980 Horn RD (which is in the same neighborhood of Fite Development and FITE MAY own that warehouse as well).
Interesting that this type of business would REQUIRE a Notice of Public Hearing - but NOT an indoor shooting range and gun store - within 252 FEET of an existing high school.
Concerned about the Sacramento Gun Club (an indoor shooting range - with 34 lanes, 12 of them rifle lanes - and retail gun store) moving into the Lincoln Village neighborhood on Routier RD? Within 252 FEET of George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences? With Lincoln Village Park and the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center directly across the street? And the Quail Pointe Apartments and the Mayhew Community Baptist Church just north of the Sacramento Gun Club?
If you are concerned, and if you haven't already had the opportunity, please sign our petition of protest.
Thank YOU!
THANK YOU TO VOLUNTEERS WHO PHONE BANKED ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2014!
A hearty Thank YOU to all the students, teachers, parents and neighbors who helped phone bank on Saturday at George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences.
Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
I enjoyed meeting the new volunteers, especially the grandparent who drove all the way from Berkeley to assist! So a big shout out to Norman Ross Powers!
And if you haven't had the opportunity to sign our petition, here's the link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BnWjejj_4cAZfCQjElPdWMd4uPdomEtY5rPcKp_lpcI/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link
Happy Sunday everyone.
Best wishes.
Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
I enjoyed meeting the new volunteers, especially the grandparent who drove all the way from Berkeley to assist! So a big shout out to Norman Ross Powers!
And if you haven't had the opportunity to sign our petition, here's the link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BnWjejj_4cAZfCQjElPdWMd4uPdomEtY5rPcKp_lpcI/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link
Happy Sunday everyone.
Best wishes.
Friday, September 26, 2014
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP - PART TWO!
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!
* PLEASE sign the online petition at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BnWjejj_4cAZfCQjElPdWMd4uPdomEtY5rPcKp_lpcI/viewform?c=0&w=1
* Please volunteer to participate in the phone banking scheduled for Saturday, September 27, 2014, between 10am and 4pm. We are NOT asking that you stay the entire time, perhaps a two hour block of time. Please bring a FULLY CHARGED cell phone, and either a pen or pencil, to:
- George Washington Carver High School, 10101 Systems Parkway, Sacramento, CA 95827
* Write letters of concern regarding the Sacramento Gun Club opening within 252 FEET of an existing High School
- Certified Letters are the best option (you get a receipt back that your recipient has received your letter),
- Standard (snail) mail is the next best option,
- E-mail is also an option
LOCAL OFFICIALS
City of Rancho Cordova, 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
- Mayor Dan Skoglund - email: dskoglund@cityofranchocordova.org
- Vice Mayor Robert McGarvey - e-mail: rmcgarvey@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Donald Terry - e-mail to: dterry@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Linda Budge - e-mail to: lbudge@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member David Sander - e-mail to: dsander@cityofranchocordova.org
COUNTY OFFICIALS
- Don Nottoli, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, District 5 - e-mail: nottolid@saccounty.net
STATE OFFICIALS
- California State Assemblyman Ken Kooley, District 8
- NOTE: The State Senator, Darrell Steinberg, is retiring. Candidates for District 6 include Dr. Richard Pan and Roger Dickinson.
- California State Attorney General Kamala Harris
- California State Governor Jerry Brown
FEDERAL OFFICIALS
- Senator Barbara Boxer
- Senator Dianne Feinstein
- Congressman Ami Berra
- President Barack Obama
* Please plan on attending the Rancho Cordova City Council meeting on Monday, October 6, 2014 at 5:30pm, 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.
We will NOT be on the Agenda.
To address the council, you will need to complete a public comment card (available at City Hall), and turn it in PRIOR to the beginning of the City Council Meeting.
You will have three (3) minutes to speak.
Thank YOU!
* PLEASE sign the online petition at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BnWjejj_4cAZfCQjElPdWMd4uPdomEtY5rPcKp_lpcI/viewform?c=0&w=1
* Please volunteer to participate in the phone banking scheduled for Saturday, September 27, 2014, between 10am and 4pm. We are NOT asking that you stay the entire time, perhaps a two hour block of time. Please bring a FULLY CHARGED cell phone, and either a pen or pencil, to:
- George Washington Carver High School, 10101 Systems Parkway, Sacramento, CA 95827
* Write letters of concern regarding the Sacramento Gun Club opening within 252 FEET of an existing High School
- Certified Letters are the best option (you get a receipt back that your recipient has received your letter),
- Standard (snail) mail is the next best option,
- E-mail is also an option
LOCAL OFFICIALS
City of Rancho Cordova, 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
- Mayor Dan Skoglund - email: dskoglund@cityofranchocordova.org
- Vice Mayor Robert McGarvey - e-mail: rmcgarvey@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Donald Terry - e-mail to: dterry@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Linda Budge - e-mail to: lbudge@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member David Sander - e-mail to: dsander@cityofranchocordova.org
COUNTY OFFICIALS
- Don Nottoli, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, District 5 - e-mail: nottolid@saccounty.net
STATE OFFICIALS
- California State Assemblyman Ken Kooley, District 8
- NOTE: The State Senator, Darrell Steinberg, is retiring. Candidates for District 6 include Dr. Richard Pan and Roger Dickinson.
- California State Attorney General Kamala Harris
- California State Governor Jerry Brown
FEDERAL OFFICIALS
- Senator Barbara Boxer
- Senator Dianne Feinstein
- Congressman Ami Berra
- President Barack Obama
* Please plan on attending the Rancho Cordova City Council meeting on Monday, October 6, 2014 at 5:30pm, 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.
We will NOT be on the Agenda.
To address the council, you will need to complete a public comment card (available at City Hall), and turn it in PRIOR to the beginning of the City Council Meeting.
You will have three (3) minutes to speak.
Thank YOU!
PLEASE VOLUNTEER TO JOIN US FOR SATURDAY PHONE BANKING ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2014!
PLEASE VOLUNTEER TO JOIN US FOR SATURDAY PHONE BANKING!
Please join your fellow George Washington Carver students, parents and teachers; and neighbors, on Saturday, September 27, 2014 from 12PM through 4PM as we phone bank.
(You don't have to stay the full four hours, any time you volunteer will be greatly appreciated.)
We are calling Rancho Cordova citizens to conduct a two question poll regarding the LOCATION of the new Sacramento Gun Club within 252 FEET of the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences.
Please bring with you a fully charged cell phone. You will only need to call out ONCE for this process. Once you connect with the computer, the computer will dial all the outgoing numbers, and connect you to ONLY live voices.
Please also bring a pencil or pen to keep a running tally for your responses.
The address for George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences is 10101 Systems Parkway. It is located at the southeast corner of Systems Parkway and Routier RD in Rancho Cordova (just north of Old Placerville RD).
Thank YOU!
Oh - and if you haven't signed our online petition, here's the link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BnWjejj_4cAZfCQjElPdWMd4uPdomEtY5rPcKp_lpcI/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link
Thursday, September 25, 2014
THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!
Thank YOU to all the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences students, teachers and administrators; parents and neighbors who responded to our call for volunteers today on our first day of phone banking.
We worked our way through the learning curve, and now we can look forward to phone banking on Saturday!
Best wishes to everyone, and again, thank you for your help.
We worked our way through the learning curve, and now we can look forward to phone banking on Saturday!
Best wishes to everyone, and again, thank you for your help.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
REMINDER - PHONE BANKING ON THURSDAY, SEPT. 25, 2014
REMINDER -
The phone banking begins Thursday (Sept. 25) at 1:30 pm (through 4pm) at George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences.
We would LOVE to see additional volunteers during our first session, PLEASE.
You will need to bring a cell phone with you. You would make ONE phone call to connect with the computer, then the computer will make ALL the phone dialing, and will connect you with a LIVE voice.
We're asking ONE (1) main question, and depending on the response, one (1) follow up question.
We're also phone banking on Saturday on Carver.
For more information, please follow the link to our online petition:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BnWjejj_4cAZfCQjElPdWMd4uPdomEtY5rPcKp_lpcI/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link
Thank YOU and hope to meet you there.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
SATELLITE PHOTO OF LINCOLN VILLAGE NEIGHBORHOOD
This is a satellite photo of the Routier RD neighborhood (Rancho Cordova, CA), between Vanguard/Ellenwood to the North, and Lincoln Village Dr/Systems Parkway to the south.
I have identified the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science, the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center, and the Mayhew Community Baptist Church.
There are also single family homes, and an apartment complex in the neighborhood.
I also identified where the new Sacramento Gun Club is moving into, and the vacant field between that facility and the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science.
Please note that not only is the distance less than 1000 FEET between the Sacramento Gun Club and the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science, it is within 250 FEET of the school!
I have identified the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science, the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center, and the Mayhew Community Baptist Church.
There are also single family homes, and an apartment complex in the neighborhood.
I also identified where the new Sacramento Gun Club is moving into, and the vacant field between that facility and the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science.
Please note that not only is the distance less than 1000 FEET between the Sacramento Gun Club and the George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science, it is within 250 FEET of the school!
KEEP GUNS AWAY FROM OUR SCHOOLS - PART TWO!
KEEP GUNS AWAY FROM OUR SCHOOLS!
I attended the September 2, 2014 Rancho Cordova City Council meeting and addressed the City Council about the new Sacramento Gun Club moving into the vacant office complex at 3443 Routier RD, within 250 FEET of an existing high school
Here is the address I gave (with minor editing):
"...I live at the Quail Pointe Apartments at 3435 Routier RD in Rancho Cordova. To the north of my complex, is the Mayhew Community Baptist Church. Directly across the street is Lincoln Village Park and the Neil Orchard Senior Citizens Center. Directly south, at the corner of Routier RD and Systems Parkway, is the George Washington Carver Charter High School.
I'm here to address the City Council about the new business, Sacramento Gun Club - an indoor shooting range and gun store - moving into the vacant office complex at 3443 Routier RD.
There is a Sacramento Regional Transit bus stop for route 72 directly in front of this address, and another bus stop directly across the street in front of the park.
I'm here because I'm curious as to the thinking/reasoning process behind the City's decision(s) in approving this new business to move in. I'm curious as to why this new business was NOT discussed in either the Planning Department's Administrative Hearings, or the City Council Meetings?
I'm curious as to how this new business fits within the City of Rancho Cordova's "Strong Neighborhood" initiative.
Will the Sacramento Gun Club "improve our quality of life?"
Will the Sacramento Gun Club "increase the local homeowners property values?"
Will the Sacramento Gun Club "enhance our community?"
Unfortunately time will only tell on these facts, but the inclusion of such a business WITHOUT apprising the existing neighbors in advance, is in my opinion, not only cowardly, but also deceitful.
In the era of local governments (city, county, state) and the federal government using "transparency" as their watchword, this action by the City of Rancho Cordova approving this business to be placed in a residential neighborhood, within 1000 feet of a High School, a Senior Citizens Center, a park, an apartment complex, and a Church, seems to be the exact opposite of "transparency."
Your action comes across, in my opinion, as insensitive to the needs and the requirements of the existing neighbors. I feel betrayed by the City of Rancho Cordova by approving this business as a fait accompli to move in within 1000 feet of an existing High School.
Thank you for listening to my comments tonight. "
****
PLEASE, please, please attend the NEXT Rancho Cordova City Council meeting on Monday, October 6, 2014 at 5:30pm. Rancho Cordova City Hall is located at 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.
We are NOT at the agenda (at this time).
To address the council, you will need to complete a public comment card (available at City Hall), and turn it in PRIOR to the beginning of the City Council Meeting.
You will have three (3) minutes to speak.
We (concerned citizens) look forward to seeing you there, showing solidarity in our cause. We look forward to hearing your comments.
Thank YOU!
Friday, September 19, 2014
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!
* Sign the online petition at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BnWjejj_4cAZfCQjElPdWMd4uPdomEtY5rPcKp_lpcI/viewform?c=0&w=1
* Sign up for the phone bank to survey local residences
- Thursday, September 25 from 9am to 4pm
- Saturday, September 26 from 10am to 4pm
- At George Washington Carver High School, 10101 Systems Parkway, Sacramento, CA 95827
* Write letters of concern regarding the Sacramento Gun Club opening within 250 FEET of an existing High School
* Certified Letters are best (You get a receipt back that your recipient has received your letter)
* Standard (snail) mail is the next best option.
* E-mail is also an option
City of Rancho Cordova, 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
- Mayor Dan Skoglund - email: dskoglund@cityofranchocordova.org
- Vice Mayor Robert McGarvey - e-mail: rmcgarvey@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Donald Terry - e-mail to: dterry@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member Linda Budge - e-mail to: lbudge@cityofranchocordova.org
- City Council Member David Sander - e-mail to: dsander@cityofranchocordova.org
Plan on attending the Rancho Cordova City Council meeting on Monday, October 6, 2014 at 5:30pm, 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.
We will NOT be on the Agenda.
To address the council, you will need to complete a public comment card (available at City Hall), and turn it in PRIOR to the beginning of the City Council Meeting.
You will have three (3) minutes to speak.
CITY OF RANCHO CORDOVA CITY COUNCIL MEETING
CITY OF RANCHO CORDOVA CITY COUNCIL MEETING
WHERE: 2729 Prospect Park Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
WHEN: Monday, October 6, 2014
TIME: 5:30PM
We are NOT on the Agenda for this city council meeting.
If you would like to ADDRESS the City Council regarding the Sacramento Gun Club (indoor shooting range and gun club) that is opening at 3443 Routier RD (within 250 FEET of an existing high school), you MUST complete a public comments card BEFORE the City Council meeting starts.
You will have three minutes (3) of speaking time.
We look forward to seeing concerned citizens at the City Council Meeting.
KEEP GUNS AWAY FROM SCHOOLS!
KEEP GUNS AWAY FROM SCHOOLS!
Our online petition is available here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BnWjejj_4cAZfCQjElPdWMd4uPdomEtY5rPcKp_lpcI/viewform?c=0&w=1
A new 40,000 sq. foot shooting range and retail gun store is being installed at 3443 Routier Rd. in Rancho Cordova, CA
DIRECTLY NEXT DOOR FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER HIGH SCHOOL
-Across the street from A.M. Winn Elementary School -New Orchard Senior Activity Center, and Lincoln Village Park -Near New Life Preschool -Mayhew Community Baptist Church -Quail Pointe Apartments
According to the City Planner, because this gun range is a legal business it required no special notice or opportunity for public comment before it was approved.
-JUST BECAUSE ITS LEGAL DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT.
Concerned citizens were told at a recent Rancho Cordova City Council meeting that because this is a legal business, and a because "significant amount of financial investment has already gone into developing this facility" by Fite Developers, there is nothing that can be done to change the location of this gun store and shooting range.
Nothing can be done to protect our kids? Fite Developers owns several other plots in our region and should not have invested in such a central location without more community partnership. Fite can find another site.
-JUST BECAUSE ITS LEGAL DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT.
-Kids come first -Gun stores and shooting ranges don't belong near schools -Fite can find another site.
Our online petition is available here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BnWjejj_4cAZfCQjElPdWMd4uPdomEtY5rPcKp_lpcI/viewform?c=0&w=1
Friday, September 5, 2014
George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science
George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science is located at 10101 Systems Parkway (corner of Routier RD and Systems Parkway) in Rancho Cordova, California.
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