Gun shops and shooting ranges should not be treated like any other type of business for zoning purposes. The Riverhead City Commission must also act to close the major loopholes in the city’s ordinance, which does not distinguish between gun stores and toys. shop. ..
We believe that the firearms bill, which was the subject of the hearing last month, was a step in the right direction. Just as the city plans to regulate adult cannabis pharmacies and lounges, it’s perfectly appropriate to regulate the “time, place, and method” of the firearms business. In fact, I think it’s ridiculous not to do so.
As supervisor Yvette Agial himself said, it doesn’t make sense to have a gun shop next to the ice cream parlor on the main street.
This is exactly the purpose of zoning, and that’s why I was disappointed to find that the code would no longer be discussed among council members in public forums. We do not understand the apparent changes in the attitudes of supervisors and board members on this issue. His comment at the city council on July 19 was not accurately revealed in response to residents’ questions about the fate of the law.
“We are listening to the public and it’s not the right time,” Agiar said. Obviously, she didn’t listen too much to most residents who supported the code proposal, or those who demanded even greater zoning restrictions than the proposal.
The city council is expected to hold a public debate of the code explaining why the proposal is considered “overkill.”
Believe it or not, that’s how the council works. Members will have a public debate on the proposed code before the hearing is scheduled, and after the hearing, the Board of Directors will have a public debate on the proposal.
First and foremost, the public deserves to know that board members have a detailed understanding of what the proposal is. Public debate encourages discussions among council members on the bill. And board members must explain why they support or disagree with it.
Intellectual and enthusiastic debate by our legislators, even if they fundamentally agree with the spirit of the bill, should improve it, reveal flaws, or change what they need to do in the future. Can only help you recognize. Moreover, these types of discussions are basic legislative practices and the basis of good governance.
Perhaps instead of doing nothing, the council case conduct. The city council seemed to agree that they didn’t want to have a gun shop in downtown, so why not start by banning it?
Instead, there is little public debate about pre-voting or post-inquiry resolutions. The council seems to prefer to have such discussions by email, one-on-one among staff in the hall of 200 Howell Avenue, or in private meetings such as the Code Review Committee. Members of the Council may express their views at hearings that themselves violate the appropriate Protocol, but the measures will, if necessary, appear on the agenda of the negotiations for discussion after the hearing is postponed. Often not.
And when he dares to ask the fate of the bill that was the subject of the hearing, he encounters a vague, sometimes hostile reaction from his boss that if a member of the board mentions it, he will. So that’s not the answer at all.
We commend councilor Tim Hubbard, who promised to step up into the code and work on it, as honest questions such as where the gun business should and shouldn’t go in the city are important. increase.
But the lack of substantive debate is not how the legislative process should work, or how it worked in the past. This represents a dysfunction in managing the agenda of the city council, which is one of the roles of the city’s supervisor as president.
This board can work better. Riverheads are worth better.
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