Seaside council advances ordinance regulating sale, storage of firearms; expands buffer to 1,000 feet

The Seaside City Council on the first reading introduced an ordinance that would amend Seaside Municipal Code Titles 5 and 17 to add security, operating and zoning requirements for the storage and retail sale of firearms and ammunition in the city. Council members voted to increase the minimum buffer around schools, parks and licensed child-care centers from the staff-recommended 300 feet to 1,000 feet; the measure will return for final action at a subsequent meeting.

City staff said the ordinance does not ban firearm purchases or ownership in Seaside; instead it would create a new use category that requires a use permit, an annual firearms dealer license issued by the police chief, and detailed security and storage standards for any business selling or storing firearms. "This ordinance is not designed to prevent the sale of firearms or to keep people from acquiring them," Andrew Myrick, the city's economic development and community planning manager, told the council. "It is intended to ensure that if a firearms store opens within Seaside it would be a secure facility."

The measure would restrict where such businesses could locate, authorizing them only in commercial zoning districts south of San Pablo Avenue and west of Noche Buena Drive (primarily the Fremont Street corridor). It would require a use permit (with public notice to property owners within the notification radius), annual inspections and allow the police chief discretion to require structural and security modifications — for example, safes, alarms, video monitoring that can notify the police department, window and door barriers or exterior bollards.

Supporters and opponents filled the hearing. Residents who opposed allowing gun stores in the city urged the council to strengthen the limits; several asked that the buffer be set at 1,000 feet rather than the staff-recommended 300 feet. "Increasing the minimum distance to at least a thousand feet is in line with what many other cities across California and the U.S. are doing to protect their communities," said Catherine Crockett during public comment. Residents who opposed the change argued that retail dealers increase the number of firearms in circulation and can be targeted for theft.

Other members of the public and speakers argued for individual rights and the Second Amendment. Peter Kaiser, who identified himself as a longtime Seaside resident, said the right to bear arms has historical roots and urged caution about restricting legal sales. "The gun is a tool, and the gun is not the problem in the hands of those who use it properly," Kaiser said.

Council members debated tradeoffs between safety, enforcement capacity and legal risk. Council member Franco Pacheco pressed staff on enforcement and whether the city could realistically guarantee that a store could not be broken into; staff and the police chief answered that no guarantee is possible but that stricter security requirements, safes and faster police response would make stores less attractive targets. "The purpose of the ordinance is to make it very unattractive as a target," the police chief said. "Even though officers are reactive, the standards try to take a proactive approach by making the targets unattractive."

Council members discussed multiple buffer options (200, 300, 500 and 1,000 feet) and the practical effect on available parcels along Fremont Street and in the commercial districts. The council ultimately voted during a roll-call first reading to proceed with the ordinance as amended to require a 1,000‑foot buffer from parks, schools and licensed child-care centers, and to keep the police‑chief licensing and annual inspection framework.

The introduction as amended preserves the use‑permit process: any applicant would still need a planning review with public notice, and the planning commission would decide on applications (with the option to appeal to council). Staff told the council there were no pending applications for firearm retailers at the time of the hearing.

What happens next: the ordinance will be returned to the council for final adoption at the next meeting after legal review and drafting edits to reflect the amended buffer distance and any technical changes the council requested. The council did not adopt the ordinance on final reading at this meeting; it approved the first reading as described.

Ending: Council members and staff emphasized the narrow scope of the current action: it regulates where and how a firearms retailer could operate in the city and adds specific security standards, rather than banning firearm ownership or private purchases. The council directed staff to bring the ordinance back for final action with the 1,000‑foot buffer and the other amendments the council considered.