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the New Lenox Patriot | April 6, 2017 | 5
New Lenox Village Board
“Footprints in the Sand”
Officials revise zoning in gun
shop and range ordinance
Megann Horstead
Freelance Reporter
The New Lenox Village
Board of Trustees agreed to
revise an ordinance regulating
zoning for gun shops and
indoor gun ranges at their
March 27 meeting.
The rule written, as is, did
not pass with a second read.
The village’s existing ordinance
does not designate
any guidelines for zoning.
When officials were approached
recently by a party
looking to build a gun shop
and indoor gun range, the
village looked into reviewing
a draft ordinance that
addressed zoning for uses of
this type during a work session
in January.
“In that initial ordinance
at our work session in January,
we talked about adding
the 500-feet [separation rule]
from any residentially zoned
property, schools, parks,
churches, pre-schools and
daycare centers,” Baldermann
recalled. “Subsequent to that,
there was a case that came out
of the City of Chicago where
the city was sued for being too
restrictive in where they were
allowing gun shops. This 500-
foot part of the ordinance was
kind of the key point of the
suit in saying that it was too
restrictive, and the court tended
to agree.”
When the ordinance returned
to the board for first
read earlier this month, that
stipulation was pulled.
Legal counsel had notified
the board of the lawsuit
the City of Chicago faced
and advised them on how
to proceed.
Baldermann said he’s received
between 15 and 20
emails from concerned residents
and decided to look
more closely at the case law
that came out.
“My impression is that
they were being overly restrictive
making it nearly
impossible for somebody
to open a gun shop or a gun
range in the City [of Chicago],
and so therefore they
really didn’t have a basis for
their restrictions in their city
ordinances,” he said.
Baldermann said it’s not
all that clear if the same effect
is true of New Lenox’s
proposed ordinance amending
zoning for gun shops and
indoor gun ranges.
Village officials said 59
percent of the village’s
zoned area would still be
able to accommodate such
uses.
“You may have a parcel
that is under the zoning
we’re considering tonight
where a portion of it if it’s
within 500 feet of those restricted
areas would not be
able to have a gun shop or a
gun range, but the remainder
of the parcel might,” Baldermann
said.
“Digging a little deeper
into why perhaps that happened,
I believe that we can
keep the 500-foot restriction
from schools and parks the
way that it was originally
written for us in January that
we had all agreed on and
still be safe, because there
is ample area for the zoning
that we’re considering for
anyone that’s interested in
opening a gun shop or gun
range,” he added.
Baldermann noted that
he supports such businesses
and their pursuits as well as
the people’s rights to the second
amendment and said it
remains local government’s
responsibility to apply some
common sense balance.
“In fact, what we were doing
was trying to be responsible
because the ordinance
that was on the books pretty
much said you could go anywhere,”
he said.
Baldermann wants to see
the ordinance’s 500-foot rule
put back into writing under
special use.
Trustee David Smith
agreed.
“We’re not against any
business, but you have to be
in the appropriate place,” he
said.
Attendee Jennifer Kmitch,
of New Lenox, noted the
restrictions the village is
subject to in response to a
previous case law and said
she agrees with the board’s
decision.
I am thankful for you
opening up the position of
looking at restricting businesses
to have 500 feet between
the restrictive type of
businesses and the gun shops
and gun ranges,” she said.
Kmitch recognizes that
gun violence affects everybody
in every single community
and said any steps
that can be taken to prevent
guns from getting into the
wrong hands is a positive for
the village.
“To the extent that we
can do stuff that prohibits
people from obtaining weapons
they don’t need to have,
we want to make sure to do
what we can,” she said.
Baldermann noted that a
concern was raised for the
party interested in building
a gun shop and indoor gun
range within village limits
and said that owner is not
within 500 feet of uses that
would prohibit the development.
The owner will need
to follow municipal rules
and work with village staff
in order to establish the new
business, he said.
The board will consider an
ordinance amending zoning
of gun shops and indoor gun
ranges in April.
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ENOX
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