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Pleasant Hill Agrees To Pay $400,000 To Settle Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutional FFL Zoning Ordinance

December 15, 2016

In a December 5 press release, the City of Pleasant Hill announced it will pay $400,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation challenging the city’s FFL zoning ordinance. The ordinance prohibited FFLs from operating within 150 feet of a residence, 1,000 feet of a day care or school, or 500 feet of a public park. Combined, these restrictions effectively prohibited any FFL from opening a new gun store in the City.

When the ordinance was first proposed, NRA and CRPA submitted several joint-letters of opposition. One such letter from June 2014 warned the City that despite being promised “pro bono” legal representation by anti-gun law firms, “the City remains liable for attorneys’ fees should NSSF prevail.”The letter also highlighted the cost for the countless hours of public discussion, hundreds of pages of correspondence, internal memoranda, and other required administrative tasks. Despite NRA and CRPA’s warnings, and over the unanimous negative recommendation by the Planning Commission, the City Council pressed on with its anti-gun owner agenda.

Now, as NRA and CRPA warned, the City must pay NSSF’s attorneys.

Hopefully, other anti-gun jurisdictions will get the message that pursuing similar policies will do nothing to promote public safety, but will subject municipalities to significant costs. </strong

Local Ordinance Project

NRA and CRPA’s efforts in opposing ordinances such as the one in Pleasant Hill are made possible by the Local Ordinance Project (“LOP”), a joint-effort to actively monitor local government proposals that threaten the right to keep and bear arms. NRA/CRPA LOP has been in place for over 20 years. LOP’s coalition partners include local gun rights organizations, individual activists, businesses, local government officials, and law enforcement professionals.

NRA/CRPA LOP efforts typically include the preparation of policy and legal opposition letters, pre-litigation demand letters, coordination of grassroots activists, public information campaigns, and appearances at city council or board of supervisor meetings. In many instances, these efforts have convinced local governments to vote down proposals or pull them from consideration. LOP also serves as the foundation for NRA and CRPA litigation efforts against local jurisdictions that enact anti-gun legislation.

In a December 5 press release, the City of Pleasant Hill announced it will pay $400,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation challenging the city’s FFL zoning ordinance. The ordinance prohibited FFLs from operating within 150 feet of a residence, 1,000 feet of a day care or school, or 500 feet of a public park. Combined, these restrictions effectively prohibited any FFL from opening a new gun store in the City.

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