Gun Shop Ban on Folly Foiled

The effort to ban gun shops on Folly Road failed to pass first reading at Town Council tonight.

The draft of the Folly Road Overlay District can be found here.

Most of those speaking at the public hearing opposed banning gun shops.   One also spoke against banning tattoo parlors.

Council first considered all of the Folly Road Overlay District other than the prohibited uses.   The gun shop ban was just one of several prohibited uses.    Auto Dealers, hotels and motels, vehicle and boat storage, and tattoo parlors were also banned.

Councilman Berry proposed deferring consideration.  Berry said she found the proposal confusing.  Echoing the demands of Susan Milliken at the public hearing, she suggested that a power point presentation be provided to the public and then a second public hearing be held.   Her proposal failed for lack of a second.

The vote was 4 in favor with Berry abstaining.   Berry said she didn't understand what she was voting on.

Council then considered the list  of prohibited uses.   I moved to strike gun shops and Councilman Blank seconded the motion.   In discussion, Councilwoman Berry explained that she thought that guns caused violence and she would never vote to make it easier to buy guns.

The motion failed 3 to 2, with Councilman Mullinax and Councilman Kernodle joining Councilwoman Berry in voting against removing the ban on gun shops.  (I was very surprised about Councilman Mullinax's vote to keep the ban on gun shops.   For weeks he had been telling me that he strongly opposed banning gun shops.   Councilman Kernodle had recently told me the same thing, but he also told me he was opposed to banning the other prohibited uses as well.   He said as much at the meeting.)

I proposed removing the ban on motels and hotels.  That died for a lack of a second.   I proposed removing the ban on auto dealers, which also died for a lack of a second.   (I think an auto dealer or motel would be good for the James Island economy and also for the Town's and the James Island P.S.D.'s finances.)

However, the vote was 4 to 1 against the entire list of prohibited uses.   Councilwoman Berry voted to prohibit all of the uses, including gun shops.   Councilmen Kernodle, Mullinax, Blank, and I all voted against prohibiting any of the uses.   On the final vote, Councilmen Kernodle, Mullinax, Blank and I all voted against the ban on gun shops.

Later in the meeting, Councilman Blank said that he would not have voted against all of the prohibited uses.   He mentioned that he doesn't think hotels should be allowed in the Folly Road overlay district.   (Councilman Blank opposed the proposal to ban gun shops, but supported banning some of the other uses.)

At the November meeting, a second reading will be scheduled for the Folly Road Overlay District without any additional prohibited uses.

This means that the uses allowed in the various areas of the overlay district are those allowed by the Town's current zoning.   Many of the prohibited uses in the Overlay District are already prohibited by the Town's existing zoning, and that won't change.   For example, tattoo parlors are only permitted in industrial zones, and there are none of those on Folly Road.   Hotels and motels and auto dealers are allowed in the Town's community commercial zone, which is how most of the parcels in the "Commercial Core" are zoned, but not the office residential district that makes up most of the "South Village"

The other areas on the Folly Road Overlay District, the North Village, Neighborhood Preservation, and Conservation are not in the Town at all.   .