Dublin council directs staff to pursue tobacco-style school buffer for gun retailers and indoor ranges

The Dublin City Council gave staff direction to draft zoning changes that would establish separation standards for firearm retailers and indoor shooting ranges near schools and child-oriented uses.

Planning Manager Jennifer Baez told the council staff looked at 14 California jurisdictions plus Chicago, modeled GIS buffers, and considered four options ranging from no change to a 1,000-foot school separation. Baez said a 500-foot school buffer would leave about 95% of commercially zoned acreage available for firearm-related uses; a 1,000-foot buffer would leave about 83% available. "Our recommendation was to give us direction to amend the code and establish the thousand foot separation between firearm related uses and public and private schools," she said.

City legal presenter John Bacher summarized case law and litigation risks, noting post-Bruen analyses focus on whether a restriction 'meaningfully' constrains access. He said the city's acreage analysis (e.g., 83% vs. 67% availability in different scenarios) helps defend a separation standard but cautioned uncertainty if cases reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Several councilors favored option 3 — modeled on the city's tobacco retail standard — but proposed removing the retailer‑to‑retailer separation piece so firearm retailers and ranges would be constrained only from sensitive locations (schools, parks, playgrounds) rather than from each other. Council members also stressed the need for permitting checks tied to OSHA/DTSC requirements and annual business-license verification of air filtration and ventilation systems.

Chief Building Official Don Hutsul explained existing municipal code allows the city to use an 'alternative means and methods' pathway to require compliance with applicable OSHA rules for indoor ranges and suggested the city could add permit-level and licensing checks to verify filtration and monitoring equipment. "We couldn't change the building code, but we might be able to... create an ordinance or there might be another range," he said.

Staff will draft ordinance language and take it to the Planning Commission for public hearings; the council provided policy direction rather than a formal vote. The next steps, as stated by staff, are to return with draft code language that incorporates the selected buffer approach and the proposed environmental/permitting compliance steps.