Ravenwood - 02/11/05 06:00 AM
Imagine operating a business for nearly 60 years, and then having carpetbaggers move into town and drive you out of business because they consider you a nuisance. It's happening, in California.
The City Council on Monday voted to close down a 58-year-old shooting range where 60 law enforcement agencies throughout the state train.Other local businesses were targeted as unseemly and told to close as well.The San Gabriel Valley Gun Club, at the base of the Angeles National Forest, is used as a training site by Arcadia and Costa Mesa police departments and the Sutter County Sheriff's Dept., among others. It now has 18 months to relocate or shut down.
As part of sweeping changes in zoning and development codes, the council rezoned the property on Fish Canyon Road from community facilities and water conservation to open space, which forces the gun club off the site.
"This closes chapter one. It's up to the players the gun club and residents where they go from here,' said Mayor Cristina Madrid.
The gun club initially came under fire when neighbors complained about noise and lead contamination to the environment from bullets.
There has to be a tort there. Tortious interferance, eminent domain abuse, hell, government contractor immunity if nothing else.
Posted by: Phelps at February 11, 2005 11:34 AMThey already owned the land (I assume) and were already using it. The government changed the law and thus denied the the further use of their land for the purpose it was already being used for.
Government has to either rescind the zoning change, or compensate them for the loss of use. If I were the gun club, I'd demand that the govt pay the cost or acquiring new land and moving the facilities. Given land costs in the PRK, that would be so expensive that the govt would probably back down.
I forget the plaintiff's name, but the Carolina Coastal Commission case would probably be relevant here.
Posted by: Heartless Libertarian at February 11, 2005 10:59 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
