Gun shops

It’s every parent’s nightmare to hear their child’s classroom is in lockdown. That fear has been heightened in nearby Somerville with the coming opening of a firearms dealer in close proximity to a school and two daycare facilities.

Attempting to head-off similar community anxiety in Middlesex, officials will review existing zoning regulations to make sure the potential for a gun shop near a school does not exist here.

Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk said Borough Attorney Chris Corsini has been asked to look into the issue. The mayor spoke about gun shops and the furor that’s erupted a few miles away in Somerset County during the Borough Council’s Tuesday, March 26 meeting.

Though Corsini has yet to conduct his review, Mikolajczyk said he believes Middlesex is already in “good shape” in terms of not allowing gun shops in close proximity to schools.

“No one’s going to railroad anything on us without our approval,” Mikolajczyk said. He added, “We’re not going to be on the back of the curve, we’re going to be on the front.”

The planned opening of High Caliber Ordinance, a firearms dealer to be located on Gaston Avenue, has stirred parental concerns in Somerville since word spread on social media in January.

According to the High Caliber Ordinance Facebook page, the gun shop plans to open on Saturday, April 6.

The gun and ammo shop will be located .3 miles away from Somerville’s Van Derveer Elementary School, less than a mile from two daycare centers and 1.3 miles from Adamsville Elementary School in nearby Bridgewater.

Two Somerville residents filed suit in January against their municipality, High Caliber, and the strip mall where the dealer will be located, attempting to halt the opening. They contended High Caliber’s intended opening would reduce property values by making Van Derveer School a less desirable place for parents to send their children.

But last month, a state Superior Court judge dismissed the suit.

Somerville’s zoning classifies a gun dealer as a sporting goods store, which is a permitted use in the strip mall where High Caliber will open at the corner of Gaston and Union avenues. Because it is a permitted use, High Caliber Ordnance did not have to receive approval from Somerville’s Borough Council or land use panels.

High Caliber was issued a continuing certificate of occupancy for the gun shop in December. The business first obtained a $2 million liability policy and obtained a state approval.

In a brief to the court, the strip mall owner argued that the federal Gun Free Zone provisions do not apply because it is private property and not part of school grounds.

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