Gun Shop Meets Strong Opposition in Woodbridge

Raymond Wallace was on his way to Woodbridge to protest the opening of a gun shop when he drove past the scene of a shooting on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard in New Haven.

"There are too many guns," he says. He runs a group called Guns Down, Books Up to help urban youth stay away from guns. Wallace says the access to the Selden Street location in Woodbridge that is the site of a proposed gun shop is too easily accessible from New Haven.

The easy access is exactly why Francis Klos, a retired Hamden Detective chose the Selden St. location. "We looked at several properties and fell in love with this one. It's close to the Merritt Parkway and there are five or six financial institutions with ATMs nearby," he says.

Klos and his partner, Michael Majewski want to open the Woodbridge Firearms Trading Post in the Selden St. Plaza, but need permit from the Town Plan and Zoning Commission to change the use from an office space to a retail space. The requirement came as a surprise to Klos, who had assumed that because the space was in a retail plaza, it was for retail use.

Wallace was one of about 20 residents who spoke before and during the meeting of the commission Monday night. A protest was held in front of town hall prior to the meeting. News 8, NBC Connecticut and Channel 12 were also there. 

There were many residents who simple do not want a gun shop in Woodbridge, and there were many who were concerned with the close proximity the space has to the bowling alley and teen center.

Joseph Bartozzi, a Woodbridge resident, spoke in favor of the shop coming to Woodbridge. "It won't violate the character of the neighborhood," he says. Bartozzi has been in the firearms industry for over 30 years and works with Boy Scout Troop 63's Shotgun Merit Badge.

Board of Selectmen member Susan Jacobs, who practiced planning and zoning law for many years, urged the commission to look at the request as not a simple change of use, but a radical change of use.

"Consider adopting regulations to ban future gun shops," Jacobs says. "Give some thought to making Woodbridge a gun-free zone."

Klos described a 16-camera alarm system that is backed up three different ways, motion sensors, roof sensors and a myriad of other physical precautions he'd take to make sure what belongs outside stays out and what belongs inside stays in.

"We signed a five-year lease and plan on another five after that. We want a home. We want to bring more commerce to Woodbridge," Klos says.

"I have been in this business for many years and have seen shortfalls at other proprietors," Klos says. "I am taking every single precaution to prevent anything from happening."

The commission has 65 days to make a decision on the application and has three questions to run by a legal counsel first: Can the commisison impose requests or restrictions on the shop owners; Is the concept of radical change a legal concept? And, does the commission's responsibility to protect residents' health, safety and welfare come into consideration while making a decision in an an application?

The commission meets again on May 7.