Gun Shows Off The Table At Sports Training Center In Newtown

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Gun shows are officially off the table at the Sports Training Center at 116 Pheasant Run and 209 Penns Trail in Newtown Township.

Under a zoning enforcement settlement agreement reached between the board of supervisors and the Newtown Athletic Club which operates the center, the Sports Training Center will be allowed to host event-style shows at the venue, just not gun shows.

The details of the settlement were announced by Newtown Township Solicitor Dave Sander at the August 10 board of supervisors meeting.

The issue surfaced in January when township officials learned that a gun show was being planned at the venue and took exception. They argued that a gun show was not a permitted use at the center under its certificate of occupancy.

The township filed an enforcement notice against the venue, which responded by filing an appeal with the zoning hearing board.

Sander said the appeal was put on hold while the board began negotiating with the owner and struck an agreement that the facility could continue holding event-style shows and sales, but not gun shows.

There is one exception, said Sander. The Sports Training Center would be allowed to hold an event like an outdoor or camping show once a year that may have the presence of guns, but not as the main attraction.

“No guns, firearms, rifles, shotguns or the like shall be shown, sold or exchanged at the property except for once per calendar year and any such showings, sales or exchange shall not be the primary purpose of the event or the event-style show or sale,” the agreement reads.

The supervisors voted unanimously to approve the settlement agreement.