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Gun shop suing to stay in Minneapolis
Steve Brandt, Star Tribune
Published July 24, 2003 GUNS24
Mark Koscielski says he knows south Minneapolis as only a lifelong resident can. But now he knows the rest of Minneapolis with far more intimacy than he'd like.
He and his business partner, Barbara Bergstrom, have driven the city twice, armed with $1,400 in customized zoning maps. They've spent up to a week at a time searching for a spot where they can operate a gun shop legally.
They say they've found no feasible site, and on Wednesday they sued the city, charging that it is illegally and unconstitutionally trying to zone gun shops out of existence.
The city attorney's office had no immediate comment. But when the City Council adopted current gun shop zoning restrictions in 1995, officials argued that gun dealers were a threat to the residential character of neighborhoods.
Koscielski initially avoided the 1995 restrictions by going to court that year, when he was operating a gun shop at 812 E. 48th St. A federal judge issued an injunction that barred the city from closing the shop after Koscielski argued that he'd started the business before the new restrictions were enacted.
But he lost his lease on that space earlier this year, and opened the new Koscielski's Guns and Ammo at 2926 Chicago Av. S. on July 3. He doesn't sell guns there -- knowing that the site was too close to housing to pass zoning muster, he let his federal firearms license expire. But he does offer gun accessories, repairs and classes for people who want to make use of the state's new gun permit law. He also sells ammunition.
But the city has ordered him to stop selling ammo because doing so is enough to define him as a firearms dealer under the zoning code. And the code wouldn't allow a gun shop at that location.
"The city's zoning scheme basically prevents him from finding a place to do business," said Joseph Rymanowski Jr., the gun shop's lawyer.
About the lawsuit
The suit, filed in Hennepin County District Court, seeks damages to compensate for a variety of problems, including lost income. Koscielski said he averaged $1,100 in daily sales for the three months before his move but only about $60 daily in his new location. He said gun sales to police are a prime source of income.
The suit also asks the court to strike down the zoning ordinance. It argues that the restrictions against gun shops aren't equally applied to other Minneapolis businesses that sell guns -- pawn shops, for instance. It also argues that the city has violated a state preemption against local firearms regulation, which permits only reasonable zoning restrictions. The city's restrictions limit shops to certain zones, and even then the shops must be certain distances from facilities such as schools and parks. The suit argues that this is unreasonable because few sites meet the criteria, and that those that do are in other uses or are not financially feasible.
Koscielski offered examples of why he thinks the restrictions are irrational. The Metrodome and City Hall, for instance, are in the right zones, but neither is available. He could buy the Sears building across from his current site, but it would cost several million dollars.
Rymanowski exuded confidence at a news conference announcing the suit Wednesday. He cited Koscielski's previous legal victory, in which the city reimbursed him for $76,722.61 in attorney's fees.
"It cost the city a lot of money to lose," Rymanowski said. He added that Koscielski offered to go out of business in Minneapolis for less than what the city ended up paying for his legal costs, but that the city spurned the settlement offer.
But Koscielski hasn't always succeeded in court. According to the city attorney's office, a suit he brought seeking damages for alleged excessive police force was dismissed in federal court. Koscielski said an officer put a knee in his back while searching for drugs believed to be possessed by another tenant in a building where he lived.
A dying breed
Although the suit alleges that pawn dealers aren't held to the same standards regarding gun sales, pawn shop proprietors say they aren't running normal retail gun outlets.
Hy's Pawn and Jewelry at 1025 Currie Av. sells pawned guns that aren't redeemed to a gun shop outside Minneapolis. Cadillac Pawn at 1538 E. Lake St. resells guns through a Winona store. Gardner Pawnbroker & Loans, 1419 Washington Av. S., said it sells no more than a half-dozen guns per year on average over the counter, and then only to people who meet license requirements.
Although a Gardner sign advertises "Firearms -- Buy Sell Trade," that's a remnant put up in a different era, owner Ansel Gardner said.
That leaves only Koscielski's as the last prospective full-service gun shop in the city.
Koscielski has had a knack for publicity. He coined the term "Murderapolis" during the city's peak homicide year of 1995. He's run for mayor twice, promising he'd close his shop if elected. The opening of his original shop produced an outpouring of antipathy from neighbors and some elected officials that Koscielski blamed for the 1995 law.
On Wednesday at the new store, a woman was buzzed through the security door only to announce: "I give you six months in this neighborhood."
Employees quickly buzzed her out again.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4004534.html
Steve Brandt, Star Tribune
Published July 24, 2003 GUNS24
Mark Koscielski says he knows south Minneapolis as only a lifelong resident can. But now he knows the rest of Minneapolis with far more intimacy than he'd like.
He and his business partner, Barbara Bergstrom, have driven the city twice, armed with $1,400 in customized zoning maps. They've spent up to a week at a time searching for a spot where they can operate a gun shop legally.
They say they've found no feasible site, and on Wednesday they sued the city, charging that it is illegally and unconstitutionally trying to zone gun shops out of existence.
The city attorney's office had no immediate comment. But when the City Council adopted current gun shop zoning restrictions in 1995, officials argued that gun dealers were a threat to the residential character of neighborhoods.
Koscielski initially avoided the 1995 restrictions by going to court that year, when he was operating a gun shop at 812 E. 48th St. A federal judge issued an injunction that barred the city from closing the shop after Koscielski argued that he'd started the business before the new restrictions were enacted.
But he lost his lease on that space earlier this year, and opened the new Koscielski's Guns and Ammo at 2926 Chicago Av. S. on July 3. He doesn't sell guns there -- knowing that the site was too close to housing to pass zoning muster, he let his federal firearms license expire. But he does offer gun accessories, repairs and classes for people who want to make use of the state's new gun permit law. He also sells ammunition.
But the city has ordered him to stop selling ammo because doing so is enough to define him as a firearms dealer under the zoning code. And the code wouldn't allow a gun shop at that location.
"The city's zoning scheme basically prevents him from finding a place to do business," said Joseph Rymanowski Jr., the gun shop's lawyer.
About the lawsuit
The suit, filed in Hennepin County District Court, seeks damages to compensate for a variety of problems, including lost income. Koscielski said he averaged $1,100 in daily sales for the three months before his move but only about $60 daily in his new location. He said gun sales to police are a prime source of income.
The suit also asks the court to strike down the zoning ordinance. It argues that the restrictions against gun shops aren't equally applied to other Minneapolis businesses that sell guns -- pawn shops, for instance. It also argues that the city has violated a state preemption against local firearms regulation, which permits only reasonable zoning restrictions. The city's restrictions limit shops to certain zones, and even then the shops must be certain distances from facilities such as schools and parks. The suit argues that this is unreasonable because few sites meet the criteria, and that those that do are in other uses or are not financially feasible.
Koscielski offered examples of why he thinks the restrictions are irrational. The Metrodome and City Hall, for instance, are in the right zones, but neither is available. He could buy the Sears building across from his current site, but it would cost several million dollars.
Rymanowski exuded confidence at a news conference announcing the suit Wednesday. He cited Koscielski's previous legal victory, in which the city reimbursed him for $76,722.61 in attorney's fees.
"It cost the city a lot of money to lose," Rymanowski said. He added that Koscielski offered to go out of business in Minneapolis for less than what the city ended up paying for his legal costs, but that the city spurned the settlement offer.
But Koscielski hasn't always succeeded in court. According to the city attorney's office, a suit he brought seeking damages for alleged excessive police force was dismissed in federal court. Koscielski said an officer put a knee in his back while searching for drugs believed to be possessed by another tenant in a building where he lived.
A dying breed
Although the suit alleges that pawn dealers aren't held to the same standards regarding gun sales, pawn shop proprietors say they aren't running normal retail gun outlets.
Hy's Pawn and Jewelry at 1025 Currie Av. sells pawned guns that aren't redeemed to a gun shop outside Minneapolis. Cadillac Pawn at 1538 E. Lake St. resells guns through a Winona store. Gardner Pawnbroker & Loans, 1419 Washington Av. S., said it sells no more than a half-dozen guns per year on average over the counter, and then only to people who meet license requirements.
Although a Gardner sign advertises "Firearms -- Buy Sell Trade," that's a remnant put up in a different era, owner Ansel Gardner said.
That leaves only Koscielski's as the last prospective full-service gun shop in the city.
Koscielski has had a knack for publicity. He coined the term "Murderapolis" during the city's peak homicide year of 1995. He's run for mayor twice, promising he'd close his shop if elected. The opening of his original shop produced an outpouring of antipathy from neighbors and some elected officials that Koscielski blamed for the 1995 law.
On Wednesday at the new store, a woman was buzzed through the security door only to announce: "I give you six months in this neighborhood."
Employees quickly buzzed her out again.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4004534.html