From: David Bender
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Guns close to schools no way
Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2026 8:00:10 PM
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Find another place please!
Sent from my iPhone
From: Jay Ferro
To: City Clerk Group
Cc: Jay Ferro
Subject: Gun Shop in Goleta
Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2026 9:28:56 PM
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To whom it may concern:
I would like to ask that you help find a different location for the gun shop that makes more sense. Approval of this location seems not well thought through and will come up against a lot of resistance and likely legal challenges.
The fact that fellow citizens need to fight this issue also seems to be a waste of tax payer money and likely not helpful to the city council and fellow representatives' reputation.
I would hope we can find a swift resolution to this matter.
Thank you for your consideration.
Jay Ferro
Owner, Kyle’s Kitchen
From: Charlotte Zwicke
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Item 26-326
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 7:54:05 AM
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Dear Goleta City Council members,
Below is my statement about Item 26-326. Please read it into the record for the City Council's discussion.
"My name is Charlotte Zwicke and I am 11 years old. I've heard about things called school shootings, where people shoot a bunch of kids. So, having a gun shop next to a preschool and close to an elementary school...I feel like that's kind of just setting up for a school shooting if somebody felt like that was a really good thing to do." Thank you,
Charlotte Zwicke
From: Leana
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: 7443 Hollister Business License
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 8:13:54 AM
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Good Morning,
My name is Leana LeLevier-Joseph, and I am a concerned local citizen and parent. My concern stems from the fact that Goodland Guns is in the process of planning a move into a location directly next to Here We Grow preschool’s Hollister location. Both of my daughters, who now attend a Goleta union school district elementary school, attended Here We Grow preschool for years of their formative infant and toddlerhood. I also am a lead volunteer for the local Moms Demand Action chapter and have been for the past six years.
The data shows that firearm death is the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 18. Having a gun shop next to a preschool is a great concern, and I urge the city council to do everything in its power to not provide the business permit at this location for Goodland Gun or to do any other means to locate a different and safe location for Goodland Guns. There must be a better solution for both locally-owned small businesses, both Here We Grow as well as Goodland Guns).
Thank you for your consideration and time.
Sincerely,
Leana LeLevier-Joseph
Community Engagement Lead, Moms Demand Action
Parent of alumni of Here We Grow
From: V Boyd
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Today’s special session re: Goodland Guns
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 8:39:11 AM
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Please enter the following into the officially recorded comments in today’s special session regarding the city’s approved licensing and allowing relocation of Goodland Guns next door to a preschool and less than a mile from an elementary school:
I became aware last week that a gun shop will be moving into the empty building at 7443 Hollister Avenue in Goleta.
As you are aware, that building is located directly next to a preschool and less than a block away from an elementary school. In addition, it is sandwiched between three of Goleta’s poorest neighborhoods (Mathilda & Ellwood Beach Drive as well as 2 mobile home parks). I live in the Ellwood area and do not want a gun store this close to my home or any schools.
The majority of my neighbors are kind, considerate, hardworking people, families and students, but we have a handful of people on my street with untreated mental health and addiction issues that are already problematic, aggressive and unpredictable as it is, we don’t need them to have easy access to guns in our neighborhood, especially so close to schools.
It is unacceptable that this was allowed to happen at all, especially with the California laws that are already in place to prevent things like this, but there should be restrictions within the City of Goleta to fill in the gaps where the state is failing. Especially after the two mass shootings in the area in the last 20 years. There shouldn’t ever be another one. And innocent children should not be put at risk.
The City needs to step in immediately to remedy this situation by delaying the opening, helping the business owner to find a new, more suitable location and rezoning this property to residential. It was already problematic when it was a 7-11 with alcohol and tobacco sales (the latter frequently being purchased by minors), but this is so much worse.
In addition, the city needs to fill the gap in state law by not allowing gun shops in areas that are primarily residential, and, at minimum, 2 miles away from public and private preschools, daycares, schools and all post-secondary educational institutions.
Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter that absolutely cannot be delayed and needs to be acted upon immediately
Thank you,
Ms. V. Boyd
Goleta Resident
805-724-5245
From: Shiela Tungol
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Please Prevent the Proposed Gun Store Next to Our Daycare Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 9:58:40 AM
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Please put this on record for meeting today.
Dear Goleta Council members,
I am writing to respectfully urge you to do everything within your authority to prevent the proposed gun store from opening next to our daycare.
I am both a Clinical Family Nurse Practitioner and the mother of a 20-month-old son who attends the daycare directly adjacent to this proposed business. Every day, my son and the other children play, learn, and grow just steps away from where this gun store is expected to open. The thought that our children will look out from their daycare and see a gun store is deeply troubling.
As a healthcare provider, I care for families across our community and understand the profound physical and emotional impact that firearm-related injuries and violence can have. This letter is not about opposing lawful firearm ownership. It is about asking whether a gun store belongs immediately next to a daycare where infants and young children spend their days. I firmly believe it does not.
This proposal has united our community in an extraordinary way.
More than 2,000 people have signed a petition expressing opposition to this location. Parents, neighbors, educators, and community members are asking for the same thing: that the City prioritize the safety and well-being of children when making land-use decisions.
I understand that there may be legal limitations on what the City can do. Even so, I respectfully ask that you explore every available option, work with City staff, and advocate for any lawful measures that could prevent this business from opening at this location. If the planned August 11 soft opening proceeds, I hope you will continue pursuing every avenue available to protect families and ensure this situation is fully reviewed.
The decisions made today will shape our community for years to come. Once this business opens, the opportunity to choose a more appropriate location may be lost. I ask you to stand with the families who rely on this daycare every day and demonstrate that Goleta places the highest value on the safety and well-being of its youngest residents.
Thank you for your time, your thoughtful consideration, and your service to our community. I sincerely appreciate your willingness to listen to the concerns of so many families, and I hope you will do everything within your authority to help prevent this gun store from opening next to our daycare.
Respectfully,
Shiela Tungol-Laffie, FNP-C
Clinical Family Nurse Practitioner
Mother of a 20-month-old son attending the neighboring daycare 7345 Elmhurst Pl Goleta,Ca
(909) 210-3067
From: Janelle Ashby
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Goleta Gun Shop
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 12:44:01 PM
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To whom it may concern,
I am writing to oppose the gun shop that has been approved for the location on Hollister adjacent to a preschool. As a local teacher and mother, I would not feel comfortable working at or sending my child to a school right next door to a gun shop. This is an extremely inappropriate place to house this type of business. Please reconsider the location of the business to an area that is not adjacent to a school and a bike and walking path that hundreds of children use every day. Thank you.
From: Katie Wick
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Public Comment re: Item 26-326
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 2:52:37 PM
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Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,
Thank you for the opportunity to submit a public comment to be placed into the record.
I am a parent of a child who attends Here We Grow preschool at 7433 Hollister Avenue, immediately adjacent to the Goodland Guns' new location at 7443 Hollister Avenue.
I understand from the City’s recent document, "Questions and Answers Regarding Firearm Sales" that, under the current zoning code, firearm sales are classified as General Retail and are permitted by right at this location. I also understand that the City currently has no locational standards for firearm retailers near sensitive uses such as schools and daycares. The City has acknowledged that the Council is now considering whether the City’s zoning and permit requirements should be improved.
I am asking the Council to seriously consider this gap in the City’s zoning code.
The issue here is not that a gun store is located somewhere in Goleta. The issue is that this particular store is proposed immediately next door to a preschool, with the business parking area directly adjacent to the preschool’s fenced outdoor play area, where young children spend time throughout the day.
This creates a unique safety burden for the preschool. How are preschool teachers and administrators supposed to assess whether activity on the other side of the fence is routine or represents a potential threat? They are responsible for supervising and protecting very young children. They should not be expected to monitor a neighboring firearms business, assess who may be carrying a firearm, or determine whether someone entering or leaving the business presents a danger.
The preschool should not have to redesign its safety practices around the presence of a firearms retailer next door. Parents should not have to accept that this is simply the unavoidable result of a zoning code that classified firearm sales as ordinary retail.
There is also a broader policy question for Goleta. The City’s current code did not distinguish firearm retailers from other forms of general retail or account for their proximity to childcare facilities. The fact that this use is currently permitted does not mean that the City’s existing policy is appropriate. The City itself has recognized this by stating that the Council is considering improvements to its current zoning and permit requirements.
I respectfully ask the City Council to:
1. Direct staff to develop proposed zoning standards governing the location of firearm retailers in relation to sensitive uses, including preschools, childcare facilities, and K-12 schools;
2. Consider meaningful separation requirements and appropriate operational and site- safety standards for firearm retailers located near these uses;
3. Conduct a public process that specifically considers the unique circumstances of 7443 Hollister Avenue, including its immediate adjacency to a preschool and its parking area’s proximity to the preschool’s outdoor play area; and
4. Explore every lawful option for preventing the 7443 Hollister Avenue location from becoming operational while the City evaluates and considers changes to its zoning and permit requirements, including whether any newly adopted standards could apply to this location before the business opens.
I recognize that the City issued the current business license under the City’s existing regulations. My request is not that the City disregard its existing law. Rather, I am asking the Council to recognize that the current regulations did not anticipate this particular situation and to take action to address that gap.
At a minimum, I ask the Council not to treat this as simply another general retail use. The unique circumstances of this location—the immediate adjacency of a firearms retailer to a preschool, the shared boundary, and the proximity of the retailer’s parking area to the children’s outdoor play area—deserve specific consideration.
I appreciate the City Council’s willingness to listen to community members and to take this issue seriously. I recognize that the Council and City staff are working within existing laws and regulations, and I appreciate the time and care being given to evaluating what is possible.
Thank you for your service to the Goleta community and for considering the concerns of parents and families who are directly affected by this proposed location.
Sincerely,
Katie Wick
From: Kyle Ashby
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Comments for tonight"s Closed Session regarding 7443 Hollister Avenue Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 4:04:43 PM
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Mayor Perotte and Goleta City Council Members, On June 4, the City of Goleta issued a business license to Goodland Guns for a new storefront at 7443 Hollister Avenue. On paper, it was a routine permitted-use approval for a sporting goods retailer in a commercial zone. In practice, the City set two local businesses on a collision course, devalued a working-class neighborhood's most important asset, and once again demonstrated that Goleta has no real process for thinking through the consequences of its own land-use decisions before it's too late to undo them.
The new storefront location sits feet from the playground of Here We Grow Early Learning Center, a preschool and daycare that opened in January. The two properties share a chain-link fence. Children can see directly into the gun shop's parking lot from their play yard. Goodland Guns has signed a long term lease, which the Ellwood neighborhood understands to be 5 years with options to extend.
This is not a story about the Second Amendment, and it shouldn't be treated as one.
It's a story about a city that approved a license without ever asking the most basic question a competent planning process should ask: what else is here, and can these two businesses actually coexist?
What makes this case so damning isn't just the outcome — it's that Goleta's own elected officials have publicly conceded the process broke down. Councilmember Stuart Kasdin told a crowd of angry residents at a community meeting that he only learned about the relocation days before the meeting itself, calling it a blindside with no opportunity for proactive review. City staff, he said, never flagged the preschool's proximity as an issue worth escalating to the council. Likewise the City Planning commission never saw this either.
Goodland Guns' own owner, Dan Ashton, said the City never raised the adjacency as a concern during a process he described as spanning over 150 emails. These emails should also be released to the public under the public records act. Nobody — not planning staff, not the Council, not the property manager/owner — appears to have connected the dots between a firearms retailer and a licensed early learning center sharing a single, see-through fence line.
That is an institutional failure to coordinate the most basic function of local government: knowing what is happening in its own commercial corridors.
This also creates two very clear potential legal actions that can be taken by both businesses against the City’s negligence.
Neither business asked for this outcome. Both are now stuck with it — one facing a public-relations crisis, and thousands of Ellwood residents protesting and picketing in front of his shop for years, and a legal cloud over its long year lease. The other business facing the prospect of losing enrollment it can't afford to lose. That is what happens when a city treats a business license as a box-checking exercise rather than a decision with real consequences for the businesses and the community around it.
Perhaps the most telling detail is procedural: Goleta has a Planning Commission whose entire purpose is to weigh in on land use decisions with community-wide impact. It is composed of very seasoned professionals AND long-time Goleta residents. The Planning Commission was never consulted on this one, because current code classified the license as a permitted use requiring no discretionary review. The City's own commissioner-level check on judgment calls like this was structurally excluded from the process.
That's the real lesson here, and it points to the fix. If a licensing decision this consequential can bypass every deliberative body the City has, then the City doesn't actually have a process for protecting business viability — it has a rubber stamp and no knowledge of commercial property inventory.
Two immediate outcomes need to happen in order for the City of Goleta to redeem itself and the barrage of negative attention coming. 1) The Gun Shop needs to be relocated, immediately. 2) The City of Goleta should involve the Planning Commission on business location decisions, so that these decisions are in accord with the Goleta Strategic Plan. This corridor has been designated as a Safe Pathway to Schools by the State of California, and a grant was leveraged to build a walking and biking path to Ellwood School, including a walking path to bus stops that serve Goleta Valley Junior High School and Dos Pueblos High School, and a bike path that also serves Dos Pueblos High School.
This is a long-term publicity nightmare for Caltrans and the State of California, as well as the City of Goleta.
There is also a third step needed. The City of Goleta should also create a Business Success Commission — a standing advisory body, modeled on the Planning Commission, tasked specifically with reviewing new business licenses for compatibility with surrounding businesses before they are issued. Not to add bureaucracy for its own sake, but to catch exactly the kind of foreseeable conflict that any resident who looked at a map or who knows the neighborhood could have flagged in two minutes. Something that your staff did not do. A Business Commission wouldn't just protect neighbors — it would protect the businesses themselves from being set up to fail by a city that isn't looking out for them.
This would also save the City from the likely impending lawsuits and expensive negotiations that are most likely on the way from both of these organizations and heavyweight business support organizations.
The Ellwood community has been activated and has lost confidence in the management of ANY future and current project in this Hollister corridor, until the changes outlined above have been implemented. Unfortunately, it will make the City, Planning Department and Council Members futures an endless challenge of protests and complaints from citizens and businesses located in these areas and additional negative press. This is not what we want as a community, and is not inline with the neighborhood vision of residents, or what we believed to be the City of Goleta’s goals for this area.
To reiterate, the most immediate actions required of the City for the benefit of Goleta, the Ellwood Community, and the two businesses in question are the following:
1) Deny AND/OR revoke the business license for Goodland Guns in this location. 2) Find Goodland Guns a new location that is better suited for success. 3) Ensure that this NEVER happens again.
That should be followed by steps to help future businesses succeed.
Regards,
Kyle Ashby
Ellwood Resident and Goleta Business Owner
Dos Pueblos Class of 1991
UCSB Class of 1995
From: Lori Clayton
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Goodland Guns-7443 Hollister Business License
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 3:15:46 PM
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Dear City Council,
I implore you to ardently seek and establish a different location for the above business—rather than the current proposed site. The Ellwood location at 7443 Hollister is completely unacceptable, being right next to a childcare center and along a public school foot & bicycle route for elementary school children. I will not insult your intelligence by having to explain why this is a perplexing and socially irresponsible choice.
You have been elected in good faith by the Goleta community who trust you to serve and protect our citizens’ well- being, especially our youngest and most impressionable members. Now, you have the opportunity to take the highest form of moral responsibility and apologize for this misstep, and immediately make it right.
Yours in utmost and urgent concern,
Lori Clayton
Ellwood resident
From: Miroslava Chavez-Garcia
To: City Clerk Group
Cc: ebers garcia
Subject: NO to Gun Store in Goleta
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 3:27:06 PM
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Hello
I am writing to express my dismay and opposition to the opening of a gun shop in our neighborhood. I live on Newport Dr. (in Ellwood) and was shocked to hear this news only about a week or so ago. Why did the City of Goleta fail to inform the neighbors and the city more generally about this proposed shop? Why did we have to hear it from The Independent and not the city officials we elected to represent us? I oppose the opening of the store on Hollister Ave. and to the reality that this will bring increased danger to our city. Guns kill people. People with guns kill other people, especially in the US, which has an epidemic of gun-related homicides. Everyone knows that. The few who have some power to make it stop aren't doing much about it.
The history of this shop and the break-in it had a few years ago (with 11 stolen pieces missing and only 6 or 7 recovered) tells us that firearms will proliferate in our area.
The gun shop needs to relocate or find other ways to conduct their business but not next to a daycare or the route on which elementary school kids will travel on a daily basis. It's sad that poor(er) communities must struggle with these issues more so than those with higher incomes and rents that can effectively ban them from their neighborhoods.
Thank you for finally allowing us an opportunity to weigh in. --
Sincerely,
Miroslava Chavez-Garcia
, Ph.D. (she/her/ella)
2025-26 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University
Professor of History & Affiliate in Chicana/o Studies, Feminist Studies, and Iberian and Latin American Studies
Author of Is Grad School for Me? Demystifying the Application Process for First-Gen BIPOC Students , with
Yvette Martínez-Vu (UC Press, 2024).
I recognize that UCSB is located on the unceded territory of the Chumash people and the many Indigenous people who call this region home. To support the Chumash, visit their virtual community.
From: Tereza Ramos
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: 7443 Hollister Business License or Goodland Guns business license.
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 5:19:49 PM
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It’s chocking that the city of Goleta approved a Gun Shop business license in the former 7-11 building at 7443 Hollister avenue next door to an already operating preschool and adjacent to a State granted "safe pathway to school" used by k through 12 students and families.
I’m opposing the business license and location of the business. My beloved neighborhood will be changed FOREVER. I’m a almost 20 years old resident and I never thought that this could be happening, we had so many shootings in goleta, how can’t this be already a big RED flag, please do right action and don’t let it go through.
Thank you.
Tereza Ramos
From: Wayne Derossett
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Oppose gun store
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 6:01:42 PM
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Why would we ever need this?
--
Sent with mail.com Mail app
From: Peg Duffy
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Goodland Guns Location
Date: Monday, August 17, 2026 9:34:59 PM
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Dear City Council, Mayor Perotte, Mayor Pro Tempore, Jennifer Smith, Council Member, Luz Reyes-Martin, Council Member, James Kyriaco, Council Member, Stuart Kasdin,
I'm still trying to wrap my head around what is happening right now in my neighborhood and how this proposed gun shop has reached this point.
I would like to understand during this two-year process involving more than 150 emails between the City and Mr. Ashton. Were those communications primarily with Peter Imhof and his staff at the Planning and Environmental Review? If so, who does Mr. Imhof report to, and who was ultimately responsible for evaluating whether this was an appropriate location?
More importantly, was there any meaningful pushback or consideration of whether this location was appropriate given the preschool that shares a fence with the proposed gun shop? What consideration was given to the Hollister Avenue Class I Bike/Walk/Scooter Path, which is part of our community's safe routes to school? How can this be considered safe route for children walking, biking, or scootering to and from school when a gun shop is located immediately adjacent to it? Yet Mr. Ashton has stated that, "We're operating under strictly legal guidelines." what are the guidelines have they been evaluated throughout this process? Firearms are required to be secured in locked containers when the store is closed. Were they locked up and secure back in the 2021 robbery? He also previously stated he secured an industrial location in Goleta, but the deal fell through, costing him roughly $20,000. He is now subleasing that space while pursuing this new location.
I would like the City to answer the following:
Where is the sublease location Mr. Ashton previously secured? Why did the deal fall through?
Is that space currently being subleased, and if so, to whom and for what purpose?
Who within the City reviewed and approved the suitability of this location (Hollister)?
What if any specific consideration was given to the safety of children and families using this area every day?
What does a gun shop add to this neighborhood? It does not appear to be addressing an unmet community need or providing a needed service that this location requires.
Instead, it introduces a use that understandably raises significant concerns for families, children, pedestrians and cyclists who live, walk and attend school here.
At this point, it feels as though the City of Goleta is failing to adequately value the safety and well-being of the children and families who live in this community. You have an obligation to listen to the residents who will be directly affected by this decision.
I am asking for clear and specific answers to the questions above, as well as an explanation of how this location was determined to be appropriate.
Thank you for your time and attention. I sincerely hope this issue can be reconsidered and resolved in a way that properly addresses the concerns of the many residents, families and children who will be affected.
Margaret (Peggy) Duffy
495 Coronado Drive
Goleta, CA 93117
From: Ellen Wolff
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: Gun store permit
Date: Sunday, August 16, 2026 5:06:23 PM
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As a resident of the Western Goleta community, I am horrified that the city would permit a gun store to be opened next to a day care center.
The safety of children far outweighs commercial considerations. Please reverse this outrageous decision.
Ellen Wolff
Cannon Green Drive
Goleta, CA
From: Christopher Colvin
To: City Clerk Group
Subject: "Goodland Guns"
Date: Monday, August 24, 2026 11:09:29 AM
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Hello,
This is a message to Goleta City Council from a lifelong resident of Ellwood. Briefly I would make a couple of points regarding GOODLAND GUNS in our community.
First of all, the obvious is that it is set right next to a preschool and on the walk to Ellwood elementary. The owner states that gun shops are some of the safest zones due to federal requirements, but my point is deeper than that.... what kind of message does this send to our kids. A shop that sells devices that do one thing only. This on top of the sensationalized national image of guns being"cool or sexy'.
Secondly this shop is set between Ellwood's equivalent of the "projects" or densely occupied low income housing and a trailerpark. It is true that low income residents tend to have significantly higher rates of homicide and suicide, not because of race etc but rather financial woes. And the main instrument for that are guns. Ask any cop.
Thirdly it is being set up to like a "pseudo" military stronghold with iron gates and comes complete with a fake US ARMY truck parked out front. Again, what do kids think of this? So please, I am attempting to reach your higher intellect. Please PULL THE PERMIT or do what you have to do to stop this from being here. Maybe they can move over to Magnolia shopping center or someplace like that.
Thank you,
signed : Think of the Children