home gun sales ZONING

  • Currently the sales of firearms is prohibited as a home occupation in Fargo.  On June 28, the City Commission will vote on a proposal to rescind this prohibition and allow people to sell weapons from their home.  The Fargo Neighborhood Coalition has concerns about this proposed ordinance change and urges the Fargo City Commission to deny a request for a change that allows firearms and ammunition dealers to operate as an accessory occupation from their homes. 

    The Downtown Neighborhood Association board of directors joins the Fargo Neighborhood Coalition in their concern, as well as the fire department, the planning commission, and the Fargo Forum. We support the existing law that prohibits firearm sales as a home occupation.

  • Here are a few reasons why this we believe the change in laws is a bad idea:
    · Little Protection for Neighbors: Due to current ND laws, an owner of a handgun, shotgun or rifle need not be registered, permitted, or licensed, offering little protection and a safety concern to neighbors or neighborhoods regarding the purchasers from a home-based dealer.
    · No Notice to Neighbors: Fargo does not require notice to neighbors of the existence of an accessory occupation in the home and if enacted, there is no legal path for neighbors to complain if they believe their safety or well-being is jeopardized by a firearms or ammunition dealer.
    · No Established Inspection and Oversight Processes: The Fargo Fire Department (FFD) does not inspect home-based businesses, thus there are no clear long-term requirements regarding the safe storage of firearms, ammunition, or gunpowder for a home. Without inspections, it is impossible to have over site compliance.
    · Fire Hazard: Dealership increases the odds of many ammunition present, which are considered a serious fire/explosive hazard and pointed out by the FFD as a challenge.
    · No Regulation on Numbers: There is no regulation in ND on the number of firearms and ammunition stored in a home, and in ND there is no law regulating ammunition by type, large capacity magazines or assault weapons.
    · Property Value Risk: Genuine concerns about property values when/if it becomes known that firearms and/or ammunition is sold from a home in the neighborhood.

aDDRESSING RACIAL EQUITY TO MAKE DOWNTOWN MORE LIVABLE

implementation of downtown master plan

improved public and family friendly amenities

day center for the homeless

core neighborhood plan

main avenue reconstruction

PLACE OF LAST DRINK

  • We are urging a new ordinance to add Place of Last Drink to alcohol-related police calls. The question provides evidence and data on over-consumption trends that can be used to inform and then educate licensees regarding mitigating the impact of alcohol related behavior in our community. Please read the article above.

  • After meeting with the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Addiction in February 2019, the DNA is hopeful they will also push for alcohol over sight and accountability for compliance to existing laws as well as implementing POLD. POLD is an ordinance that enables police officers, while conducting their regular work, to record the person’s last place of drink when arrested for an offense where alcohol is a factor. This information provides data-backed information for the police to allocate resources to those establishments who are identified as having an inadvertently large number of DUI’s or other arrests; as well as information for over sight and licensing. It ultimately provides teeth to an existing over service ordinance. 

Over consumption Downtown

For improvement in the livability and safety of our community and the downtown neighborhood, the DNA Board supports continuing the interaction and communication with city leaders and staff, commissioners, boards and committees, businesses, and citizens regarding increased enforcement of existing laws, using data driven information tied directly to the establishments to increase accountability in the licensing and license renewal process of liquor establishments.

We continue to learn and have open dialogues with the city with regard to liquor license enforcement of existing laws, and licensee and city license holder accountability in re-licensing. Some additional information on liquor control:

  • The only accountability required for re-licensing is attendance at an annual meeting. In Fargo for 2018, out of 176 training rosters received, 51% had at least 80% of their staff current on Server Training; conversely, 49% did not meet the threshold of 80% trained.

  • Although Commissioner Piepkorn requested semi-annual incidence reports, nothing has been publicly said about how they would be used.

  • Chief Todd previously set up a penalty matrix, for liquor license holders not adhering to the laws, but it was never embraced.

  • The compliance checks and server training stats are not used in license review; thus the effort put forth collecting the data seems pointless. As well, the department seems to be under-resourced.

  • Spring 2018 board members voiced our concerns regarding Cowboy Jacks moving into 506 Broadway and our concern over the negative behavior of over consumption already spilling into the neighborhood. Our voices were heard loud and clear by the City Commission.

  • The police no longer need a “corroborating witness” to charge a bar/license holder with selling to an already intoxicated person (which is illegal). It was the only law on the books that required the police to have an independent, corroborating witness; and it therefore it was only used a couple of times in the last 15 years since (according to Chief Todd). Hopefully this revised ordinance will help combat some of the behavior we have all experienced; however, it all is up to if and how the new ordinance is actually enforced. The first offense is a warning and required training of servers. Following infractions include $1000 - $2000 fines and suspension of the license (bar closure) for 1 - 10 days. (Muni code 25-1512(H)

  • Of interest, there was no pushback from any of the license holders.