Alexander Barone moved to Goleta to raise two children, five months and two-and-a-half-years old.
But 18 months after relocating, Barone said he might move his family out, after learning that a gun store would occupy a storefront next to the local daycare where his children are enrolled.
“The only thing separating them is a see-through chain link fence,” Barone said. “Our kids will be playing in the playground that looks directly into a gun store.”
Barone is among the hundreds of community members urging Goodland Guns—which secured a 25-year lease for 7443 Hollister Ave in July—to leave the site. The building was formerly occupied by 7-Eleven.
The gun store is next to the Here We Grow Early Learning Center, a daycare and preschool that opened in January, and down the road from Ellwood Elementary. It also neighbors a bike lane that students take on the way to school.
Goodland Guns is set to hold a soft opening next Monday, and it will hold a grand opening event in September, said owner Dan Ashton.
More than 300 people have signed a petition on Change.org, calling for the gun store to move. Around 40 people also attended a community meeting Monday to raise concerns about Goodland Guns’ opening.
“For hundreds of families, this is not just a minor inconvenience but a significant safety risk,” the petition stated. “Imagine children as young as toddlers attending daycare while a business that sells lethal weapons operates next door.”
Ashton said he believes parents have adopted a double standard. Goodland Guns operated another location in Oldtown Goleta near the Rainbow School, an early childhood care center, for around 13 years.
“Parents are okay with it as long as it’s not in their neighborhood,” he said.
Goleta’s city codes classified Goodland Guns as a sporting goods store, which the zoning in the area allowed for, said Councilmember Stuart Kasdin, whose district encompasses the property.
Staff did not recognize that the store’s relocation was a matter that needed the attention of the City Council, Kasdin said. He said the city’s lawyers are looking into the next potential steps, but he’s “not optimistic.”
“Simply because it’s legal to go there, doesn’t mean that it’s wise for it to go there,” Kasdin said.
Crista Trujillo, director of the Here We Grow Early Learning Center, said the gun store itself isn’t an issue—she believes its location is problematic.
Beyond that, Trujillo said she is concerned for her business, too. Multiple families have expressed that they’re looking to move their children to other day cares because of Goodland Guns’ relocation, she said.
“Ultimately, what it’s going to come down to is one of us is not going to remain open,” Trujillo said. “We’re not going to survive if he is allowed to open.”
Owner Ashton said he believes Goodland Guns would revitalize the property, which was previously vacant. He alleged that the area had been ridden with hypothermic needles and feces.
Trujillo, however, said she has never seen any misuse in the area that would have endangered children.
“We kept a close eye on it, and we never saw anything sketchy happening,” she said.
Barone said he is disappointed by the city’s lack of oversight. He said he wants the city to update its zoning laws to account for a range of educational institutions, from day cares to K-12 schools.
Barone said he believes Goodland Guns’ relocation will change the nature of the Ellwood community.
“We’re blindsided by it,” he said. “It could have easily been prevented.”
