SCOTTS VALLEY >> Future gun store owners will not be subject to new regulation in Scotts Valley as the City Council rejected an ordinance that would further regulate the stores.

The council instead asked that the police department and other city personnel work with current firearms store owners to talk about security measures and possibly come up with a new ordinance.

More than 60 people were packed into the city council chamber for the meeting, most of whom were against the ordinance.

The proposed ordinance would have added requirements of future gun store owners, including added security measures on top of state and federal mandates, an additional firearms license with a $150 fee and preventing license transfer. The ordinance came in light of the rise in the number of gun stores in the city and because other municipalities in the county had gun store regulations.

Though the new ordinance would not apply to the current four gun shops in the city, many in the crowd said it would indirectly affect them. Many in the crowd did not express outrage but concern that the police department did not contact gun store owners.

Scotts Valley Chief of Police John Weiss admitted the department made a mistake by not reaching out to gun store owners when it drafted the staff report and recommended the ordinance.

“I don’t think we appreciated some of the ramifications of it,” he said.

Many people cited that by limiting the transfer of a license, it limits business owners from passing a business down from a parent to a child or spouse. Others stated that it would prevent the businesses from expanding.

“We’d be stuck in our 540-square-foot building,” said Robert “Rocky” De Forge, owner of the gun store Santa Cruz Armory. “We can’t expand. We’re done.”

The owners of all four gun stores in the city came to the meeting and three of them spoke out against the ordinance.

But gun shop owners who spoke out against it cited the tedious process required to purchase a gun.

“The process is not easy, not fast and it’s not a process that’s handled lightly, especially in our business,” De Forge said.

Each council members expressed doubts about moving forward with the ordinance without more research and more communication with current gun shops.

Gun shop owners and employees who spoke to the council welcomed the idea of working with the police to address security concerns.

“If there are (any security concerns) we invite anybody to come in and discuss them with us and talk with us about security concerns,” said Bob Roth, general manager for Santa Cruz Armory.

Those who in support of the ordinance cited keeping children safe and gun stores away from school sites as chief concerns.

“I do feel like the gun stores feel left out and that it was a bit rushed,” said Scotts Valley resident Martin Spierings and father of two. “At the same time, I think a rule that you can only be a certain distance away from a school, if that could in any way stop our schools from becoming the next Sandy Hook, I’m for it.”