A group of Lyon Park and Ashton Heights residents is trying to challenge the legality of Nova Armory鈥檚 Certificate of Occupancy.
Nova Armory, a firearms retailer, 聽in Lyon Park amid . The store鈥檚 owner, Dennis Pratte, is now , accusing them of trying to interfere with his business.
Five local residents launched their own legal offensive when they filed an appeal to Arlington鈥檚 聽(BZA), challenging the county鈥檚 decision to issue Nova Armory a Certificate of Occupancy, which is required for businesses with a physical location in聽Arlington.
Arlington County has previously said that there is nothing it can do legally to prevent a gun store from opening, as long as聽it follows zoning rules and files all the proper paperwork.
The appeal was submitted聽by residents Julia Young, Emily Hughes, Bernadette Brennan, Grace Chan and Nathan Guerrero on March 2, along with the $575.40 filing fee.
, Arlington鈥檚 Acting Zoning Administrator, Arlova Vonhm, recommends denying the appeal and upholding Nova Armory鈥檚 Certificate of Occupancy at 2300 N. Pershing Drive. Vonhm addressed each of the聽challenges made by the residents:
- Appeal:聽In a media interview, Dennis Pratte said was the store鈥檚 owner, and thus he erroneously listed himself as the owner on the application.
Staff position: 鈥淢r. Pratte has clarified in subsequent media聽interviews that he is training his daughter to take over the business, but that he remains the principal聽on all leases, permits, and legal documents.鈥� - Appeal: The description of the store as a 鈥渞etail鈥� location is false because Nova Armory鈥檚 website describes 鈥渨holesale pricing.鈥�
Staff position: 鈥淲hile the applicant鈥檚 website advertises wholesale pricing, this appears to be an聽advertisement of advantageous pricing to retail consumers, rather than a statement of intention to聽engage in wholesale trade.鈥� - Appeal: The store is called NOVA Armory, but the business name was listed as Broadstone Security, LLC on the application.
Staff position: 鈥淭he Zoning Ordinance does聽not prohibit the use of fictitious trade names, which is a common practice for retail businesses.鈥� - Appeal: The Zoning Administrator who issued the Certificate of Occupancy 鈥渄id not research whether or not the applicant was a valid holder of a Federal Firearms License.鈥�
Staff position: 鈥淕iven that the Zoning Administrator does not have the authority to enforce state or federal laws聽and regulations, the Zoning Office does not as a matter of general practice verify required聽compliance with state or federal licensure requirements for firearms store or any other type of聽business.鈥� - Appeal: The Certificate of Occupancy 鈥渟hould be revoked due to an inaccurate record of聽ownership of the premises.鈥�
Staff position: 鈥淧roperty owner information was not material to the review of the聽proposed land use or the issuance of the permit to authorize said land use on the subject property,聽therefore it would not be a valid reason for the Zoning Administrator to revoke it.鈥�
The BZA is slated to consider the appeal, along with a , either Wednesday night or at a possible carryover meeting Thursday. The board is not required to follow the staff recommendation when making its decision.
Apparently misunderstanding the nature of the appeal聽鈥� any citizen who says they鈥檙e 鈥渁ggrieved鈥� by a zoning decision can file an appeal 鈥� Nova Armory posted several messages on Twitter Tuesday decrying elected officials聽and an聽鈥渁buse of power鈥� by county government.
Arlington holds so-called public meeting to try & close gun shop but fails to tell owner or landlord- tomorrow 7pm
鈥� NOVA Armory (@NOVAarmory)
NOVA Armory will continue to fight this abuse of power and attempts to close us down. Anti’s and elected’s want to play hardball- game on!
鈥� NOVA Armory (@NOVAarmory)
