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Ordinance No. 5578
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Prohibiting the Carry of
Firearms in Sensitive Places
The Council of the City of Palo Alto ORDAINS as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as follows:
A.The City of Palo Alto has a compelling interest in protecting and the health and safety
of the public and the orderly functioning of government within its bounds.
B.The incidence of firearm-related fatalities and injuries has reached alarming and
unacceptable proportions at the national, state, and local level, as described in a
report by the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health, “Cost of Gun Violence
in Santa Clara County” (Aug. 12, 2022), which notes that the age-adjusted firearm
death rate in Santa Clara County was 4.8 people per 100,000 in 2020, the highest rate
in the past decade.
C.According to the Gun Violence Archive (https://www.gunviolencearchive.org),
California experienced 369 mass shootings (defined as an incident that kills or injures
four or more people) between 2014 and January 2023. In Santa Clara County, mass
shooting tragedies have included May 26, 2021, at the VTA railyard in San Jose (10
dead including the shooter); July 28, 2019, at the Gilroy Garlic festival (4 dead
including the shooter, 17 wounded); Oct. 5, 2011, at the Lehigh Cement Plant in
Cupertino (3 dead, 7 wounded); and Feb 16, 1988 at ESL Inc. in Sunnyvale (7 dead, 4
wounded).
D.Previously, California law required applicants for permits to carry a concealed weapon
to demonstrate “good cause” for the issuance of the license. The United States
Supreme Court recently held, in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen (2022), 142 S.
Ct. 2111, that such “good cause” requirements are unconstitutional under the Second
and Fourteenth Amendments. This development in the law will likely result an
increase in concealed carry permits issued in California.
E.The U.S. Supreme Court has said that laws prohibiting the carrying of firearms in
certain “sensitive places,” including “schools and government buildings,” and
“legislative assemblies, polling places, and courthouses,” may be consistent with the
Second Amendment. N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen (2022), 142 S. Ct. 2111;
D.C. v. Heller (2008), 554 U.S. 570.
F.Through this Ordinance, the City Council desires to prohibit the carry of firearms in
sensitive places, including by those who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon,
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consistent with the Supreme Court’s guidance in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v.
Bruen.
SECTION 2. City Manager Authorization
The City Manager or his or her designee(s) may promulgate guidelines and implement
regulations regarding permits described in this Ordinance as long as such regulations do not
conflict with this Ordinance or the Palo Alto Municipal Code.
SECTION 3. New section 9.08.030 is hereby added to Chapter 9.08 (Guns and Explosives) of Title
9 (Public Peace, Morals, and Safety) to read as follows:
9.08.030 Carry of Firearms in Sensitive Places
A.Purpose and intent. The purpose of this section is to protect sensitive places that have
traditionally been subject to restrictions on carrying or possessing firearms, consistent
with the Supreme Court’s guidance in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen (2022),
142 S. Ct. 2111; to protect health, life, and property within the city; and to preserve
the order and security of the City, its inhabitants, and its visitors.
B.Prohibition. Except as otherwise provided by federal or state law, no person shall carry
a firearm in any sensitive place unless they are subject to an exemption under
subsection (d) of this section. This prohibition applies to persons licensed to carry a
concealed firearm.
C.For the purposes of this section, “sensitive place” means any of the following:
i.Any building owned by or under the control of City government for the
purpose of government administration;
ii.Any building within the geographic boundaries of the City that is owned or
leased by a public entity other than the City for the purposes of government
administration, where the public entity that owns or leases the property has
authorized the City to enforce this prohibition on said property;
iii.Any polling place while voting is occurring;
iv.Any school. For the purposes of this section, “school” includes all institutions
that provide preschool, elementary, secondary, post-secondary, technical,
or trade or vocational education, and includes all athletic facilities, offices,
cafeterias and eating establishments, health care facilities, research
facilities, parking lots, and shared rooms and common areas of dormitories
thereof. “School” does not include a private residence at which education is
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provided for children who are all related to one another by blood, marriage,
or adoption.
D. Exemptions. This section shall not apply to:
i.A federal, state, or local law enforcement officer when such person is
authorized to carry a concealed weapon or a loaded firearm under state law
or under 18 U.S.C. Section 926B or any successor legislation;
ii.An honorably retired officer or agent of a law enforcement agency, when
authorized to carry a concealed or loaded weapon under state law or 18
U.S.C. Section 926C;
iii.A security guard or messenger of a financial institution, a guard of a contract
carrier operating an armored vehicle, a licensed private investigator, a patrol
operator, an alarm company operator, or security guard, when such persons
are authorized by applicable state or federal law to carry a firearm and when
such persons are engaged in the exercise of their official duties;
iv.A person bringing or transporting an unloaded firearm onto city property to
exchange, transfer, or relinquish it to law enforcement, in compliance with
any city operated, approved, or sponsored program to purchase, exchange,
or otherwise obtain voluntary relinquishment of firearms;
v.A person lawfully possessing an unloaded firearm in the locked trunk of, or
inside a locked container in, a motor vehicle.
vi.A hunter with a valid hunting license when going to or returning from a legal
hunting expedition; provided, however, that when transiting through any
area where firearms are prohibited, any firearm is safely stored in a locked
container or otherwise secured using a firearm safety device as defined by
California Penal Code Section 16540 or any successor legislation.
E.Penalties. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor punishable as set forth in Chapter 1.08 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code.
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held
to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion or sections of the
Ordinance. The Council hereby declares that it should have adopted the Ordinance and each
section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or
more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.
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SECTION 5. The Council finds that this project is exempt from the provisions of the California
Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), pursuant to Section 15061 of the CEQA Guidelines, because
it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the ordinance will have a significant
effect on the environment.
SECTION 6. This ordinance will become effective on the thirty-first day after the date of its
____________________________
Mayor
APPROVED:
____________________________
adoption
INTRODUCED: March 6, 2023
PASSED: March 20, 2023
AYES: BURT, KOU, LAUING, LYTHCOTT-HAIMS, STONE, VEENKER
NOES: TANAKA
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
ATTEST:
____________________________
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________________________
City Attorney
0002_20230307_ms29
City Manager
DocuSign Envelope ID: D1BF7E64-D204-440A-B800-2505AC1B7BF0
Certificate Of Completion
Envelope Id: D1BF7E64D204440AB8002505AC1B7BF0 Status: Completed
Subject: DocuSign: Ordinance 5578
Source Envelope:
Document Pages: 4 Signatures: 4 Envelope Originator:
Certificate Pages: 2 Initials: 0 Vinhloc Nguyen
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250 Hamilton Ave
Palo Alto , CA 94301
Vinhloc.Nguyen@CityofPaloAlto.org
IP Address: 199.33.32.254
Record Tracking
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3/22/2023 12:07:58 PM
Holder: Vinhloc Nguyen
Vinhloc.Nguyen@CityofPaloAlto.org
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Molly Stump
Molly.Stump@CityofPaloAlto.org
City Attorney
City of Palo Alto
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Ed Shikada
Ed.Shikada@CityofPaloAlto.org
Ed Shikada, City Manager
City of Palo Alto
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Lydia Kou
Lydia.kou@cityofpaloalto.org
Council Member
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Lesley Milton
Lesley.Milton@CityofPaloAlto.org
City Clerk
City of Palo Alto
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