Two unrelated observations.
First. Newton isn't a Jerusalem-on -the-Charles. I can't find trustworthy data but I'm positive that less than 20% of Newton population are Jewish.
Second. The city administration seems to believe that zoning change is a valid legal way to prevent a business that has already applied for a permit from opening. That's from the Newton Mayor's daily or weekly address:
" Like many of us, I am deeply concerned about a firearms store which has started taking the steps to potentially open in Newtonville at 709 Washington Street near many homes and restaurants and proximate to schools. I brought together our team at City Hall to brief me on our options.
What is the process moving forward for the proposed zoning amendment?
The City Council will assign the proposed zoning amendments to the appropriate committees at its meeting on Tuesday, April 20 and also assign a public hearing date. It is likely that the matter will be assigned to the Zoning and Planning Committee (ZAP) for a public hearing on May 10, 2021. At the public hearing, the Council will hear input from the public. It will then discuss the draft language, potentially make revisions, and ultimately recommend that matter to the full City Council for a final vote to approve the zoning amendments.
In general, zoning is prospective and would not limit ongoing uses and businesses that are already operating.
However, the State Zoning Act, Chapter 40A, does state that any approved zoning amendment will apply to any use/business that has not commenced prior to the publication of notice of the public hearing for the zoning amendment.
It is expected that the City Council will provide notice of the public hearing in the newspaper on April 26 and May 3, 2021. Practically speaking, if there is a proposed firearm dealer use that has not started operating by those dates, it will be subject to the proposed zoning amendments whenever those amendments are passed.
Why are we not prohibiting gun stores everywhere in Newton?
The City Council has broad authority to regulate all land uses in Newton, including the location of firearms dealers. That said, in light of the nature of the issues and the implications of Constitutional protections, it may be reasonable to expect that the more restrictively firearm sales are regulated, the more likely such regulations will be subject to a court challenge."