A “for lease” sign is out in front of Here We Grow, the now-closed preschool in west Goleta whose enrollment grew precarious after a gun shop moved next door. Owner Heather Robbins was open for six months at her new location at 7433 Hollister Avenue, when nearby residents noticed her preschool’s new neighbor. By the time fall rolled around, half her families had pulled out, and she had no new enrollments.
“I don’t attribute the closure entirely to the gun store,” Robbins said, adding that she was not closing to make any point about guns or gun ownership. “Without clients willing to put their children in a school with a gun store next door, I couldn’t make it work.”
Since July, when neighbors first noticed the former 7-Eleven was to hold Goodland Guns, parents and residents had protested to the City of Goleta over a permit process that lacked notice to the community. Since then, Goleta has paused any new gun store permits while it creates an ordinance that places a buffer zone between preschools and firearms retailers, as well as a new notice process for gun shops…