Schaumburg zoning board recommends allowing handgun sales at Dick's
A plan that would allow handgun sales in a new Field & Stream and Dick's Sporting Goods combo store planned for the Streets of Woodfield shopping center was recommended Wednesday night by the village's zoning board of appeals in a 5-2 vote.
The plan will now go before the Schaumburg village board at the Dec. 8 meeting. If it receives final approval, the handguns would be sold alongside the hunting rifles and shotguns already offered at Dick's.
Terry Venturino, Dick's vice president of store planning, purchasing and construction, said the company would like to invest an estimated $21 million in the store. The company would convert the second floor into a Field & Stream store and significantly renovate the first floor.
Venturino said the Schaumburg store is the company's flagship location.
"But it's an old tired store; it really needs help," he said. "We want to make it sharp and unique for our company."
Venturino said handgun sales were an important source of revenue in the plans and likely a deal-breaker.
The zoning board spent nearly three hours scrutinizing the details of the store's plan, which store representatives worked on with the village staff over several weeks. The proposal had been scratched from the agendas of four previous meetings as the village staff worked on security protocols in the ordinance.
The plan's safety features include requiring background checks and training for the store staff, secure overnight storage of firearms and ammunition behind metal gates and bulletproof glass, and escorting new purchases off the premises.
A few Schaumburg residents spoke out against selling handguns in the village, including Robert Tanner, a 30-year village resident.
"Outdoor enthusiasts, hunters and anglers don't use handguns," Tanner said. "The end purpose of handguns is to kill people. We don't need more handguns in our society."
Roger Williams, the chairman of the zoning board, later referenced Tanner's comments when explaining his vote.
"I have three sons. They all own guns. They haven't killed anyone," Williams said. "They got it for self-protection and to protect their family. I think that's why more and more gun sales are being sold today - not to kill people but to protect yourself and your family. I have no problem with this."
Schaumburg Police Deputy Chief Dan Roach told the zoning board that the department is comfortable with the security measures the store plans.