Maywood Municipal Code Ch. 16 Pawnbrokers

For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

(a) "Pawnbroker" shall mean a person engaged in conducting, managing, or carrying on the business of loaning money, for himself or for any other person, upon personal property, personal security, pawns, or pledges or the business of purchasing articles of personal property and reselling or agreeing to resell such articles to the vendors or their assignees at prices agreed upon at or before the time of such purchase.

(b) "Pawnshop" shall mean any room, store, or place in which any such business is engaged in, carried on, or conducted.

(§ 1, Ord. 389)

It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in, conduct, manage, or carry on the business of a pawnbroker without first applying for and receiving a permit therefor in writing from the Council in the manner provided in this chapter.

(§ 2, Ord. 389)

Any person desiring to obtain a permit to conduct or carry on the business of a pawnbroker in the City shall file an application in writing therefor with the Council specifying by street and number the place where such business is proposed to be conducted or carried on. The application shall be filed by the applicant and shall contain his residence address.

Before receiving an application for any such permit, the Council shall require the payment of such fees as are specified in Section 5-16.06 of this chapter.

(§ 3, Ord. 389)

Upon receipt of such an application, the Council shall cause to be investigated the business of the applicant and the location at which the applicant proposes to engage in business as specified in such application.

(§ 3, Ord. 389)

Thereafter the Council, in its discretion, may issue a permit to the applicant which shall be effective for the remaining portion of the current year. In exercising its discretion, the Council may take into consideration all facts as it may deem pertinent and proper and, before issuing any permit, shall specifically find that the following conditions exist:

(a) That the granting of such permit will not be detrimental to the safety, public morals, or general welfare of the City;

(b) That the granting of such permit will not be detrimental or injurious to other businesses located adjacent to or in the general vicinity of such proposed business; and

(c) That the granting of such permit will not be injurious to property or land values in the vicinity of such proposed business.

No permit to conduct or carry on the business of a pawnbroker shall be granted by the Council to any person who fails, refuses, or neglects to comply with the laws relating to and regulating the business for which such permit is sought.

(§ 4, Ord. 389)

The Council shall charge the following permit fees:

(a) For applications for an ordinary pawnbroker's permit, the sum of Fifty and no/100ths ($50.00) Dollars;

(b) For applications for special permits, the sum of One Hundred and no/100ths ($100.00) Dollars;

(c) For applications for the annual permit renewal, the sum of Fifty and no/100ths ($50.00) Dollars;

(d) For applications for changing the location of a business for which a permit has been granted, the sum of Twenty and no/100ths ($20.00) Dollars; and

(e) For a change of ownership, applicable only in cases where the new owner is already operating under a permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the sum of Twenty and no/100ths ($20.00) Dollars.

The application fees set forth in this section are in each case imposed for the purpose of defraying the expenses of investigation, and in no event will such application fees be refunded in the event a permit is not granted.

(§ 3, Ord. 389, as amended by § 2, Ord. 78-171, eff. June 27, 1978)

All permittees operating under the permits required by the provisions of this chapter shall be required to secure an annual renewal of such permit commencing January 1 of the succeeding year in which such permit was granted.

(§ 3, Ord. 389)

In the event any person holding a permit to conduct or carry on the business of a pawnbroker shall violate or cause or permit to be violated any of the provisions of this chapter or any provision of any other law relating to or regulating any such business, or shall conduct or carry on such business in an unlawful manner, or shall cause or permit such business to be so conducted or carried on, it shall be the duty of the Chief of Police, in addition to the other penalties provided by this Code, to suspend the permit issued for conducting or carrying on such business.

(§ 5, Ord. 389, as amended during 11/00 conversion)

After the permit of such pawnbroker has been suspended, it shall be unlawful for such person to further conduct such business until a hearing shall have been held by the Chief of Police and the Council in the matter of the revocation of such permit. Notice of such hearing shall be given in writing and served at least three (3) days prior to the date of the hearing upon the permittee or his manager or agent. Such notice shall state the ground of complaint against the permittee or against the business carried on by such permittee and shall also state the time and place of the hearing. Such notice shall be served upon the permittee by delivering the same to such person or to his manager or agent, or to any person in charge of or employed in the place of business of such permittee, or, if such person cannot be found at his place of business, then at his place of residence or by leaving such notice at the place of business or residence of such person with some person of suitable age and discretion. If the permittee cannot be found and service of such notice cannot be made upon him in the manner provided in this section, a copy of such notice shall be mailed, postage fully prepaid, addressed to such permittee at such place of business or residence at least three (3) days prior to the date of such hearing.

(§ 5, Ord. 389)

If, upon such hearing, the Council finds and determines that the permittee has violated any of the provisions of this chapter, the Council shall revoke such permit. After the revocation of such permit, no permit shall be granted to such person to conduct or carry on any such business within the City within six (6) months after such revocation.

(§ 5, Ord. 389)

The License Collector shall not issue any license to any person to conduct or carry on the business of a pawnbroker until the Council shall have granted a permit therefor as provided in this chapter.

(§ 4, Ord. 389)

No person holding a permit to conduct, manage, carry on, or deal in the pawnbroking business shall buy, sell, or otherwise deal in secondhand jewelry, precious stones, precious metals (including old gold), watches, or other similar secondhand merchandise without first applying for and receiving a special permit therefor from the Council in the manner provided in this Chapter for securing ordinary permits.

(§ 3, Ord. 389)

Every pawnbroker shall, on each day before the hour of 10:00 a.m., make and deliver to the Chief of Police, on a blank form to be obtained by such pawnbrokers from the office of the Chief of Police for that purpose, a full, true, and complete report of all goods, wares, merchandise, or things received on deposit, pledged, or purchased during the day preceding the filing of such report. Such report shall show the hour of the day when such article was received on deposit, pledged, or purchased and the true name and address, as nearly as the same is known to, or can be ascertained by, such pawnbroker, of the person by whom such article was left on deposit, pledged, or sold, together with a description of such person. The description to be given of such person shall show the style and color of mustache or beard, or both, where the same are worn, and, if neither is worn, such fact shall be noted. Such report shall also show the number of the pawn ticket, the amount loaned, the amount purchased, and a complete description of each article left on deposit, pledged, or purchased. If any article so left on deposit, pledged, or purchased has engraved thereon any number, word, or initial or contains any settings of any kind, the description of such article in such report shall contain such number, word, or initial and shall show the kind of settings and the number of each kind. Blanks to be obtained from the office of the Chief of Police, as provided in this section, shall bear a caption providing a blank space in which shall be written or printed the date of such report, the name and place of the business of the person making the same, and the hour of the day when the same is received at the office of the Chief of Police. Such blanks shall be so printed and subdivided as to contain spaces with proper captions for the furnishing of the information required by this section. The City shall furnish to each permittee a copy of the Municipal Code provisions regulating the business of pawnbrokers upon request.

The Chief of Police shall file in a secure place in his office all reports received pursuant to the provisions of this section and the same shall be open to inspection only by members of the Police Department of the City or upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction made for that purpose.

Every report required by the provisions of this section shall be written or printed entirely in the English language in a clear and legible manner.

(§§ 6, 8, and 9, Ord. 389)

Every pawnbroker shall keep a complete record of all goods, wares, merchandise, or things pledged to, purchased, or received by him, which record shall contain all of the matters required to be shown in the report referred to and described in Section 5-16.13 of this chapter. Every such record and all goods, wares, merchandise, and things pledged to, purchased, or received by any such pawnbroker shall be open at all times during business hours to the inspection of the Chief of Police or any police officer of the City.

Every record required by the provisions of this section to be kept shall be written or printed entirely in the English language in a clear and legible manner.

(§§ 7 and 9, Ord. 389)

It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in conducting, managing, or carrying on the business of a pawnbroker, or for any agent or employee of any such person, to fail, refuse, or neglect to file any report in the form, in the manner, at the time, and in all respects in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or to fail, refuse, or neglect to keep a record in the form and manner required by the provisions of this chapter, or to fail, refuse, or neglect to exhibit to the Chief of Police or any police officer of the City immediately upon demand for the privilege of such inspection any such record or any goods, wares, merchandise, or things pledged to or purchased or received by such person.

(§ 10, Ord. 389)

Every pawnbroker shall maintain on the premises where such business is located a sign, plainly printed in the English language of sufficient size so that the same may be easily read from the sidewalk in front of such place of business, stating that he is a pawnbroker. Where such business is conducted in an office building, the sign shall be placed at the door to such office. Where such business is conducted in a department of any building, the sign shall be placed at the entrance to such department.

(§ 7, Ord. 389)

(a) It shall be unlawful for any pawnbroker to sell or otherwise dispose of any article or thing within thirty (30) days after such article or thing has been purchased or received by such pawnbroker, such thirty (30) day period to start on the day following the receipt by the Chief of Police of the reported purchase.

(b) Property retained by the pawnbroker after the due date of a loan on such property shall not be sold for a period of six (6) months, except for clothing and furs which shall be retained for at least four (4) months after the due date.

(c) Upon the expiration of the legal waiting period, the pawnbroker shall notify the borrower by registered mail, certified mail, or regular mail for which a certificate of mailing is issued, addressed to his last known address, of the termination of his redemption period and shall extend the period for an additional ten (10) days before disposing of the property.

(§ 11, Ord. 389, as amended by § 1, Ord. 514)

It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in, conducting, managing, or carrying on the business of pawnbroker, or for any agent or employee of any such person, to accept any pledge or to loan any money upon personal property, or to purchase or receive any goods, wares, or merchandise or any article or thing, or in any manner whatsoever to engage in or conduct any such business between the hours of 12:00 midnight on Saturday and 7:00 a.m. of the following Monday, or between the hours of 7:00 p.m. of any day, other than Saturday or Sunday, and 7:00 a.m. of the following day.

(§ 12, Ord. 389)

If any person shall engage in, conduct, manage or carry on at the same time more than one of the businesses defined and referred to in this chapter and defined and referred to in Chapter 1 of this title (automobile sales yards), such person shall be deemed to be engaged in, conducting, managing and carrying on such business separate and apart from the other such business. Such person shall comply in all respects with the provisions of this chapter relating to the business of pawnbroker and shall comply in all respects with the provisions of Chapter 1 of this title relating to automobile sales yards, and it shall be unlawful for any such person to fail, refuse, or neglect to do so.

(§ 13, Ord. 389)