Maywood Municipal Code Ch. 18 Secondhand Dealers

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) "Identifiable" shall mean secondhand tangible personal property which bears a serial number or personalized initials or inscription and shall include secondhand tangible personal property which, at the time it is acquired by the secondhand dealer, bears evidence of having had a serial number or personalized initials or description.

(b) "Secondhand dealer" shall mean and include any person whose principal business is primarily that of engaging in buying, selling, trading, taking in pawn, accepting for sale on consignment, accepting for auctioning, or auctioning secondhand personal property.

(§§ 1 and 2, Ord. 518)

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

(§ 8, Ord. 518)

Any person desiring to obtain a permit to conduct or carry on the business of a secondhand dealer 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. The application shall include the taking of fingerprints of the applicant, if an individual or partnership, or of the managing officers, if a corporation or association.

Before receiving an application for any such permit, the Council shall require the payment of such fees as are specified in Section 5-18.06 of this chapter.

(§ 9, Ord. 518)

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.

(§ 9, Ord. 518)

Thereafter the Council, in its discretion, may issue a permit to the applicant which permit 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 secondhand dealer 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.

(§§ 9 and 10, Ord. 518)

The Council shall charge the following permit fees:

(a) For applications for a permit to operate such secondhand business, the sum of One Hundred and no/100ths ($100.00) Dollars;

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

(c) 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

(d) 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.

(§ 9, Ord. 518, as amended by § 1, Ord. 67-25, eff. June 22, 1967, and § 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 permits commencing January 1 of the succeeding year in which such permits were granted.

(§ 9, Ord. 518)

In the event any person holding a permit to conduct or carry on such secondhand business shall violate or cause or permit to be violated any of the provisions of this chapter or any provisions of any law relating to or regulating such business, his permit for conducting or carrying on such business shall be suspended, in addition to the other penalties provided by this Code. It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police to suspend such permit in the event of any such violations.

(§ 11, Ord. 518)

After the permit of such secondhand dealer has been suspended, it shall be unlawful for such person to further conduct such business until a hearing shall have been held by the Council in the matter of the revocation of such permit. Notice of such hearing shall be given in writing and served at least five (5) 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.

(§ 11, Ord. 518)

If, upon such hearing, the Council 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.

(§ 11, Ord. 518)

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

(§§ 10 and 13, Ord. 518)

Every secondhand dealer shall report to the Chief of Police all identifiable secondhand tangible personal property which he has purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for auctioning not later than 12:00 noon of the day following the acquisition of such property.

(§ 3, Ord. 518)

The provisions of Sections 5-18.12 and 5-18.14 of this chapter shall not apply to any identifiable secondhand tangible personal property which has been:

(a) Acquired in good faith in a transaction involving the stock-in-trade of another secondhand dealer who previously had made the reports required by this chapter of such property included in the transaction and who states in writing that the reports so required have been made and provided the acquiring secondhand dealer submits a copy of such statement to the Chief of Police. Each of the secondhand dealers involved in the transaction shall retain a copy of the statement referred to in this subsection for a period of three (3) years as a matter of record which shall he made available for inspection by any law enforcement officer;

(b) Acquired in a nonjudicial sale, transfer, assignment for the benefit of creditors, or consignment of the assets or stock-in-trade, in bulk, or a substantial part thereof, of an industrial or commercial enterprise for purposes of voluntary dissolution or liquidation of the seller's business, or for the purpose of disposing of an excessive quantity of personal property, or which has been acquired in a nonjudicial sale or transfer from an owner of his entire household of personal property, or a substantial part thereof, provided the secondhand dealer retains in his place of business for a period of three (3) years a copy of the bill of sale, receipt, inventory list, or other transfer document as a matter of record which shall be made available for inspection by any law enforcement officer; and provided, further, that the secondhand dealer notifies the Chief of Police that an exemption from reporting is being claimed under this subsection. "Industrial or commercial enterprise" and "owner", as used in this subsection, shall not include a secondhand dealer;

(c) Acquired in a sale made by any public officer in his official capacity, trustee in bankruptcy, executor, administrator, receiver, or public official acting under judicial process or authority, or which has been acquired in a sale made upon the execution of or by virtue of any process issued by a court, or under the provisions of the Warehouse Receipts Act (Commercial Code Division 7);

(d) Acquired in good faith as part or complete payment for other personal property by a person whose principal business is primarily that of selling new personal property directly to the consumer;

(e) Acquired as the surplus property of the United States government or of a state, city, county, city and county, municipal corporation, or public district and which, after requisition or acquisition by the United States government or by a state, city, county, city and county, municipal corporation, or public district, has never thereafter been sold at retail; and

(f) Reported by a secondhand dealer as an acquisition or a purchase or which has been reported as destroyed or otherwise disposed of:

(1) To a State agency by the authority of any other law of the State; or

(2) To a city, county, or city and county officer or agency by the authority of any other law of the State or a city, county, or city and county ordinance.

(§ 4, Ord. 518)

The reports required by the provisions of this chapter shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the Department of Justice. Such forms shall consist of not less than an original and two (2) copies. The original and duplicate copies shall be submitted to the Chief of Police, in accordance with the provisions of Section 5-18.12 of this chapter, and the triplicate copy shall be retained by the secondhand dealer in his place of business for a period of three (3) years and shall be made available for inspection by any law enforcement officer.

(§ 5, Ord. 518, as amended by § 1, Ord. 69-71, eff. February 12, 1970, editorially amended during 2000 conversion)

The Chief of Police, after receiving the reports filed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall daily submit the original copies to the Department of Justice.

(§ 6, Ord. 518, as amended during 2000 conversion)

Every secondhand dealer shall retain in his possession for a period of ten (10) days all identifiable secondhand tangible personal property reported pursuant to the provisions of Sections 5-18.12 and 5-18.14 of this chapter. The ten (10) day holding period with respect to such identifiable secondhand tangible personal property shall commence with the date the report of its acquisition was made to the Chief of Police by the secondhand dealer. The Chief of Police may for good cause authorize the prior disposition of any such property described in a specific report, or a secondhand dealer, in lieu of holding the property for the prescribed ten (10) day period, may sell or dispose of such property provided he obtains the name, address, and description of the buyer and retains this information for a period of three (3) years as a matter of record, which shall be made available for inspection by any law enforcement officer.

(§ 7, Ord. 518)