Mountain View Municipal Code Art. I Secondhand Dealers

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

Secondhand jewelry dealer. "Secondhand jewelry dealer" is defined to be a person engaged in, conducting, managing or carrying on the business of buying, selling, or exchanging the following used or old articles: gold, silver, platinum, or articles of platinum, silverware, secondhand jewelry, watches or other precious metals or stones. The term includes every person engaged in such business, whether as a separate business, or as incident to, or in connection with, any other business or businesses.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59; Ord. No. 59.63, 4/8/63.)

Every secondhand jewelry dealer conducting such business in the city shall keep at the store or place of business a well-bound book, containing a record in which shall be legibly entered in the English language, in ink, at the time of every purchase, sale, exchange, pledge, pawn, or other transfer of possession of any article, or loan thereon, a description of such article received or delivered in such transaction sufficient to identify the same, including all particular or prominent marks of identification that may be found on such property, the signature, age, sex, residence, and accurate descriptions of the vendor or person from whom purchased or received, or with whom dealt, the license number and description of any vehicle which the person from whom purchased or received was riding in, upon, or driving, as near as the same is known to, or can be ascertained by, the person making such report, and the amount of money paid or received in such transaction, the rate of interest, if any, and the date and hour of the transaction.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59; Ord. No. 59.63, 4/8/63.)

In addition to the keeping of a permanent-bound record as hereinabove provided, every person engaged in any of the aforesaid businesses shall be required, at the time of taking or receiving any article in the business for which he is so licensed, to place the description of the article or thing pledged, received, or taken, on the face of a blank record form three (3) inches by five (5) inches, which forms shall be provided by the chief of police upon request therefor.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59.)

The description to be given of every article mentioned in the preceding section shall be the description designated hereinafter. The licensee shall fill in such other blank spaces as may appear upon the face of such blank forms with the data as is designated on the form. A separate form shall be provided and used for each article pledged, received, or taken. On such blank record form there shall be written by the pledgor, or the person delivering the article, in his own handwriting, his name and address. No person shall sign any other name than his true name, or give any other address than his true address. The licensee shall then fill in a description of the party so pledging or leaving any such articles, as the remaining spaces on the card shall call for. Such blank record forms shall be so printed and subdivided that they shall have space for filling in the information required by the chief of police to properly administer this chapter, including the name of the licensee, the article pledged, received, or taken, and sufficient descriptive material concerning such article so as to properly identify it. All blank spaces on such record form shall be filled in by the licensee, with the proper information.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59.)

The licensee shall, on every business day, on or before the hour of 10:00 a.m., deliver to the chief of police, or his duly authorized agents, all such report forms as are required to be made and kept by licensee, along with any additional data or information herein required to be obtained concerning any transaction, arranged in chronological order and pertaining to all transactions during the preceding business day.

Such reports shall be kept in a safe place in the police department, and shall be open to inspection only by authorized law enforcement officers of the state, or by other persons upon an order of a court having competent jurisdiction, made for that purpose.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59.)

The records of the licensee shall be at all reasonable times open to the inspection of the chief of police of the city, or any of his designees. All records of transactions required to be kept and made hereunder shall be kept in chronological order by the licensee.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59.)

No secondhand jewelry dealer, or any agent or employee of such secondhand jewelry dealer, shall fail, refuse or neglect to file such reports as are required in this chapter, in the manner, form, and at the time, and in all respects in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59; Ord. No. 59.63, 4/8/63.)

No secondhand jewelry dealer shall fail, refuse, or neglect to exhibit to the chief of police, or to his designees, or to any officer authorized by law, immediately upon demand, any such form or records, or any goods, wares, or merchandise, so pledged, bought or received by such secondhand jewelry dealer, or by any agent or employee of such secondhand jewelry dealer.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59; Ord. No. 59.63, 4/8/63.)

All articles purchased, received, exchanged, pledged, or otherwise taken into possession by any person operating any of the above enumerated businesses shall be segregated and made available for inspection by the chief of police, or any officer authorized by law, in the place of business of the licensee for a period of five (5) days immediately following receipt of the same. All such articles shall be held for a period of at least thirty (30) days, after they have been received before being sold, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of or removed from the place of business; except that such article may be delivered or returned to the true owner thereof or to his authorized agent at any time. All such property shall, during the thirty-day period, be kept and exposed for police inspection during business hours.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59; Ord. No. 59.63, 4/8/63.)

No person licensed pursuant to this chapter or his manager, agent, or his employee, shall take or receive any goods, articles or thing from any person who is in an intoxicated condition.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59.)

* As to intoxication generally, see Sec. 21.16, 21.17 of this Code.

No person licensed pursuant to this chapter shall receive any goods, articles or thing from any suspected thief, or associate of thieves, or a suspected known receiver of stolen property, or from any persons he may reasonably suspect to be included within any of the foregoing categories.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59.)

No person shall engage in, conduct, manage, or carry on the business of a secondhand jewelry dealer on Sundays or legal holidays, and between the hours of 7:00 p.m. of each day and 8:00 a.m. of the following morning, except that on Saturday and days before legal holidays, and during the twenty-four (24) hours next preceding Christmas Day, each such person may engage in, conduct, manage, or carry on such business until the hour of 9:00 p.m.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59; Ord. No. 59.63, 4/8/63.)

Before any license to engage in any of the businesses defined in the preceding section is granted, the applicant shall file with the chief of police of the city, a written application under oath, and shall file a copy thereof with the director of finance of the city, setting forth the following:

(1) The exact nature of the business to be carried on;

(2) The name of the applicant, together with all persons to be directly or indirectly interested in the conduct, management or operation of said business, should a license be granted, including all members of any firm or partnership;

(3) The location of the proposed business for which the license is sought;

(4) Whether or not any permit or license heretofore granted has been revoked, and if so, the circumstances of such revocation;

(5) Such further information bearing on the business activities or on the moral character of the applicant as the chief of police may require in order to carry out the proper enforcement of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59.)

In addition to the foregoing information, the applicant at the time of filing his application shall be fingerprinted by, and his record filed in, the police department bureau of identification. Upon receipt of such application the chief of police shall cause an investigation to be made of the moral character of the applicant, and the proposed manner of conducting the business, and shall make a recommendation based upon such investigation in regard to the character of the applicant and the manner of conducting or operating the business.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59.)

The license to engage in any of the businesses herein defined shall be the license provided for in Chap. 18, as it now exists, or as it may hereafter be amended. Prior to the issuance of such business license the officer responsible therefor shall have received from the chief of police the recommendations referred to in Sec. 23.13. No license to engage in any of the businesses defined in Sec. 23.1 shall be issued by the officer responsible for the issuance of such licenses without first having received the recommendation of the chief of police favoring the granting of such license.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59.)

In the event that any person holding a license authorizing him to engage in, conduct, manage, or carry on the business of a secondhand jewelry dealer, or any agent or employee of such person, shall violate, or cause or permit to be violated, any of the provisions of this chapter, it shall be considered proper cause for the revocation of such license. If the license of any person shall be revoked, as hereinafter provided, no such license shall be granted to such person to conduct or carry on such business within six (6) months after such revocation.

No license shall be revoked until a public hearing shall have been had by the chief of police, and the chief of police shall have reported the results of such hearing to the officer charged with the duty of issuing such license. Notice of such hearing shall be given in writing, and shall state the grounds of complaint against the licensee and shall also state the time and place where such hearing will be had. Such notice shall be served upon the licensee, or his manager or agent, at least three (3) days prior to the hearing on the revocation of such license, by delivering such notice in writing to the licensee, or his manager or agent, or to any person in charge of or employed at the place of business of such licensee, or if such licensee has no place of business, then his place of residence, or by leaving such notice at the place of business or residence of such licensee. If as a result of such hearing the chief of police determines that licensee, or any agent or employee of such licensee, has violated, or caused, or permitted to be violated, any of the provisions of this chapter, the chief of police shall immediately notify the officer in charge of issuing such licenses, and such license shall be forthwith revoked by such officer, and the licensee notified of such revocation in the same manner as the notice of hearing is required to be given.

(Ord. No. 175.554, 7/27/59; Ord. No. 59.63, 4/8/63.)