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Mounds View Planning Commission April 16, 2003 <br />Regular Meeting Page 6 <br />________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />challenge the Commission needs to recognize that certain businesses operate in a fashion with a <br />particular type of clientele that do not belong on a Main Street. He further commented that the <br />City has dealt with this in the past with tattoo parlors or adult entertainment or other types of <br />businesses that bring about public criticism and this falls into that category. <br /> <br />Mr. Sonterre commented that with regard to whether pawnshops of today are trapped in the bad <br />images of the past he drives an old ratty Caravan and sticking a Mercedes sticker on it does not <br />make it a Mercedes. He then said he likens the pawnshop to that because it seems that they will <br />be putting a Mercedes sign on the shop but it will still be a pawnshop and that concerns him. <br /> <br />Mr. Sonterre indicated the staff report mentions no changes regarding zoning provisions and he <br />wanted to bring up that there were other alternatives that would not prevent them from coming <br />but give the City the ability to impact how and where they are located. He then said the city of <br />Robbinsdale created a specific zoning designation for those types of businesses commonly <br />referred to as a red light district. This would require more changes but the City would be able to <br />create a geographic area that would be only in a commercial industrial area and away from <br />schools, churches and parks. <br /> <br />Mr. Sonterre cautioned against allowing a passport for identification purposes in Section 516.02 <br />as it is easier to forge a passport than a driver’s license. <br /> <br />Mr. Sonterre asked whether or not the City could prohibit non-Minnesota identification and said <br />the reason for that is that not all states have an identification process that includes enhancements <br />like holograms and he knows of people in the past that have successfully manufactured an out of <br />state driver’s license because of the lack of technical enhancements. <br /> <br />Mr. Sonterre asked that Section 516.04 identify a definition of the minimum number of hours <br />that the pawnshop is required to have a manager on the premises as it is customary for businesses <br />to float a manager amongst several stores. <br /> <br />Mr. Sonterre expressed concern with the cost of investigation in 516.05 as well as the licensing <br />fees and billable transaction fees in 517.07. He then said that the City usually does not compare <br />itself to adjacent cities but, in this case, he feels it would be prudent to do so because the <br />business climate is the same. He further asked Staff to look into the fees being charged by other <br />cities and use that model. <br /> <br />Mr. Sonterre indicated he had issues with the identification in 516.11, Subd 1d. <br /> <br />Mr. Sonterre indicated he felt it was good to have daily police reports as required by 516.11, <br />Subd. 4 to reduce the number of stolen items moving through the pawnshop but said that the City <br />is already short on police and this is going to exacerbate the situation even more. <br /> <br />Mr. Sonterre asked whether the City has the authority to set a maximum interest rate as he would <br />like to hope that the City could to make the establishment above board. <br />