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Item No : 8 Meeting Date : April 2, 2003 Type of Business: Discussion City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mounds View Planning Commission From: James Ericson, Interim City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Review Code Changes Related to Pawnshops Introduction: The City is in the process of amending its Zoning and Business Codes to allow for the regulation of Pawnshops in Mounds View. The City Council adopted an Interim ordinance on February 27, 2003, which directs the Planning Commission to review the zoning implications and to recommend applicable provisions. Thus far, the Planning Commission has discussed this issue at their March 5th and March 19th meetings. Discussion: Precious Metal. At the March 19th meeting, there was discussion regarding the possibility of adding language to the proposed ordinance to regulate precious metals dealers. Mr. David Przetyski, a Mounds View resident who is proposing to open a Pawnshop in Mounds View, testified that he currently holds a Precious Metals Dealer License and anticipated obtaining one for his Mounds View business as well. There was some confusion as to the purpose and intent of such a license and why some cities regulated it and others did not. Roseville’s ordinance, which was reviewed at the March 19th meeting, includes very specific requirements pertaining to precious metals dealers. I did some research and learned that a precious metals dealer license is a State requirement. The Statutes, which I have attached for the Commission to review, address persons or businesses that deal in precious metals. The County in which the business is located sets the fee and issues the license. (The State indicates that persons engaged in the buying and selling of coins, bullion and ingots are excluded from needing a precious metals dealer license, though I’m not quite sure why.) To include language in the City’s ordinance regulating precious metals dealers and requiring a local license for precious metals seems redundant and unnecessary. If the Commission agrees, our draft ordinance will simply reference Minnesota Statutes that such a license is required. Impact on Police Services. I asked the City’s police department to investigate how much additional work would result if a Pawnshop located in Mounds View by inquiring with police departments in cities where Pawnshops already exist. The results of this investigation clearly show that Pawnshops are resource intensive, which means that such a business would demand more police time than would a typical business. The Cities of Maplewood, Blaine, Coon Rapids, Roseville, Fridley, Anoka and Spring Lake Park were contacted. All of the departments contacted recommended we require the business to be on APS (Automated Pawn System) and all recommended the business NOT be allowed to deal in handguns. The departments indicate an average of 4 to 10 hours a week are spent working on pawn-related issues, which more than justifies the annual fees and per transaction fee.