Ordinance Number 417ORDINANCE NO. 417
SECOND HAND DEALERS
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO,
CALIFORNIA, AMENDING TITLE 5 OF THE SAN JUAN
CAPISTRANO MUNICIPAL CODE TO REGULATE
SECONDHAND DEALERS, PAWNBROKERS, JUNK DEALERS
AND COLLECTORS, AND COIN -CURRENCY DEALERS (URGENCY)
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIFORNIA,
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Additions to Title 5.
Chapter 15 is hereby added to read as follows to Title 5
of the San Juan Capistrano Municipal Code.
"CHAPTER 15. SECONDHAND DEALERS, PAWNBROKERS
AND COIN -CURRENCY DEALERS
"Section 5-15.01. Definitions.
"City means the City of San Juan Capistrano.
"County means the County of Orange.
"Coin -currency dealer means a person dealing in a
business where coins or currency are bought, sold,
traded, pawned, auctioned, or accepted for sale on
consignment at a price above the face value of such
coins or currency upon the basis, express or implied
that the value above the face value is derived from the
age, rareness, condition, mineral content, or historical
associations of the coins or currency.
'Except for coins or currency, coin -currency dealer
shall not include a shop where secondhand merchandise,
including but not limited to jewelry or metals, is
bought, sold, traded, pawned, auctioned, or accepted
for sale on consignment.
"Shops which buy, sell, trade, pawn, auction, or accept
for sale on consignment coins or currency at a price
above the face value of such coin or currency and where
secondhand merchandise, other than coin or currency, is
bought, sold, traded, pawned, auctioned, or accepted
for sale on consignment shall comply with Section
5-15.03 of the Municipal Code as to such other
secondhand merchandise.
"A secondhand dealer as used in this Chapter means, and
includes, any person, partnership or corporation whose
business is that of engaging in buying, selling,
trading, taking in pawn, accepting for sale on
consignment, accepting for auctioning or auctioning
secondhand personal property.
"Secondhand dealer also means any person who owns or
operates an auction or any other event at which two or
more persons offer secondhand personal property for
sale or exchange and where a fee is charged for the
privilege either of offering or displaying such property
for sale or exchange or for admission of prospective
buyers to the area where such property is offered or
-1-
36
displayed for sale or exchange, but does not include a
person who owns the land on which the auction or event
occurs if he has no control over such auction or event
and has no personal knowledge of any facts arising from
such auction or event which constitute a violation of
any provisions of this Ordinance.
"Section 5-15.02. Licenses Required.
"It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation
to engage in, conduct,
businesses, practices,
pawnshop, junk dealer,
currency dealer, within
first having obtained
Ordinance.
"Section 5-15
manage or carry on any of the following
professions or occupations of pawnbroker,
junk collector, secondhand dealer, coin -
the City of San Juan Capistrano without
a license therefor in accordance with this
Regulations: Report Required;
Identification of Seller; Exceptions.
"(a) Every pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, junk dealer,
and coin -currency dealer shall report all personal
property which he has purchased, taken in trade,
taken in pawn, or accepted for auctioning to the
Sheriff -Coroner of the County of Orange, not later
than twelve noon of the date following the
acquisition of such property.
"(b) Every person, or the agent, employee, or
representative of such person, who buys, sells,
holds, or receives in pledge any used, secondhand
merchandise, junk, metals, precious metals, antiques,
or any personal property, shall obtain evidence of
the identity of the seller including-, but not
limited to, such person's full name, signature,
address, telephone number, driver's license number,
and to ascertain that the person selling or
delivering the same has a legal right to sell,
dispose of, or pledge the property. The burden
shall be upon the purchaser of the property to
show that before buying, receiving or otherwise
obtaining such property, he made reasonable inquiry
as to its ownership.
"(c) The following property is excepted from the report
requirements of this Section:
11(1) Property acquired in good faith in a transaction
involving the stock in trade of another
pawnbroker, secondhand dealer or coin -currency
dealer who previously has made the report or
reports required by this Section of such
property included in the transaction and who
states in writing that the report or reports
so required have been made, and provided the
acquiring party submits a copy of such
statement to the Sheriff -Coroner. Each of
the pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers or coin -
currency dealers involved in the transaction
shall retain a copy of the said statement for
a period of three years and it shall be
available for inspection by any law enforcement
officer.
11(2) Property acquired in a nonjudicial sale,
transfer, assignment, assignment for the
benefit of creditors, or consignment of the
assets or stock in trade, in bulk, or a
substantial part thereof, or an industrial or
-2-
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 pawnbroker,
secondhand dealer or coin -currency dealer
retains in his place of business for a period
of three years a copy of the bill of sale,
receipt, inventory list, or other transfer
document which shall be available for inspection
by any law enforcement officer; and provided
further, that the pawnbroker, secondhand
dealer or coin -currency dealer notifies the
Sheriff -Coroner within ten days after such
acquisition that exemption from reporting is
being claimed under this Section. 'Industrial
or commercial enterprise' and 'owner,' as used
in this subsection, do not include a pawnbroker,
secondhand dealer or coin -currency dealer.
"(3) Property acquired in a sale made by any
trustee in bankruptcy, executor, administrator,
receiver, or public official acting pursuant
to law, or which has been acquired in a sale
made pursuant to the liquidation of any lien
in the manner authorized by law.
"(4) Property acquired in good faith as part or
complete payment for other personal property
by a person whose principal business is
primarily that of selling or trading personal
property directly to the consumer, provided
however, that in such transaction no consideration
other than stock in trade shall pass from the
business enterprise to the person trading or
exchanging the used item.
"(5) Property acquired directly from a governmental
body or agency by purchase.
11(6) Property otherwise previously reported by a
pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, or coin -
currency dealer to any federal, state or
local governmental officer or agency by the
authority of any other law as an acquisition
or a purchase, or which has been reported as
destroyed or otherwise disposed of.
"(7) Property acquired as a gift by a donee for
charitable or eleemosynary purposes.
"Section 5-15.04. Reports and Records.
"(a) The Sheriff -Coroner shall prepare and provide
without charge forms to persons or entities required
to make reports pursuant to this article. Such forms
shall require such information as the Sheriff -Coroner
may deem necessary to identify the parties to each
reportable transaction, the property which is the
subject thereof, and other details of said transaction
which may aid him in law enforcement.
-3-
"(b) Every pawnbroker, secondhand dealer or coin -
currency dealer shall keep a complete record of
all personal property pledged to, purchased,
received or sold by him which record shall contain
all the matters required to be shown in the
reports referred to in this section. Every such
record shall be open at all times during business
hours to the inspection of any law enforcement
officer. All reports and records required by the
terms of this ordinance shall be written or
printed in the English language in a clear and
legible manner.
"Section 5-15.05. Retention of Property for Thirty -Day
Period; Extension of Retention Period;
Inspection of Property.
"Every pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, and coin -currency
dealer shall retain in his possession for a period of thirty days
all personal property reported under the provisions of this
Ordinance. The thirty -day holding period, with respect to such
personal property, shall commence with the date the report of its
acquisition is made to the Sheriff -Coroner by the pawnbroker,
secondhand dealer or coin -currency dealer. At the written
direction of any law enforcement officer a pawnbroker, secondhand
dealer, or coin -currency dealer, shall hold property which the
officer has reason to believe is stolen for a period not to
exceed ninety days from the date of placing such hold. Such
property may be released at any time, but only upon written
authorization of the Sheriff -Coroner of the County of Orange.
Such property shall be available at all times during business
hours for inspection by any law enforcement officer. Fach day
all articles which were acquired or accepted the preceding day
shall be displayed for inspection.
"Section 5-15.06
Minor Customer.
"No pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, or coin -currency
dealer shall buy, trade, accept on consignment or for auction, or
loan money for property from any person under eighteen (18) years
of age unless said person is accompanied by a parent, guardian or
other person in custody of that minor. Said broker or dealer
must obtain the written permission from the parent, guardian or
other person in custody of the minor before the said broker or
dealer may buy, trade, accept for consignment or auction, or loan
money for property from such minor. The written permission shall
be included with the report which is required under Section
5-15.04. The written permission shall include a statement that
the minor is the owner of or has been duly authorized by the
owner of the property to dispose of or pawn it, and it shall be
executed either as an affidavit or as a declaration under penalty
of perjury."
SECTION 2. Effective Date.
This is an Urgency Ordinance to preserve the health,
safety and welfare of the City of San Juan Capistrano and the
inhabitants thereof, and shall, accordingly, become effective
upon its passage. This determination of urgency is necessary in
order to comply with recently enacted State law (Business and
Professions Code, Section 21628) pertaining to regulation of
secondhand dealers, pawnbrokers, junk dealers and coin -currency
dealers.
-4-
41
SECTION 3. City Clerk's Certification.
The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this
Ordinance and cause same to be posted in the duly designated
posting places within the City of San Juan Capistrano within
fifteen (15) days after its passage.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 17th day of
February 1 1981, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Councilmen Friess, Bland, Buchheim,
and Mayor Pro Tem Schwartze
NOES: None
ABSENT: Mayor Hausdorfer
PHILLIP R. SCHWARTZE, MA PRO TEM
ATTEST:
,
CITY CLERK`/
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss.
CITY OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
I, MARY ANN HANOVER, City Clerk of the City of San Juan
Capistrano, California, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a
true and correct copy of Ordinance No. 917 , adopted by the
City Council of the City of San Juan Capistrano, California, at a
regular meeting thereof held on the 17th day of February,
1981.
(SEAL) I ZI-e �/J
MARY ANN VER, CITY CLERK
-5-