(A) The regulations in this division shall apply to all secondhand merchants within the city, regardless of any other provisions of the city code, unless specifically exempted by this division. A SECONDHAND MERCHANT is any person, corporation, member of a co-partnership, firm, or limited liability company that purchases, receives, stores, passes through, or exchanges secondhand personal property of any kind in any condition to facilitate or promote the re-sale of such property. By way of illustration and not limitation, pawn shops, pawnbrokers, flea market dealers, junk dealers, automobile wrecking yards, nonferrous metal dealers, jewelers, jewelry exchange participants, precious metal and gem dealers, videogame retailers, electronics stores, toy stores, video stores, and any other store or operation are all deemed to be secondhand merchants for purposes of this division if they purchase, receive, store, pass through, or exchange secondhand personal property of any nature.
(B) Every secondhand merchant shall register with the city as a secondhand merchant prior to undertaking any transactions involving secondhand personal property. The registration form shall include all information required by the City Clerk and the Police Department, including but not limited to all formal and informal names of the business or operation, all business and emergency contact information, hours of operation, location(s), name(s) of owners and operators, names(s) of managers or supervisors, dates of birth and driver's license numbers for owners, operators, managers, and supervisors. The fees for registration and renewals shall be set by the City Council in the annual appropriations ordinance. After the filing of a fully completed registration form and payment of the required fee, the City Clerk shall issue a certificate of registration, except no certificate shall be issued if the business or operation does not have a proper certificate of occupancy or other required licenses or registrations. The certificate of registration shall be effective until the following April 30. By April 1 of each year, the City Clerk shall send each holder of a certificate of registration a copy of the completed registration form for the prior year, and each business or operation shall return it by April 30 with a signed statement that the information has not changed and is correct as of that date or with the addition of whatever information is needed to update or correct the registration form. Upon receipt of the properly completed renewal, and upon determining compliance with this division and other applicable laws and ordinances, the City Clerk shall issue a sticker indicating registration for the current year, which shall be affixed to the certificate of registration by the business. No certificate of registration may be transferred by the holder to any other person or entity. The City Clerk and his or her agent shall have the right to inspect the premises of any secondhand goods business or operation to ensure compliance with this section, either before or after issuance of a certificate. The certificate of registration shall be prominently displayed in the place of business where it can readily be viewed by customers and members of the public who enter the establishment.
(C) Unless otherwise permitted by law or ordinance, a secondhand merchant shall not purchase or receive any item or goods:
(1) From any person under the age of 18 years without the written consent of a parent or guardian;
(2) From any person whom the secondhand merchant has reason to suspect stole the item or goods, or is attempting to sell or dispose of a stolen item or goods, or who has been identified by law enforcement or code enforcement authorities via written or electronic notice as someone from whom secondhand goods should not be received or purchased;
(3) From any person between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. of the following day.
(D) A secondhand merchant shall keep a record of every person or business with whom any secondhand property transaction is conducted and a record of all property purchased, received, stored, passed through, or exchanged. Every secondhand merchant, by 10:00 a.m. on the next day that the secondhand merchant is open for business or within 48 hours if the secondhand merchant does not operate out of a traditional storefront, must transmit a report to the Chief of Police or the Chief's designee of all transactions in which the secondhand merchant received secondhand or used personal property. A transaction reported by electronic transmission under this subsection shall not be reported on paper forms unless the Chief of Police so requests. The report must be transmitted via e-mail or internet through an electronic information data manager designated by the Chief of Police to facilitate the collection and transmission of such reports. The reports shall be in a format designated by the contractor or service provider. The report shall include all identifying marks or other unique descriptors which distinguish the property from similar items. All jewelry and precious metals or gems, and any property that does not have a serial number, or a product name, or a make and model, shall be photographed from three angles and the photographs shall be included with the report.
(E) All secondhand merchants must have the equipment or software necessary to transmit the required reports through the electronic information data manager designated by the Chief of Police installed and operational no later than April 30, 2013. The Police Department will require all secondhand merchants to electronically submit data beginning April 1, 2013.
(F) Exemptions.
(1) The purchase, receipt, storage, passing through, or exchange of an antique is exempt from the requirements of this division if the primary business of the secondhand merchant is the sale or collecting of antiques. This exemption does not mean that an antique dealer is exempt from the requirements of this division if the transaction involves an item that is not an antique. An ANTIQUE is a decorative object, piece of furniture, or other work of art created in, or in the style of, an earlier period that is collected and valued for its beauty, workmanship, and age.
(2) The purchase, receipt, storage, passing through, or exchange of clothing is exempt from the requirements of this division if the primary business of the secondhand merchant is the sale or consignment of clothing.
(3) Private residential sales commonly known as "garage sales," "yard sales," or "estate sales" involving tangible personal property, whether new, used, secondhand, damages, or discarded and not otherwise regulated, including but not limited to clothing, household effects, tools, garden implements, toys, recreation equipment, and other similar personal household property, advertised by any means whereby the public at large is made aware of such sale, are exempt from the requirements of this division so long as such sales take place at a residentially zoned property, occur less than three times per year, and occur for less than three consecutive days.
(4) An organization or non-profit entity which is tax-exempt and tax-deductible under an IRS rule, ruling, or determination, and to which all of its secondhand items are donated without payment to the donor by the organization, is exempt from the requirements of this division.
(5) Auctioneers and auction houses are exempt from the requirements of this division.
(6) Individuals engaging in an incidental transaction between themselves are exempt from the requirements of this division, where neither individual engages in the transaction as part of a more frequent practice designed to produce income.
(7) Retail merchants who repossess their own merchandise sold on a title retaining contract or chattel mortgage basis or who accept merchandise as a part payment on new sales are exempt from the requirements of this division.
(8) New articles, wares, or merchandise purchased at wholesale from manufacturers, wholesale, distributors, or jobbers for retail sale to customers are exempt from the requirements of this division.
(9) Old rags, paper, used books, magazines, tapestries, and household furniture are exempt from the requirements of this division.
(10) Secondhand or used tires are exempt from the requirements of this division when removed from the vehicle to which such tires are attached in the presence of the person receiving them.
(11) Persons whose principal business is that of dealing in new goods, articles, and merchandise and who do not buy secondhand goods, articles, and merchandise outright, but occasionally accept in trade or repossess electrical appliances, gas appliances, lighting fixtures, electrical motors, radios, watches, jewelry, precious stones, and musical instruments, are exempt from the requirements of this division.
(12) Used car dealers are exempt from the requirements of this division.
(13) Art galleries are exempt from the requirements of this division.
(G) Regardless of an exemption set forth in this division, all secondhand merchants must still comply with any and all state law requirements and separate ordinance requirements governing the nature of their business, the nature of their transactions, and any recording and reporting requirements set forth therein.
(H) Penalties.
(1) Any violation of this division may be charged against the owner or operator of the secondhand merchant operation, as well as against any responsible employee(s) or agent(s).
(2) A first violation of any of the requirements of this division is a municipal civil infraction, punishable as set forth in Chapter 1 of the city code.
(3) A second or subsequent violation of any of the requirements of this division within any 12 month period of time is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a fine up to $500, or both.
(4) A third violation of any of the requirements of this division, in addition to the penalties set forth in subsection (3) above, occurring within a seven year period of time shall result in the secondhand merchant operation or business being deemed a nuisance. Upon receipt of written notice from the city that the secondhand merchant's operation or business has been deemed a nuisance, all secondhand property transactions must cease and the secondhand merchant's registration will be revoked. Thereafter, the secondhand merchant shall not engage in any secondhand merchant activities covered by this division. After a period of one year, the secondhand merchant may petition the City Manager for the privilege of resuming the secondhand merchant activities. The secondhand merchant shall provide any and all information requested by the City Manager during the petition review process. If the secondhand merchant has honored the cessation order, has provided the City Manager will all requested information, and has not violated any laws during the closure period, the City Manager shall allow the operation or business to resume on an indefinite probationary status. Any violation of this division during the probationary operation of the business shall result in permanent closure.
(I) Appeal. The city's determination that a business or individual must register as a secondhand merchant may be appealed to the Ordinance Board of Appeals within 14 days of written notice of the determination. Because the interests of residents and law enforcement in finding and reclaiming stolen property outweigh the interests of a business or individual in conducting secondhand property transactions, the business or individual shall not engage in secondhand goods transactions without complying with the requirements of this division during that appeal time period and during the pendency of the appeal. During the appeal time period, during the pendency of the appeal, and during any period when a registration certificate has not been issued or has been revoked, the Chief of Police shall have the authority to post one or more conspicuous notices on the premises indicating that the business or individual is not authorized to undertake any transactions involving secondhand property. Persons or entities who are cited for a municipal civil infraction or charged with a misdemeanor pursuant to this division after expiration of the 14-day notice period may not avail themselves of this appeal provision, but may instead defend against the charge in the district court if desired.
(Ord. No. 425, § 1, 3-5-13)