19810707 1981-9ORDINANCE NO. 1981-9
AN ORDINANCE REPEALING SECTION 14-13.1 AND ENACTING A NEW
SECTION 14-13.1 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA.
BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council that Section
14-13.1 of the Code of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, be and
it hereby is amended to read in its entirety as follows:
"14-13.1 Dealers of Precious Metals, Gems and other
personal property and ~oods; pawnbrokers;
retention of items acquired.
(a) Definitions.
(1) Coin - Any piece of metal fashioned
into a prescribed shape, weight and degree of
fineness, stamped by authority of 'a government with
certain marks and devices and having a certain fixed
value as money.
(2) Dealer - Any person, firm, partnership
or corporation engaged within the City in the
business of purchasing, receiving, trading, selling,
or otherwise exchanging second-hand precious metals,
gems or other personal property and goods as defined
herein. This definition includes merchants whose
business is itinerant in nature as well as those
whose business is permanently located in the City.
As used herein "dealer" includes employers and
principals on whose behalf the purchase is made and
all employees and agents who personally make such
purchases.
(3) Gem - Any precious or semiprecious
stone customarily used in jewelry, for ornamentation,
or for industrial purposes.
(4) Other Personal Property And Goods -
Includes, but is not limited to, binoculars, watches,
cameras, television sets, radio and stereo equipment,
musical instruments and philatelic materials.
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(5) Pawnbroker - Any person who shal 1 in
any manner lend or advance money or other things for
profit on the pledge and possession of personal
property, or other valuable things, other than
securities or written or printed evidences of
indebtedness, or who deals in the purchasing of
personal property or other valuable things on
condition of selling the same back to the seller at a
stipulated price, shall be held to be a pawnbroker.
(6) Precious Metals - Any item, except
coins and private mintages, composed in whole or part
of gold, silver, platinum' or pewter in any degree.
(7) Private Mintage - Pieces of metal
fashioned into prescribed shapes, weights, and
degrees of fineness which are not stamped by
authority of a government and which do not have a
fixed value as money.
(b) Permit Required; Bonding.
(1) No dealer or pawnbroker as defined in
subsection (a) shall transact business within the
City unless a permit has first been obtained as
provided herein, provided, however, that purchases
made directly from manufacturers or wholesalers for
their inventories by retail merchants permanently
located within the City shal 1 be exempt. In
addition, this Section shal 1 not apply to the
purchase or sale of coins.
(2) The permit required hereunder may be
obtained from the Chief of Police upon application.
The applicant
information:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
shal 1 provide the fol lowing
Applicant's ful 1 name.
Applicant's address and
telephone number (s).
Any and all aliases by which the
applicant is or has been known.
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(iv) Applicant's age.
(v) Applicant's sex.
(vi) Applicant's fingerprints.
(vii) Employer, if applicant is not
principal.
(viii) Employer's address and phone
number (s).
( ix ) The specifics of any criminal
convictions of applicant and
applicant ' s employer.
(x) A recent photograph of applicant.
(xi) Other jurisdictions in which the
applicant has applied for or has
obtained a permit to engage in
such business.
(xii) Whether applicant has been denied
a permit or has had a permit
revoked under any ordinance
similar in substance to the
provisions of this Section.
( xiii ) The date of inspection of
accuracy of al 1 scale and
weighing devices and attach a
written certification of accuracy
by Virginia local or state
weights and measures official.
(xiv) Address or addresses of premises
where applicant intends to engage
in such business within the City.
( 3 ) Each permit application shal 1 be
accompanied by a Two Hundred Dollar ($200.00) permit
fee. A permit shall be denied if the applicant has
been convicted of a felony or of a crime of moral
turpitude within seven ( 7 ) years immediately
preceding the application or if the applicant has
been denied a similar permit or had a similar permit
revoked.
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(4) Upon approval of a permit and before
any permit issued hereunder may become operative, a
dealer or pawnbroker shall enter into a recognizance
bond to the City of Fairfax secured by a corporate
surety authorized to do business in this Commonwealth
in the penal sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00)
conditioned upon observance of the terms of
this Section. In lieu of this bond, a dealer or
pawnbroker may cause to be issued by a bank
authorized to do business in the Commonwealth a
letter of credit in favor of the City of
Fairfax, Virginia in the amount of Ten Thousand
Dollars ($10,000.00).
(5) If any person shall be aggrieved by
the misconduct of any dealer or pawnbroker and shall
recover a judgment therefor, such person, after the
return unsatisfied, either in whole or in part, of
any exec ut ion upon such j udgme nt, may
maintain actions in his own name upon the bond or
letter of credit in any court having jurisdiction.
( 6 ) Any false statement made in the
application for a permit shall render the permit void
ab initio.
( 7 ) Permits granted hereunder shal 1 be
valid for a period of twelve (12) months.
(c) Requirement for Records.
(1) Each dealer or pawnbroker shall record
every business transaction involving the purchase,
receipt, trade, sale or other exchange of any item
described in Subsection (a) except coins and also any
subsequent disposition of that item from
his possession. Recording shal 1 be on forms
obtainable from the City Police Department and shall
include:
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
The date and time of the
tra ns action;
A comprehensive description of
the item including its troy
and/or carat weight and any
visible identification marks such
as initials, name of manufacturer,
model and serial numbers and
owner applied identification
numbers;
The estimated fair market value
of the item and the price, paid
by the dealer or the amount of
the loan by the pawnbroker;
The name, address, and date of
birth of the person from whom the
item is received. The dealer or
pawnbroker shall require at least
two forms of identification from
the person bartering, exchanging,
trading or selling any item in
Subsection (a) excep, t coins, one
of which must be a driver' s
license or other government-issued
I.D. which bears a photograph of
such person.
The legible handwritten signature
of the person bartering,
exchanging, trading or sel ling
any item in Subsection (a) except
coins.
If the amount of the transaction
exceeds Two Hundred Dollars
($200.00), a recent photograph of
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the person bartering, exchanging,
trading or selling any item in
Subsection (a) except coins,
shall be obtained and submitted
to the City Police Department
along with the completed City
Police Department form.
(2) The completed City Police Department
form shal 1 be transmitted to the City Pol ice
Department no later that twenty-four hours (24) after
the transaction listed on the form. The dealer or
pawnbroker shall retain a copy of the completed City
Police Department form and the bill of sale for a
minimum of twenty-four (24) months from the date of
purchase, receipt, trade, sale or exchange.
(d) Prohibition of Dealing with Minors or
Purchasing Stolen Property.
( 1 ) No dealer or pawnbroker shal 1
purchase, receive, trade, sell or otherwise exchange
any item described in Subsection (a) from a person
under the age of eighteen (18) years.
(2) No dealer or pawnbroker shall make
purchases, sales or exchanges from anyone whom the
dealer or pawnbroker believes or has reason to
believe is not the owner of any items in Subsection
(a) herein unless the dealer or pawnbroker has on
file a notarized authorization from the owner of said
item authorizing the dealer or pawnbroker to transact
business with the person bartering, exchanging,
trading or selling any items in Subsection (a) except
coins.
(e) Retention of Items.
No dealer or pawnbroker, including
employees and other persons acting for the dealer or
pawnbroker shall melt, alter or otherwise destroy or
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change the identity of or sell or otherwise dispose
of any item described in Subsection (a) which has
been received by the dealer or pawnbroker until a
period of ten (10) days shall have elapsed after the
date of submission to the City Police Department of
the report required by Subsection (c).
(f) Inspections by Police Officials.
The records and merchandise of each dealer
and pawnbroker shal 1 be open and available for
inspection during regular business hours by any
police official of the federal or state governments
or by the Chief of Police or his designee.
(g) Penalty ·
(1) Any person who violates any provision
of this Section or who makes any false statement in
connection therewith or who gives false
identification shall, upon first conviction, be
guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor and upon second and
subsequent convictions be' guilty of a Class 1
misdemeanor.
(2)
Upon the first conviction by any court
for violation of any of the provisions of this
Section, the Chief of Police or his designee may
revoke the convicted dealer's or pawnbroker's permit
for a period of one full year from the date the
conviction becomes final. Such revocation shall be
mandatory upon a second conviction.
(h) validity and Severance.
Each part, section, subsection, paragraph,
sentence, clause and phrase of this Section is hereby
declared severable. Should any part, section,
subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of
this Section be declared invalid by a Court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not
affect the validity of this Section in its entirety
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or any part thereof other than that so declared to be
invalid. The City Council hereby declares that it
would have adopted this Section and each part,
section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause and
phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one
or more such part s,
paragraphs, sentences,
declared invalid."
sections, subsections,
clauses or phrases, be
This ordinance shall become effective July 1, 1981.
Introduced:
Adopted:
June 9, 1981
July 7, 1981
MAYOR
ATTEST: