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Commission backs zoning change to place precious‑metals dealers in C‑2 district
Summary
The commission approved a text amendment to add definitions for secondhand dealers and list 'secondhand dealership' as a permitted use in the C‑2 community business district, aligning zoning with the city’s licensing rules for pawn brokers and precious‑metals dealers.
Planning staff recommended and the Planning Commission voted to recommend Text Amendment A‑26‑003, which adds definitions for pawn broker, pawn transaction, secondhand dealer and secondhand dealership and explicitly permits secondhand dealerships in the C‑2 community business district.
Ruchi Agarwal said the change responds to business license applications and inconsistent interpretations about where secondhand dealerships should operate. "Secondhand dealers specializing in precious metals often attract customers from a broader geographic area and involve financial transactions related to high value items," staff told the commission, and staff concluded the C‑2 district — intended for regionally oriented retail and services — is a better fit than the neighborhood‑serving C‑1.
Commissioners asked whether existing businesses would be grandfathered; staff said they would be considered legal nonconforming and could continue operating until they vacate for a full year, at which point they would need to relocate to a C‑2 district. Commissioners also clarified that thrift stores are treated as ordinary retail and not part of this definition. A motion to approve A‑26‑003 as written carried; staff recorded six votes in favor.
