[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of Burlington 6-16-1981; amended 2-9-1993 (Sec. 12:10 of the 1975 General Ordinances). Subsequent
amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Peddling and soliciting — See Ch. 407.
The Township Council hereby finds that there
is a need to regulate and control the buying and selling of gold,
silver and precious or semiprecious materials in order to prevent
the easy disposal of items which have been unlawfully obtained as
the result of crime, while protecting and recognizing the legitimate
businesses which are engaged in the buying and selling of gold, silver
and precious or semiprecious materials.
The following definitions shall apply to terms
used within this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:
Any person, partnership or corporation who, through any means,
buys gold, silver, precious or semiprecious metals or materials.
Any person, partnership or corporation who, through any means,
buys or sells gold, silver, precious or semiprecious metals or materials,
and includes anyone advertising the purchase or sale of any of the
aforementioned items.
Any article or product with a gold content, without regard
to the fineness thereof.
Any person under the age of 18 years.
Precious or semiprecious gems, including but
not limited to diamonds, rubies, pearls, sapphire and other gems commonly
called "jewelry."
Mineral or element occurring in nature or artificially
made, whether standing alone or in combination with other minerals
or elements that approximates the value of a precious or semiprecious
gem, including but not limited to platinum and uranium.
Includes any exchange of gold, silver or any precious or
semiprecious materials for anything of value. A payment need not be
made by way of money in order to constitute purchase for the purposes
of this chapter.
The purchase of any used item containing gold or silver for
subsequent resale purposes and not for personal use.
Any person, partnership or corporation who, through any means,
sells gold, silver, precious or semiprecious metals or materials.
Any article or product with a silver content, without regard
to the fineness thereof.
Any item containing gold or silver previously sold or transferred
to a consumer for the personal use or enjoyment of such consumer.
No person shall engage in a regulated activity,
as defined above, without having first obtained a license therefor
from the Township Director of Public Safety, which license shall bear
a number issued by the Township Director of Public Safety and shall
be prominently displayed within the licensed premises. The requirement
of a license shall apply to the business entity and to any individual
employee who engages in a regulated activity on behalf of a business
entity.
At the time of filing the application for a
license, a license fee of $100 shall be paid for the initial license
for the premises where the activity is to be conducted, together with
a fee of $25 for each employee who is to be licensed. Thereafter,
the annual renewal fee for the license and for each employee who is
to be licensed shall be $5.
Each license shall expire on December 31 of
the year in which it is issued.
An application for a license shall be in writing
on forms established by the Township Director of Public Safety and
shall state the full name and place of residence of the applicant,
or, if the applicant is a partnership, of each member thereof, or
if a corporation or association, of each officer and stockholder thereof,
together with the place or places where the business is to be conducted.
For any corporation whose stock is publicly traded, the requirement
for the information on each officer and stockholder may be satisfied
by attaching to the application a copy of the most recent annual report
of the corporation, listing the officers and directors of the corporation
along with a certification as to the total number of stockholders
and the name and address of any stockholder holding more than 10%
of the outstanding stock. The application shall include the fingerprints
of each individual applicant or licensed employee, each member of
a partnership, or each stockholder holding more than 10% of the outstanding
stock in a corporate applicant.
Upon receipt of an application completed pursuant
to this chapter, the Director of Public Safety shall institute such
investigation of the applicant's moral character and business responsibility
as he deems necessary for the protection of the public welfare. Upon
completion of the investigation, which in no case shall take more
than 45 days, the Director of Public Safety shall issue or deny a
license. If the Director of Public Safety denies the license, the
grounds for the denial shall be stated. Grounds for denial of a license
may include information indicating that the applicant is not of good
moral character or is of questionable business responsibility, and
a recommendation of denial shall be given if the applicant has been
convicted of a crime of the first or second degree of any crime involving
dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.
In those instances where the application appears
to be consistent with the intent of this chapter to protect the citizens
of the Township, the Director of Public Safety may issue a temporary
license for a period of up to 15 days. Such temporary licenses may
be continued for an additional period of 30 days upon the mutual consent
of the applicant and the Director of Public Safety.
Any license may be revoked for any violation
of this chapter in addition to any other penalty imposed for any violation.
Upon any violation, the Director of Public Safety may suspend a license
upon written notice to the license holder. Upon receipt of the notice
of suspension, the license holder may, within 10 days, request a hearing
on the suspension before the Director of Public Safety. The hearing
shall be held within 30 days of the request, and at which hearing
the license holder shall have the opportunity to be heard. At the
conclusion of the hearing, the Director of Public Safety shall either
revoke the license or shall reinstate the license. In the event that
the license holder shall not request a hearing, the license shall
be automatically revoked upon the expiration of 10 days after the
notice of suspension has been given to the license holder.
No person licensed as a dealer in the Township
shall by virtue of one license keep more than one place of business
for receiving or taking goods.
No dealer shall, at any time, do business at
any place other than the place for which the license was granted.
A.Â
Every licensee shall issue to the seller and keep
for his own records, for not less that one year, a serialized receipt
for each purchase of precious metals, containing the following:
(1)Â
The name and address of the buyer;
(2)Â
Date of transaction;
(3)Â
The names and a description of the precious metals
purchased;
(4)Â
The fineness of the precious metals purchased;
(5)Â
The weights of the precious metals purchased;
(6)Â
The prices paid for the precious metals at the standard
measures of weight and fineness;
(7)Â
The name, address and signature of the seller;
(8)Â
The driver's license number of the license;
(9)Â
At least one additional bona fide proof of identity
of the seller; and
(10)Â
All transfers to the seller shall be by check,
a copy of which is to be retained by the buyer.
B.Â
The buyer shall make the record of transactions available
for inspection by any police officer.
A licensee shall not accept or buy any gold,
silver or precious or semiprecious materials from any person under
the age of 18 years, unless such minor is accompanied by a parent
or guardian and said parent or guardian gives specific written consent
to the transaction and acknowledges the receipt required by the buyer
to be given to the seller.
No dealers shall sell any articles until the
same has been in the possession of said dealer at least 10 days.
Any person, as defined above, who violates any
provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished
by a fine not exceeding $2,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding
90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, or
any combination thereof. A separate offense shall be deemed committed
in each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.
