Town/Village of East Rochester, NY Chapter 149 Secondhand Dealers

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Governing Body of the Town/Village of East Rochester 2-9-1983 by L.L. No. 2-1983 as Ch. 149 of the 1983 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 149-1 License required; definitions.

A. No person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, trust or any type of business enterprise shall carry on the business of secondhand dealer without obtaining a license from the Chief of Police.

B. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

BUSINESS OF SECONDHAND DEALER

A business which engages in the purchase or sale of any secondhand items, goods, merchandise or products, such as but not limited to stamps, coins, bicycles, televisions, gold, silver, jewelry, furniture and building materials.

PURCHASE OF A SECONDHAND ITEM

Includes an exchange or trade for a secondhand item.

§ 149-2 Application for license; inspections of premises.

A. An application for a secondhand dealer license shall be made to the Building Department of the Town/Village of East Rochester, as licensing officer as designated by the Mayor, on forms prescribed by the Chief of Police.

[Amended 3-8-1999 by L.L. No. 1-1999; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]

B. Upon receipt of an application for a secondhand dealer license, the Chief of Police shall cause an inspection to be made of the applicant's business premises to determine whether public safety problems exist, and the Chief of Police shall cause an investigation to be made of the background of the owner and operator of the business. Before the issuance of a license, the Chief of Police and his representatives shall have the right to enter upon such premises during normal business hours for the purpose of making inspections. Further inspections of the premises may be made after a license has been issued to ensure compliance with the laws, ordinances and rules and regulations relating to secondhand businesses.

C. The owner, operator and employees of any secondhand business shall be of good moral character and shall maintain good order on the business premises at all times.

D. The Chief of Police may promulgate rules and regulations to govern the operation of secondhand businesses so as to provide for the orderly operation of the businesses and to ensure the public safety and the peace and tranquility of the neighborhoods where the businesses are located.

§ 149-3 Expiration of licenses.

Secondhand dealer licenses shall expire on December 31 of each year.

§ 149-4 License fee.

The annual fee for a secondhand dealer license shall be as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.

§ 149-5 General regulations.

A. Every secondhand dealer shall keep a record book in which shall be written at the time of the purchase of any item a description thereof; the name, age and personal description of the person from who the purchase was made; and the date and time when the purchase was made. All such record books shall be open to inspection by any member of the Police Department of the Town/Village of East Rochester. The record books shall be securely bound, not less than six inches in either length or width, legibly written in the English language and shall show the amount paid for each article and the number attached to each article. No entry in such book shall be erased, obliterated, altered or defaced.

B. Every secondhand dealer shall, at the time of making any purchase, attach a tag to or otherwise legibly number each article bought and make entry of such number in the record book.

C. Every secondhand dealer shall make out every business day, on blank forms to be furnished by the Chief of Police, a record containing the details of all purchases of secondhand items during the preceding business day. The dealer shall deliver such record to the Chief of Police or his representative, by U.S. mail, email or in person, on the same day in which the record is completed. The details to be reported on each purchase shall be prescribed by regulations promulgated by the Chief of Police.

[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]

D. No secondhand dealer shall permit any item which has been purchased or received by him to be sold, defaced or broken down until five calendar days have elapsed after the giving of the notice of purchase of such article as required in Subsection C.

E. No secondhand dealer shall receive or purchase any item unless the person selling the item identifies himself by means of a motor vehicle registration, driver's license or police identification card.

F. No secondhand dealer shall receive or purchase any item from a person who is under 18 years of age, unless such person is accompanied by a parent or guardian.

G. No secondhand dealer shall have his place of business open for the transaction of business, nor shall he purchase any secondhand items from persons other than secondhand dealers, except between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

H. Every secondhand dealer shall post his secondhand dealer license in a conspicuous location in his place of business.

I. Garage sales, basement sales, porch sales, yard sales and other such events at which a person desires to sell or trade his personal used items, household goods, furniture or equipment upon his premises, said premises not being a regular place of business for purchase or sale of secondhand items, shall be exempted from the license requirement of this chapter. No more than two such sales shall be conducted by the same person or persons upon the same premises within one calendar year, and each such sale shall not exceed seven consecutive days.

J. Sales conducted for charitable purposes shall be exempted from the license requirement of this chapter. The determination of whether a sale is being conducted for a charitable purpose shall be made by the Chief of Police.

§ 149-6 Denial of license; investigations.

A. The Chief of Police may deny a license, or deny the renewal of a license, to any applicant who is not of good moral character, who is not a fit and proper person to hold a license under this chapter or who makes a material misrepresentation on the license application or who has previously violated any of the provisions of this chapter of any provision of the Code of the Town/Village. The Chief of Police shall give the applicant written notification of the reasons for the denial of a license.

[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]

B. The Chief of Police shall have the power to investigate and inquire into license applicants under this chapter and to require and enforce by subpoena the attendance of witnesses at such investigations.

§ 149-7 Applicability of other provisions.

The provisions of Chapter 117, Licensed Occupations, §§ 117-5, 117-6 and 117-7 of the Town/Village Code shall be applicable to all licenses issued under this chapter.

§ 149-8 Penalties for offenses.

Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $250 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than 15 days, or both. In addition thereto, such violator shall be liable to a civil penalty not exceeding $250 for each violation thereof.