[HISTORY: Adopted 11-14-2012 Special Town Meeting, Art. 18. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person who makes a business of purchasing, or purchasing
and selling, or who keeps a place of business in the Town of Littleton
for purchasing, or purchasing and selling, either gold or silver,
coins, stamps, other precious metals, jewelry, and electronics shall
engage in such business or open such place of business for the said
purposes unless duly licensed by the Select Board. This by-law shall
not pertain to businesses within Littleton that take items in on consignment
or that are licensed as Antique Dealers.
Each application for a license shall set forth the name of the
party to be licensed, the nature of the business and the building
or place in which it is to be carried on. Any license granted under
this Article shall continue in force until the first day of January
next ensuing unless sooner revoked by the Select Board. Each license
shall specify the kind and character of the business to be carried
on and the fee for such license shall be determined by the Select
Board.
A.Â
Every dealer or keeper of a shop shall record, at the time of purchase,
the name, age, and residence, giving a street and number, of the person
from whom the purchase was made. Such name, age and residence shall
be obtained by the production of a valid photo identification issued
by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, passport or out of state driver's
license containing a photo of the seller. Such record shall consist
of a digital photograph taken of such identification, alongside the
items being purchased, so as to match the seller with the item/s.
Said photograph to be of high enough resolution as to make possible
the positive identification of the article in question. In the case
of all electronics bearing a serial number, an additional photograph
recording the serial number shall be taken. At the time of purchase
the day, date and hour of the purchase shall also be recorded, either
through the device producing the photograph or in writing by the shop
clerk. No entry on such record shall be changed, erased, obliterated
or defaced and shall be kept in a secure location. Such record shall
be maintained on a form approved by the Chief of Police and shall
have the ability to be reproduced. Said record of purchase shall be
delivered to the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) at the Littleton
Police Department, or through agreed upon electronic means, on a weekly
schedule, to be determined by the CID. After transfer that is acknowledged
by the Littleton Police Department, the owner or dealer shall destroy
said records. Said record shall be kept in some suitable place by
the owner or dealer, on the premises of the licensed business, and
shall be available for inspection by any person authorized by the
Chief of Police.
B.Â
For the purposes of this By-Law the term "purchase" shall refer to
a retail transaction between the shop owner and a private citizen.
It shall not include purchases made off site, such as at an estate
sale, or trade show. It shall also not pertain to dealer-to-dealer
transactions on or off site.
A.Â
No such item purchased or received by any dealer or keeper of a shop
shall be removed from the Town or sold or otherwise disposed of, nor
its identity changed, for at least 21 days from its date of purchase,
unless permission in writing has been obtained from the Chief of Police,
or his designee, who may request to observe and photograph such item.
B.Â
Exemptions to the Holding Period:
(1)Â
Coins that are purchased shall not be subject to the twenty-one-day
holding period, provided that they are properly recorded in the following
manner:
a.Â
Type coins shall be photographed alongside the picture identification
of the seller, individually or in groups, so that the face of each
coin is plainly visible; and
b.Â
For commodity coins purchased in quantity, a single representative
coin for each denomination (i.e. nickels, dimes, quarters, etc.) shall
be photographed alongside the picture identification of the seller,
and the licensee shall further document with the photograph the total
number of each denomination purchased and the years of issuance of
each coin within a given denomination.
No dealer or keeper of a shop shall directly or indirectly receive
or buy any such items from any person under the age of 18 years.
Each such dealer or keeper of a shop shall have conspicuously
displayed his license at the place where he/she does business.
Any violation of any provision of the license or any rule or
regulation that may be adopted by the Select Board in accordance with
this Article shall be sufficient cause and reason to revoke said license.
Prior to any suspension or revocation, the Select Board shall hold
a public hearing, giving written notice to the licensee. Such notice
shall be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, or shall
be delivered in hand by a constable authorized to provide such service.
Violations of any provision of this Article may be addressed
by way of criminal complaint or through the procedure for noncriminal
disposition provided in section 21D of Chapter 40 of the General Laws.
In the event of such noncriminal disposition, a noncriminal penalty
shall be assessed a penalty of $300.
Each offense will require a meeting with the Select Board to
discuss corrective measures to be taken.
The Chief of Police, or his designees, and any authorized representative
of the Littleton Select Board, or its designees, shall at all times
have the authority to inspect or examine all books kept by the keeper
or dealer of a shop as well as to inspect and examine all articles
and merchandise therein.
No dealer or keeper of a shop shall purchase or conduct business
except between the hours of 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.
