[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Colonial Heights 10-14-1980 as Ord. No. 80-56 (Sec. 15-56
of the 1975 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Licenses — See Ch. 186.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
words shall have the meanings ascribed to them by this section:
Any person, firm, partnership or corporation engaged at any
location in the City of Colonial Heights in the business of purchasing
precious metals or gems or making loans for which precious metals
or gems are received and held as security; provided, however, that
retail merchants permanently located within the City shall be exempted
insofar as they make purchases directly from manufacturers or wholesalers
of precious metals or gems for their inventories. 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
or loan was made and all employees and agents who personally make
such purchases and loans. When any act is required of a corporation,
it shall be performed by its president.
Any item containing or having any precious or semiprecious
stones customarily used in jewelry or ornamentation.
Any item containing as part of its composition, in any degree,
gold, silver, platinum or pewter.
Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on September 17, 1980,
no dealer shall purchase precious metals or gems or make loans for
which precious metals or gems are received and held as security without
first obtaining a permit from the Police Chief of the City of Colonial
Heights as provided herein and without complying with all other provisions
of this ordinance. Possession of a permit issued in another locality
shall not relieve a dealer of the obligation to obtain a permit from
the Police Chief of the City of Colonial Heights.
[Amended 6-8-1993 by Ord. No. 93-23; 10-11-2011 by Ord. No. 11-20]
The permit required herein shall be issued by
the Police Chief or his designee upon payment of an application fee
of $200 and satisfaction of the requirements herein. The applicant
shall be given a permit if he satisfies the Police Chief of his good
character and he has not been convicted within the past seven years
of a crime of moral turpitude. Information required on the application
shall include the applicant's full name, aliases, address, age, sex,
fingerprints and photograph and the name, address and telephone number
of the applicant's employer, if any, and the location of the place
of business of the dealer. No permit shall be valid for more than
one year from the date of issuance, but a permit may be renewed in
the same manner as the initial permit is obtained. If the dealer does
not operate continuously (Saturdays, Sundays and recognized holidays
excepted) from the date of obtaining his permit, then he shall notify
the Police Chief of any closing and renewing of business. A dealer
shall notify the Police Chief of any change in the location of his
business.
The permit issued hereunder shall be a personal
privilege and shall not be transferable, nor shall there be any abatement
of the fee for such permit by reason of the fact that the dealer shall
have exercised the privilege for any period of time less than that
for which it was granted. The permit shall at all times be displayed
prominently by the dealer on his business premises.
Any false statement made on the application
form voids the permit ab initio.
Dealers shall ascertain the name, address and
age of sellers of precious metals or gems and shall require the seller
to verify the same by some form of identification issued by a governmental
agency, which identification must show as a part of it the picture
of the person so identified.
A.
Every dealer shall maintain adequate records containing
the information specified below, which shall appear on bills of sale,
the form of which shall be prescribed by the Police Chief, and one
copy of which shall be retained by the dealer one copy of which shall
be filed electronically with the Chief of Police, within 24 hours
of the sale and one copy of which shall be delivered to the seller
of such precious metals or gems. The twenty-four-hour electronic filing
period shall be complied with regardless of whether a sale occurs
on a weekday, weekend, or holiday. In the event that a technological
problem prevents the posting of daily reports electronically, a printed,
typed or legibly handwritten report shall be delivered to the Chief
of Police in lieu of the electronic filing. As soon as possible after
such technological problem has been remedied, any daily reports previously
submitted in a nonelectronic format should be resubmitted electronically.
For the purposes of this section, the term "delivery" shall be construed
to mean receipt by the office of the Police Chief. The required information
is as follows:
[Amended 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 15-22]
(1)
The name of the dealer and his employer or principal,
if any.
(2)
A complete description of each item purchased, including
weight of the precious metals or gems purchased by the dealer, said
description to include all names, letters, numbers and identifying
marks appearing on the item in question.
(3)
The name, address and age of the seller.
B.
When any dealer shall sell or otherwise cease to retain possession of any precious metals or gems which were in his possession under conditions governed by this chapter, he shall deliver to the Police Chief and to the purchaser or other person coming into possession thereof, under the conditions provided for in Subsection A above, a bill of sale containing the following required information:
(1)
The name of the dealer and his employer or principal,
if any.
(2)
A complete description of each item when it came into the possession of the dealer, as provided in Subsection A(2) above.
(3)
A complete description of any change of any nature
made while the item was retained by the dealer.
(4)
The name and address of the purchaser or other person
coming into possession of the item from the dealer.
No dealer shall purchase or make a loan on precious
metals or gems from any seller who is under the age of eighteen (18).
No dealer shall purchase or make a loan on precious metals or gems
from anyone whom the dealer believes or has reason to believe is not
the owner of said precious metals or gems.
[Amended 6-8-1993 by Ord. No. 93-23]
The dealer shall retain, either within the City
or an immediately adjacent county or city, all precious metals or
gems purchased or held as security for a minimum of 10 calendar days
from the time of filing the bill of sale of their purchase with the
Police Chief. During said period of time, no change of any nature
shall be made to any item containing precious metals or gems.
[Amended 6-8-1993 by Ord. No. 93-23]
Prior to the approval of an application for
a permit, the applicant shall enter a bond with corporate surety,
said bond to be payable to the City in the penal sum of $10,000 and
conditioned upon due observance of the terms of this chapter. In lieu
of posting said bond, the dealer may post cash or a letter of credit
from a recognized financial institution whose terms are satisfactory
to the Police Chief.
Any person aggrieved by a dealer's violation
of the provisions of this chapter and who recovers a final judgment
against said dealer therefor may maintain an action in his own name
upon the dealer's bond.
[Amended 6-8-1993 by Ord. No. 93-23; 10-11-2011 by Ord. No. 11-20]
Violation of any provisions of this chapter
shall be a Class 2 misdemeanor for the first offense and, upon conviction
therefor, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or confinement
in jail for not more than six months, either or both. Conviction of
any subsequent offense shall be a Class 1 misdemeanor and shall be
punished by a fine of not more than $2,500 or confinement in jail
for not more than 12 months, either or both.
Upon the first conviction of a dealer for violation of any provision
of this chapter, the Police Chief may revoke the dealer's permit for
one full year from the date the conviction becomes final. Such revocation
shall be mandatory for two full years from the date the conviction
becomes final upon a second conviction.
