Council Rejects Pawn Shop Plan

Under most circumstances, any business wanting to set up shop on High Street, Moorpark’s ailing downtown commercial strip, would be welcomed with open arms by city officials and the area’s few remaining merchants.

But when the business in question is a pawn shop, the reception is not so warm.

City Council members Wednesday rejected a proposal to establish a pawn shop in an old Simi Valley bank building on High Street, saying the business would only contribute to the area’s woes.

In July, the city’s community development director turned down an application by Thousand Oaks resident Linda Waynert to open the pawn shop. The shop’s line of business, director Nelson Miller decided, was not an acceptable use within the area’s commercial zone.

The Moorpark Planning Commission, however, disagreed. Although pawn shops are not specifically included in the list of uses permitted in a commercial zone, the commission decided they are similar to several permitted businesses and should therefore be allowed.

Several High Street business owners appealed the Planning Commission’s decision, complaining that the negative image many people have of pawnshops would scare away customers.

Although Waynert appealed to council members to think of the shop as a “working man’s bank,” the council rejected her proposal.

“I find it extremely difficult to find an equation between a pawn shop and a bank,” Councilwoman Eloise Brown said. “They’re extremely different.”