The brief agenda at the May 6 meeting of the Fayetteville City Council included the imposition of a 90-day moratorium on permitting or licensing pawn shops and the transfer of $19,000 to the Downtown Development Authority’s (DDA) regular account.
City senior planner Linwood Robinson said that recent inquiries related to pawn shops led to the need to have the current ordinance clarify the zoning districts where the shops could be located.
“During the review process, staff noticed that there are no provisions in the city’s zoning code concerning the permitted use and appropriate zoning district for the placement of pawn shops to mirror the stipulations contained in the pawn shop ordinance,” Robinson said.
“Consequently, as a housekeeping matter and an attempt to make sure pawn shops approved for operation in Fayetteville are placed in appropriate zoning classifications, staff, the city attorney and Planning and Zoning Commission is conducting research on community impact and which zoning district is the best zoning designation for the placement of pawn shops,” Robinson said.
The council unanimously approved the recommended 90-day moratorium.
Also at the meeting, the council approved the assignment of a $19,000 balance in the DDA Designated Fund Balance from the sale of the Hollingsworth House to the DDA regular account to support downtown revitalization.
DDA Director Brian Wismer in an April 22 memo said that the City Council in FY 2008 assigned $50,000 from the sale of the Hollingsworth House to the DDA Designated Fund Balance to be used for downtown projects as appropriate needs were identified. An appropriation of $31,000 was approved by the City Council for the Preserve America matching grant for the downtown way-finding sign program, leaving a balance of $19,000, Wismer said.
DDA requested that these remaining funds be assigned to the DDA without conditions where the funds can be directed to support downtown revitalization efforts including, but not limited to, the Downtown Facade Grant Program, Wismer said, adding that DDA would use any remaining funds for downtown planning and improvements.
