Hoover considers new restrictions for location of pawn shops, payday loan, tobacco, vape stores

Hoover officials once again have come up with a proposal to regulate the location of pawn shops, short-term loan shops, vape stores and tobacco stores.

The new proposal would prohibit such stores from opening within 500 feet of a residential area and within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school, child care facility, church, public library, public playground, public park, youth center or other space primarily used for youth-oriented activities.

Also, any such stores would only be allowed in C-2, C-3 or C-4 commercial zones and would have to get special permission from the city to operate in such zones as a “conditional use.”

Further, any such stores would not be allowed within 1,000 feet of another store in any of those categories.

The Hoover City Council in October 2018 passed a moratorium against such businesses until the city has a chance to amend its zoning ordinance to better protect the community from them. The council on Oct. 7 of this year renewed that moratorium for another year to give more time for development of the new zoning restrictions.

Hoover Councilman Casey Middlebrooks last year said these types of businesses are undesirable and hinder the recruitment of desirable businesses. Also, Middlebrooks said many council members campaigned on protecting older, established neighborhoods in Hoover from decay, and some older neighborhoods have seen a proliferation of these types of businesses.

The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday night voted 7-0 to recommend the City Council approve the new zoning restrictions, so now the proposal goes to the Hoover City Council.

Councilman Mike Shaw, who also is a member of the zoning board, said he thinks a majority of the council will support the new restrictions. The distance restrictions already apply to vape stores, thanks to a new law passed by the state Legislature this spring, Shaw said.

Council members said they likely would lift the moratorium against such businesses once new restrictions are enacted.

City Planner Mac Martin said any existing pawn shops, short-term loan shops, vape stores or tobacco stores would not be affected by the new restrictions. They would be “grandfathered” at their existing location and would be allowed to stay in that location as a “nonconforming” business.

Businesses that sell vaping and tobacco goods as an ancillary product, such as gasoline stations and grocery stores, also would not be affected by these restrictions, Martin said. It applies only to vape and tobacco stores where those products are the primary source of revenue, he said.

The ordinance does apply, however, to any business that serves as a pawnbroker and/or secondhand dealer and any business that provides short-term loans on car titles, installment loans of 90 days or less, and/or payday loans, except a bank or savings and loan institution regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.