Secondhand goods dealers in Cherry Hill will soon have to follow regulations stemming from an ordinance adopted by council at the Monday, Feb. 11 meeting.
With no formal regulations in place and an uptick of secondhand goods businesses in the township, council saw the need for change.
There will be an annual $300 fee for the businesses, including pawnshops and Cash For Gold, to register, township spokeswoman Bridget Palmer said.
The fee, said Debra Davis, a township jeweler, is not enough.
“I think your law needs more teeth,” Davis said.
While electronic tracking of gold is a great idea, she said, “You have to have a better way to enforce it.”
The new system will help police to monitor shops, while reducing the man-hours that have been required with paper receipts.
“I think it’s a start that we have,” said councilman Jim Bannar.
Liquor ordinance amendment
The township has decided to make for stricter controls for the available liquor license through a revised ordinance that was introduced at the meeting.
A public auction that was scheduled for Feb. 12 was canceled with a new date still to be announced following council authorization, according to Palmer.
The hope for the changes, Palmer said, is to strike a balance of convenience and the health and wellness of the community.
The new controls, according to the ordinance, ensure that alcoholic beverages will be confined to a single, separate area of a store that can be secured during hours when the sale of liquor is prohibited.
A store that wishes to sell alcoholic beverages must be at least 15,000 square feet in size and there must be specified cash registers for liquor sales.
Intersection changes
The township will see two new yield signs and a three way stop following ordinance adoptions.
The yield signs will be placed at Old Salem Road and Old Salem Court and Brookdale Drive and Brookdale Court.
The three way stop will be installed at Browning Lane and South Woodleigh Drive.
“It’s only the second multi-way stop intersection in the township,” Palmer said in January. “The state’s traffic regulations… they set strict criteria that not many intersections in town meet it.”
In addition, an ordinance was introduced on first reading to allow for yield signs to be removed and replaced with stop signs at the following intersections:
North Valleybrook Road and Pinebrook Road, North Valleybrook Road and South Brookfield Road, North Valleybrook Road and Brookfield Court, West Valleybrook Road and Willowbrook Road, West Valleybrook Road and Oakdale Road, West Valleybrook Road and Greenwood Road, East Valleybrook Road and Ashbrook Road, East Valleybrook Road and Greenwood Road, East Valleybrook Road and Sunnybrook Road, Easy Valleybrook Road and Laurelbrook Road, Ashbrook Road and Oakdale Road, North Brookfield Road and Pinebrook Road, North Brookfield Road and Maplebrook Court, North Brookfield Road and Cedarbrook Road, and South Brookfield Road and Cedarbrook Road.
Next meeting
The next meeting of the Cherry Hill council is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in town hall, 820 Mercer St.
Ordinances that were introduced on first reading will be subject to public hearings and final adoptions at the meeting.
