Pawn Shop Proposal Rejected by Council

A woman’s proposal to open what would have been the city’s only pawn shop has been rejected by the City Council over concerns about crime and community standards.

“I don’t think this is providing for the general welfare of the public,” Councilwoman Mary Ann Jones said before the council voted Monday. “It does not [contribute] to the good morals of our citizens, and I don’t think it meets the standards of our community.”

Alicia Wagner wanted to open her own enterprise, the Alicia Pawn Shop, on 5177 Lincoln Ave. after spending nine years in the pawn business. Wagner, a resident of Lakewood, disputed the claim that her store would bring crime to the city.

“I think people had the wrong idea,” Wagner said Tuesday. “We cooperate with police all the time.”

Wagner said that thrift stores and other consignment shops, which exist in Cypress, often do not check to see if items are stolen.

“They put the item for sale that day,” she said. “We don’t. We wait 30 days, take names, addresses and fingerprints, and check with the police.”

Other council members, however, said they did not allow the shop because it would be located in a building that has received funding from the city’s Redevelopment Agency.

“I don’t think this is what the community had in mind when they [supported] redevelopment along Lincoln Avenue,” Mayor Walter K. Bowman said.

Councilwoman Cecilia L. Age was the lone dissenter, saying that Wagner should be given the chance to do business and could be evaluated in a year.

“Police would be doing checks,” she said. “You can’t say that everything in Cypress should appeal to all people.”