Sonia Moghe - email
Photo: Residents are asked to raise their hands if they want the Pawn Shop gone.
KENNESAW, GA (CBS ATLANTA)
Residents near the new Cruchelow Jewelry and Loan store told Kennesaw Mayor Mark Mathews they want the shop gone.
Neighbor Carol Robertson said she was at a meeting in 2004 between residents, the city and the landlord, where she said residents were promised that, if they allowed businesses to come to this residentially-zoned land, certain types of businesses like pawn shops would not be allowed.
"When you have people that (are) in a pawn situation, you're inviting people who are not of the cleanest elements sometimes who are coming in with stolen goods," Robertson said.
Mathews admitted that the city should not have approved a pawn broker's license for the business.
"We had a terrible oversight and for that I apologize to the residents, I apologize to the business owner," Mathews said. "They shouldn't be in that position."
But Nancy Johnson, a friend of the Cruchelow Jewelry and Loan owners, said the owners had no idea the shop they decided to rent was on land that was zoned to prohibit pawn shops.
"Honestly, they've put so much into this and they're good people," Johnson said. "They just want to bring a business to their community, and they didn't know about any of it."
Johnson said the owners, who are husband and wife, spent about $18,000 fixing up the space to turn it into a shop and cannot afford a move. She said she feels that the landlord did know about the agreement to prohibit pawn shops on that land since he was allegedly at the 2004 meeting with residents.
"He knew, I've got a copy of the contract (he made with the business owners), it's all through the contract, he explicitly said that no outdoor sign could say pawn," Johnson said.
The City Council can decide whether or not to suspend, revoke or allow the store's pawn broker license by April 2.
