Buffalo Grove adds new restrictions on pawn, resale shops

Opening a pawn or resale shop in Buffalo Grove now requires village approval, thanks to a change to the town's zoning ordinance approved recently by village trustees.

The measure also bars such businesses from being located within 1,000 feet of one another, preventing them from becoming concentrated in one part of town.

Village Manager Dane Bragg said there was no specific event that led to the change, but after reviewing standards with the police chief, they found village regulations concerning such businesses to be lacking.

The ordinance itself notes that stolen goods are often sold for cash at pawn shops and resale shops, and that police say identifying and recovering those stolen goods is a difficult task, as is identifying those who sold them in the first place.

Bragg said the village is not seeing more of these types of establishments opening in the village. In fact, he said, one or two “cash for gold” type businesses closed recently.

“We have seen around the area more thrift and resale shops popping up, but not necessarily in Buffalo Grove,” he said.