Rohnert Park, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

, a definition that folds in the state licensing scheme but leaves the location decision to the city. 030 places "Pawn Shop" in the C-R (Regional Commercial) column with a "C," meaning Conditional Use Permit approval by the Planning Commission is required before a pawn shop can open, and the C-O (Professional/Administrative Office) and C-N (Neighborhood Commercial) columns are blank, so the use is not allowed there at all, whether by right or by administrative permit. That single-district, discretionary-review posture is stricter than the treatment the same table gives two related cash-lending uses: a "Payday Loan Establishment" is listed "P" (permitted outright) in C-R, and a "Check Cashing Store" is also "P" in C-R, while a "Car Title Loan Business" sits at "C" like a pawn shop.

The zoning code separately defines "Banks/Savings and Loan/Credit Unions" to specifically exclude pawn shops, check cashing stores, payday loan establishments and car title loan establishments, keeping this cluster of cash-for-collateral uses out of the bank-friendly commercial categories. Because a pawn shop CUP goes to the Planning Commission rather than being handled administratively, an applicant should expect a public hearing and findings on compatibility with the surrounding C-R development before any permit issues. Operating a pawn shop outside the C-R district, or without the required Conditional Use Permit, is treated like any other zoning code violation citywide.