El Cajon, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Zoning Chapter 17.250, "Secondhand Merchandise Stores and Pawn Shops," applies to every pawn shop, secondhand merchandise store, or kiosk as defined in Section 17.105.020, though it exempts businesses that only take trade-ins toward a similar purchase as an accessory use, and it exempts thrift or resale stores entirely (Section 17.250.020). Any covered store must obtain a conditional use permit under Chapter 17.50 and a special operation license under Chapter 5.16, in addition to the business license and definitions in Chapter 5.48 (Section 17.250.030); Chapter 5.48 defines a secondhand dealer as anyone whose business includes buying, selling, trading, taking in pawn, or auctioning secondhand tangible personal property under Business and Professions Code Section 21626.

Section 17.250.050 sets the location standards: no store may sit within 2,000 feet of another pawn shop or secondhand store, or within 500 feet of residentially zoned property, a school, college, university, religious facility, park, or playground, with distances measured between the closest property lines. Stores inside Specific Plan No. 462 are barred outright, and those within 500 feet of Specific Plan No. 182 are barred too, though stores in shopping malls of 15 acres or more are exempt from the location rules. Operating stores must keep windows unobstructed during business hours, provide adequate exterior lighting that doesn't spill onto neighboring residential or commercial property, and may be required to run at least two 24-hour high-definition security cameras that store 30 days of footage for the police department (Section 17.250.060).