The new Toledo law requiring convenience stores to be licensed and install security cameras - which has been challenged in federal court by an alliance of shop owners - will not be enforced until the end of the month, people on both sides of the legal battle said yesterday.
Scott Ciolek of the Toledo law firm Ciolek & Wicklund said the city agreed to the delay after meeting Tuesday with 20 store owners and operators.
Mr. Ciolek said the law is unconstitutional and will force some stores out of business.
He filed a complaint April 2 in U.S. District Court in Toledo on behalf of the Midwest Retailers
Association, seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction against the ordinance.
He declined to reveal what stores make up the group."I am hoping they abolish the whole thing and work with the Midwest Retailers Association to find a new way to turn crime around," he said.
Keith Winterhalter, senior attorney for the city, said they were "investigating some kind of settlement of the lawsuit" that might be advantageous for both sides.
The city must respond to the complaint by Monday.
"We are going to deny the allegations of the complaint and, at this juncture, proceed as we would for any other litigation," Mr. Winterhalter said.
The law was publicized as a tool for controlling crime, loitering, littering, and underage alcohol and tobacco sales that some community organizations attribute to neighborhood carryouts.
Toledo City Council on Dec. 11 approved, by a 9-2 vote, the requirement for convenience stores - establishments smaller than 5,000 square feet selling food and beverages - to be licensed for $250 annually.
The law requires owners to have security cameras and imposes a $100-a-day fine for owners who do not follow rules that dictate placement and how many times a videotape can be recorded over.
The video footage also must be turned over to Toledo police upon request.
Mr. Ciolek said the law will hold business owners accountable for problems over which they have little control, such as drug dealing, gambling, and prostitution.
He claimed the requirement to turn over surveillance video within eight hours is an unreasonable search and seizure.
Mamoun Awwad, owner of Express Carryout, 1920 Mulberry St., said he paid a lot of money for his surveillance system, but it does not meet the requirements dictated by the law.
"Everyone has cameras in their stores now," Mr. Awwad said. "With this law, we are going to be responsible for things happening outside the store and we can call the police, but we cannot do something about it without police help."
Contact Ignazio Messina at:
imessina@theblade.com
or 419-724-6171.
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