Menlo Park: New fence pleases neighbors Menlo Park: New fence pleases neighbors (May 04, 2005)

** But they say it's not enough to stop armed robberies at La Hacienda Market.

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

For Mark Costa and many other residents of Menlo Park's Willows neighborhood, the new 7-foot wooden fence behind La Hacienda Market is a very welcome development.

Watching their backs after a spate of armed robberies at La Hacienda, the residents are pleased to see that the fence walls off the back parking lot, blocking vehicle access to an alley.

"Denying the robbers use of this alley as a getaway or staging area is a HUGE step forward," Mr. Costa wrote in a recent posting to an online newsgroup about the market at 1933 Menalto Ave.

In another security measure, market officials have put up wood walls limiting access to the check-cashing counter. A reporter visiting in the middle of the day last week also spotted a security guard patrolling the parking lot and a police cruiser parked across the street.

These developments, though, are only part of the issue. Many residents want stricter regulations or even a ban on check-cashing, which they say utilizes large sums of cash and is irresistible to robbers. Others want the city to mandate more security upgrades at La Hacienda and other small markets with check-cashing.

Police have reported armed robberies at the Mi Rancho and La Michoacana markets, both Willow Road markets offering check-cashing. There has been a string of 34 armed robberies at small markets in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties since June 2004, police said.

What to do next in Menlo Park is up to the City Council, which is expected to give policy direction on these issues this week, at a special Thursday meeting on May 5. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 701 Laurel St.
The city's options

According to a staff report released just before the Almanac's deadline, authored by Menlo Park Police Cmdr. Terri Molakides and City Attorney Bill McClure, the council has several options for regulating check-cashing in the city.

First, the city could use its police power to regulate check-cashing based on health and safety concerns. This could mean adopting an ordinance mandating safety measures such as better lighting, uncovered front windows and security cameras. It would apply to all new and existing check-cashing businesses in Menlo Park.

As a second option, the council could adopt a zoning ordinance to require new check-cashing services to obtain a use permit. Zoning ordinances can regulate such things as hours of operation, litter removal and proximity to homes. Existing operations would not have to apply for a use permit until a set time had passed, unless they were found to be a public nuisance.

Thirdly, the council could combine the first two approaches.

Fourthly, the council could call for nuisance abatement proceedings against La Hacienda to mandate that the market immediately stop cashing checks because it is not safe. The council would have to hold hearings to determine whether the service is indeed a public nuisance.

Police say they have conducted safety inspections at La Hacienda and the other markets and have trained staff on robbery prevention. They also advised putting up the new back fence as a crime deterrent.

They do say, however, that La Hacienda has not made all recommended safety upgrades. (Police decline to give specifics for security reasons.)

La Hacienda owner Ramiro Chavez has not responded to repeated telephone and e-mail requests by the Almanac for comment.
No state permit

Another issue that has sparked much discussion on newsgroups in the Willows was the recent discovery that La Hacienda had been running its check-cashing service without a required permit from the state Attorney General's Department of Justice.

While retail stores that charge $2 or less to cash checks are exempt from the permit requirement, La Hacienda, Mi Rancho and La Michoacana have charged 1 to 1.5 percent of the check and have had no permit, according to the staff report.

La Hacienda has recently come into compliance by reducing its fees to $2 per check, the report reads. Still, Mr. McClure said last week that a complaint against La Hacienda has been filed with the attorney general's office.

The check-cashing industry has been experiencing swift growth, doubling in the last six years to more than 6,000 offices nationwide, according to the report. Users tend to be families with low incomes, immigrants and others without bank accounts.

Few cities have adopted regulations on check-cashing, according to the staff report. Oakland passed a law last year that limits such businesses to specific zoning districts and requires new ones to get a use permit.
INFORMATION

The Menlo Park City Council will hold a special meeting on the recent market robberies on Thursday, May 5. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 701 Laurel St.

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