Greenville Limits Payday Loan Operation Location
By J.J. CameronPayday Loan Writer
At least one city in South Carolina has gone from trying to regulate payday loans to actually doing something about the cash advance issue.
Yesterday, the Greenville City Council barred pawnshops and day-labor businesses from locating near residential areas and restricted where short-term loan companies can operate.
The unanimous vote ended weeks of disagreement between some city residents who have described such firms as neighborhood "leeches" and officials from title loan, cash advance and instant payday loan companies who say they can't all be lumped in the same group.
Some residents, according to The Greenville News, said Monday night the measure doesn't go far enough, while attorneys and officials from payday advance companies defended their clients and said the city action amounts to "industry exclusion."
The payday loan battle certainly isn't over.
The City Council solved the problem of definitions by conditionally allowing some lending businesses in areas zoned for general commercial use as long as they keep 3,000 feet apart and are located in a grocery store or a shopping center of at least 30,000 square feet.
A report and a map from city staffers showed the space requirement would essentially limit new check-cashing companies, payday loanclenders and title loan firms to Haywood Road and parts of Laurens Road.
Existing businesses that don't meet the new requirements will be allowed to remain until the end of their lease agreements, according to an amendment by Councilman David Sudduth. Those same firms would be allowed without restriction in areas zoned for service use under Monday's vote. Service areas include schools and hotels.
Sterling Laney, an attorney for publicly traded Advance America, which takes unsecured checks for collateral on small loans, said those his client's customers are trustworthy and residents needn't live in fear of them.
He described the average debtor as someone with a checking account, and an Advance America employee suggested many simply need a quick cash loan for a child's medication or to fix a car to get to work. About two dozen supporters wore neon green stickers that said, "I choose payday lending."
Mayor Knox White said he wasn't 100 percent satisfied with Monday's final amended ordinance, but that its aim to "clean up" Laurens, Pleasantburg, Stone Avenue and the Western Corridor is a worthy one.
