HOOVER – A moratorium on the issuance of new licenses for certain types of businesses in Hoover has been extended by a year.

The Hoover City Council in October 2018 approved a one-year moratorium on new licenses for businesses whose primary functions include payday loans, car title loans, check cashing, tattoo parlor, pawn shop and vape shop.

At its meeting on Monday, Oct. 7, the Council approved a one-year extension on the moratorium.

“The City Council has determined that additional time is needed for the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission and the city planner to assist the City Council in the subsequent revisions of its zoning ordinance and in the evaluation of the current mix of businesses in Hoover and to plan for the related needs of the city,” the resolution read. “The Council finds and determines that it is necessary for the protection, health, safety, comfort and the general welfare of the citizens of the city of Hoover and in the best interest of the city, to continue the moratorium…”

When it was first proposed, Council members said the moratorium was a response to proliferation of these types of businesses in certain parts of the city.

“Many of us campaigned on protecting our older, established neighborhoods,” Councilman Casey Middlebrooks said about where many of the targeted businesses have located when he proposed the resolution. “I feel like this resolution is one step in fulfilling that promise.”

The moratorium does not apply to current businesses re-applying for a license at their current location or a new location.