The Plan Commission will recommend to the Village Board that pawn shops be banned from operating in the village’s central business district.

By a unanimous vote, commission members agreed to eliminate pawn shops from the village code along with a host of other businesses when it met Monday.

The decision followed testimony from residents and business owners who emphatically objected to pawn shops on the grounds they did not fit in with the village’s image and  they drew in an undesirable element to the central business district.

Also testifying at the public hearing was Berwyn resident Andrew Grayson, who had already issued a business license to open All-Star Jewelry and Loan, which he described as a high end establishment that would feature estate jewelry and video games. Grayson, who managed a pawn shop n North Riverside was joined by several family members at Monday’s gearing

 The recommendation will be placed on the agenda of the July 13 Village Board meeting and will likely be adopted by the board.