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Every new business shall file a complete application for a business operator’s license with the office of the Community Planning & Development Department before engaging in business. It is strictly declared that any new business being proposed shall have its own unique ‘business name’ and shall not be similarly sounding or be substantially identical to any other existing business in Alamo, Texas. The intent of having differing business names is to not induce any confusion or cause delays in any possible calls for emergency services, said calls usually being laced with stress and strain. (Ord. 16-08-09, 8-12-2009; amd. Ord. 07-01-22, 1-18-2022)
Every new business shall pay a separate fee for an initial fire inspection. All existing businesses shall pay an annual inspection fee. The following fees apply:
Square Feet | Initial Inspection | Annual Inspection |
0 - 1,999 | $ 75.00 | $ 40.00 |
2,000 - 4,999 | 100.00 | 70.00 |
5,000 - 7,999 | 150.00 | 100.00 |
Over 8,000 | 300.00 | 150.00 |
(Ord. 30-09-13, 9-24-2013)
To the extent required by state law, each business operator:
A. Must possess a state sales tax permit; and
B. Must be responsible for collecting the appropriate sales taxes and reporting those taxes to the appropriate authorities. (Ord. 16-08-09, 8-12-2009)
All business operators shall ensure that all establishments:
A. Have access to an arterial street;
B. Have adequate off street parking that meets city code requirements;
C. Have adequate sanitary (restrooms) facilities for men and women that meet all applicable city codes;
D. Have adequate on-site garbage and trash collection containers that meet all applicable city codes and any applicable contractual obligations the City of Alamo may have with its authorized solid waste company. If the business will have a dumpster bin, it shall comply with the specificity and intent of Section 4-3-3 (F), i.e., said dumpster bin shall be entirely buffered with an opaque fence/wall; and equipped with gates to entirely buffer it. These provisions shall be applicable to any nonresidential user or multi-family development owner, even if the nonresidential user or multi-family development pre-existed the adoption of this provision, and where their dumpster bin has been determined by the City of Alamo to induce or create a health risk to the public, patrons, tenants, and/or its own employees; however, should the dumpster bin historically be on City ROW, the matter will be resolved on a case-by-case basis as assessed/determined by the City Manager's Office, the operator/owner, the city's solid waste provider, and/or other appropriate city departments. Prior to the construction of the dumpster bins' enclosure, the owner/agent shall secure pre-clearance from the City's solid waste provider to assure appropriateness of approach, etc.;
E. Have fire prevention and protection equipment on site that meet all applicable city codes; and
F. Comply with all applicable city codes.
G. A business that has or will have open storage of products that are either discarded or stored, e.g., tires, etc., shall be required to totally buffer the specific containment area with a 6' to 8' high obscuring enclosure; this shall be mandated even though the business premises may not abut a residential property. Major retailers that sell lumber, etc., are exempt from this provision since such are commonly used to display their materials for retail purposes. Furthermore, this fence buffer mandate shall be applicable to any existing nonresidential user that has open storage without an obscuring buffer and where such 'storage area' is deemed to induce or create a health risk to the public, patrons, tenants, and/or its own employees.
(Ord. 16-08-09, 8-12-2009; amd. Ord. 46-09-23, 9-5-2023)
All new business operations in the city shall submit a construction and development plan detailing the zoning district, sales area, parking area, fire prevention and protection equipment, fire lanes, sanitary facilities, garbage and/or trash collection containers and abutting properties zoning district. (Ord. 16-08-09, 8-12-2009)