It shall be unlawful and a violation of the City Code for any person or entity, either directly or indirectly, to conduct or enter into a business, profession, or occupation, including the rental of real property, within the city without first obtaining a Certificate of Use and Occupancy and being issued a local business tax receipt by the city. Further, it is unlawful for a property owner to allow by lease, license, grant or other written or oral agreement, the use of any real property for the operation of a business without a valid and current Certificate of Use and Occupancy including required inspection and Local Business Tax Receipt. Violation of this section is violation of the City Code punishable under Chapter 2, Article V of this Code.
(a) Prior to the issuance of a Business Tax Receipt, a person shall file an application for Certificate of Use and Occupancy with the city. The application shall be on a form prescribed by the city, and shall be filed together with such other documentation as hereinafter set or as required by state law. The Business Tax Receipt portion of the form shall require disclosure of the Federal Identification Number or Social Security number of the person to be licensed.
(c) Business Tax Receipts and Certificate of Use and Occupancy are issued for a period of twelve (12) months, from October 1st to the following September 30th. They must be renewed annually with an annual renewal fee approved by the City Commission. To avoid renewal late fees, fees are payable by October 1st. After January 30th, late renewals require a Code Compliance (interior and exterior) inspection of the property. Also see Article V for additional inspection requirements.
(d) If the real property that is to be used for the operation of a business is subject to unpaid city fines, fees or Code violation liens, the city shall not issue a Certificate of Use and Occupancy or conduct a use and occupancy inspection until such time as all liens, fines or fees on the property are fully paid, including interest due and any assessable costs and until all Code violations are brought into compliance.
(e) Local Responsible Party (LRP) required.
(1) Whenever any property is required to have a Certificate of Use and Occupancy under this article, the owner shall designate in writing, on a form provided by the city, a local responsible party which shall be a minimum of twenty-five (25) years of age, for contact by city officials relating to the property. The owner shall also provide a valid address and phone number for the LRP.
(2) The LRP under this section must reside within Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin or St. Lucie County, except that the LRP for a short-term rental must reside within Broward, Palm Beach or Martin County. The purpose of this more restrictive locational standard applicable to short-term rentals is to ensure that the handling of matters requiring onsite presence of the LRP are attended to within approximately one (1) hour. The property owner may be the designated LRP if they meet the requirements of this Article.
(3) A LRP shall have the authority to adequately and timely respond to any Code compliance issues that may arise on the subject property and shall be responsible for the care, custody, control and compliance of the rental property. The Local Responsible Party may apply for a Certificate of Use and Occupancy, Business Tax Receipt, and inspections on behalf of the owner.
(4) An owner shall notify the Development Department in writing of any change in the designation of the local responsible party within ten (10) business days of such change.
(5) Failure to designate or engage a LRP meeting the requirements of this section shall be a violation of the City Code punishable under Chapter 2, Article V of this Code.
(f) Only one (1) Certificate of Use and Occupancy shall be issued for each parcel of real property as described by the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office through the provision of a property control number. Certificate of Use and Occupancy is not transferable.
(g) All Certificate of Use and Occupancy applications are subject to inspection of the real property being used for the operation of the business by the City. The Certificate of Use and Occupancy inspection charges shall be set by resolution of the City Commission. If the inspection process should reveal Zoning, Building, Housing or Fire Code violations, they must be corrected and a re-inspection made by the appropriate department. All violations must be corrected before approval of occupancy. If the owner of a dwelling does not reside at the dwelling, and the dwelling is occupied by anyone, including a relative of the owner of the dwelling, there is a presumption that the dwelling is being rented and must have a Certificate of Use and Occupancy and a Business Tax Receipt. This presumption may be rebutted by the owner of the dwelling applying for an exemption from the Certificate of Use and Occupancy and Business Tax Receipt. The exemption application shall include an affidavit from the owner that all persons residing at the dwelling are relatives of the owner and that these relatives pay no rent or other consideration for the privilege of living at the dwelling and that the relatives provide no maintenance or other services in return for the right to live at the dwelling. An exemption application must be filed each year that the property is used in this manner.
(h) A short-tem rental approved by the City to operate as a residential rental prior to the adoption of these regulations cannot be automatically renewed. A new application must be filed and be reviewed and processed in accordance with all applicable requirements of Article V as well as Article I of this Chapter.
(Ord. No. 94-15, § 1, 6-21-94; Ord. No. 95-22, § 2, 7-5-95; Ord. No. 04-026, § 1, 4-20-04; Ord. No. 06-096, § 2, 1-2-07; Ord. No. 12-012, § 2, 7-3-12; Ord. No. 14-018, § 2, 9-3-14; Ord. No. 23- 012, § 3, 7-18-23)