No person shall directly or indirectly keep for retail sale, sell at retail or offer to sell or give away as free samples any tobacco, tobacco products or tobacco-related device without first having obtained a license to do so from the city.
(A) An application for a license shall be made to the City Clerk on a form provided by the city and shall be accompanied by the annual license fee of $200. Said fee is not returnable and shall not be prorated, except as may otherwise be provided herein.
(B) The application shall contain the full name of the applicant, the applicant’s residential and business address and telephone numbers, the names and address of the business for which the license is sought and any additional information the city deems necessary. If the City Clerk shall determine that an application is incomplete, he or she shall return the application to the applicant with notice of the information necessary to make the application complete.
(C) The completed application shall be delivered to the Police Department for investigation. The Police Department shall conduct investigation of the applicant and application regarding the fitness of the applicant to hold a license pursuant to the standards set forth in this section, and report the results of its investigation to the City Clerk within ten business days of receipt of the application.
(D) Upon receipt of the results of the Police Department’s investigation, the City Clerk shall forward the application to the City Council for action at its next regularly scheduled meeting. If the Council shall approve the license, the Clerk shall issue the license to the applicant, which shall be only for the location on the application. If the Council denies the license, written notice of the denial shall be given to the applicant along with notice of the applicant’s right to appeal the Council’s decision pursuant to division (E) below.
(E) A person wishing to appeal shall file with the City Clerk a written request for a hearing within ten days after receipt of notification of the denial. Said request shall specify the order, decision or condition being appealed, the date notification was received and the ordinance under which the appeal is authorized. Said request will thereupon be scheduled on the agenda of the next regular City Council meeting. The city shall, upon receipt of a request for a hearing, provide written notice of the time and place of the hearing to the requesting party. The city shall hear relevant testimony and receive relevant evidence. At the trial of fact, the City Council shall make the determination of the relevancy of testimony or evidence. After considering all such evidence and testimony submitted, the Council may order on the record such action as it, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate.
(Ord. 2002-5, passed 3-12-2002; 2020-04, passed 2-11-2020)
Penalty, see § 111.99