A. Any person desiring to obtain a permit, or renewal of an existing permit, to act as an escort, shall make application to the Chief of Police or his designated representative. Prior to submitting such application for a permit or renewal of a permit, a nonrefundable fee, as established by resolution of the City Council, shall be paid to the Department of Finance to defray, in part, the cost of the investigation and report required by this chapter. The Department of Finance shall issue a receipt showing that such permit application or renewal fee has been paid. The receipt, or a copy thereof, shall be supplied to the Chief of Police at the time such application is filed. Permit fees required under this chapter shall be in addition to any license, permit or fee required under any other chapter of this code.
B. Neither the filing of an application for a permit, or renewal thereof, nor the payment of an application or renewal fee, shall authorize a person to act as an escort until such permit has been granted or renewed.
C. Each applicant for an escort permit, or renewal thereof, shall furnish the information required by subsections (C)(1) through (12) of Section 7.140.070, and shall, in addition, furnish the following information:
1. A certificate from a medical doctor licensed to practice in the State of California, stating that the applicant has within thirty days immediately preceding the date of the application been examined and found to be free of any contagious or communicable disease;
2. Satisfactory evidence that the applicant is employed, or has been offered employment, by an escort bureau or introductory service holding a valid permit issued by the City including the name and address of the employer or prospective employer and the fact that such employment or continued employment is contingent upon the issuance of said permit; and
3. Such other identification and information as the Chief of Police may require in order to discover the truth of the matters required to be set forth in the application.
D. The Chief of Police may require the applicant to appear in person at the Police Department in order to be photographed and fingerprinted.
E. The Chief of Police shall have a reasonable period of time in which to investigate the application and background of the applicant.
F. The Chief of Police, within ninety days after receiving the application, shall grant the permit, or renewal thereof, only if he finds that all of the requirements of subsections (H)(1) through (4) of Section 7.140.070 have been met, and, in addition, if he finds that the following additional requirements have been met:
1. The applicant has furnished an acceptable medical certificate in compliance with subsection (C)(1) of this section;
2. The applicant has not had an escort bureau, introductory service or escort permit or other similar license or permit denied or suspended or revoked for cause by the City or any other city or county located in or out of this State within the five years immediately preceding the date of the filing of the application;
3. The applicant is at least eighteen years of age;
4. The applicant has not been convicted or pleaded nolo contendere or guilty to a misdemeanor or felony crime of moral turpitude or a misdemeanor or felony crime involving sexual misconduct including, but not limited to, all offenses listed in Penal Code Section 290, Penal Code Sections 311.2 through 311.7, Penal Code Sections 314 through 318, and subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), or (h) of Section 647 of the Penal Code, or any offenses involving pimping, pandering, prostitution or lewd conduct.
G. If the Chief of Police does not find that all of the requirements set forth in subsection F of this section have been met, he shall deny the application for the permit or renewal thereof. In the event the application for the permit, or renewal thereof, is denied by the Chief of Police, written notice of such denial shall be given to the applicant specifying the ground or grounds of such denial. Notice of denial of the application for the permit, or renewal thereof shall be deemed to have been served if it in fact is personally served on the applicant or when deposited in the United States mail with postage prepaid and addressed to the applicant at his or her residence address as set forth in the application for the permit or renewal thereof. Any applicant whose application for an escort permit, or renewal thereof, has been denied by the Chief of Police may appeal such denial to the City Manager within twenty days of such denial.
H. When any change occurs regarding the written information required by subsection C of this section, the applicant or permit holder, as the case may be, shall give written notification of such change to the Chief of Police within twenty-four hours after such change. (Ord. 2456 § 1 (part), 1983).