(A) No new license shall be issued until the County Sheriff’s Department has conducted an investigation of the representations set forth in the application, the applicant’s moral character and the applicant’s financial status. All applicants must cooperate with this investigation.
(B) (1) The City Council may issue a license before an investigation, for an applicant who:
(a) Had a license within the previous five years for the establishment which is specified in the application and which is continuing to operate under a license;
(b) Wishes to resume operation of the business without sufficient time, through no fault of his or her own, to meet the normal procedural requirements;
(c) Had no criminal license convictions, or license suspensions or revocations, during the prior licensed period; and
(d) Otherwise qualifies and meets the requirements for a license.
(2) In this situation, the City Council may immediately issue an interim license to the applicant for a period no longer than 90 days. The applicant must thereafter proceed through the specified requirements for an investigation. The applicant shall have no greater right to continuation of the license than he or she would have had to issuance of a new license following the normal procedure without the interim license.
(C) After investigation and hearing, the Council shall, at its discretion, grant or deny the application. Each application shall require a four-fifths affirmative vote by the City Council for approval.
(D) (1) Each license shall be issued only to the applicant and for the premises described in the application.
(2) No license may be transferred to another person or place without application to the Council in the same manner as an application for a new license. Transfer of 25% or more of the stock of a corporation or of a controlling interest thereof, whichever is less, shall be deemed a transfer of the license of a corporate licensee. If the licensee is a corporation which is wholly owned by another corporation, the same provisions about the transfer of the stock or a controlling interest shall apply to that parent corporation, any second parent corporation which wholly owns the parent corporation, and all other similarly situated parent corporations up through the chain of ownership. Transfer of this amount of stock without prior Council approval is a ground for revocation or suspension of the license.
(3) In addition, each day the licensee operates under the license after a transfer has taken place without obtaining Council approval shall be a separate violation of this chapter.
(E) (1) Any application for a new license may be considered by the City Council at the same time an applicant is requesting any land use approvals needed for the site, including site plan review, rezoning or an amendment to the Comprehensive Guide Plan.
(2) Final approval of a license shall not be granted until the City Council has given at least preliminary approval to any necessary land use request.
(3) If an application is granted for a location where a building is under construction or not ready for occupancy, the license shall not be delivered to the licensee until a certificate of occupancy has been issued for the licensed premises.
(F) In the case of the death of a licensee, the personal representative of a licensee may continue operation of the business for not more than 90 days after the licensee’s death.
(Prior Code, § 112.20) (Ord. 583, passed 11-6-1996)