No person shall operate a rooming house, or shall occupy or let to another for occupancy any rooming unit in any rooming house, except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(A) Register required; inspection; false information. Every owner, operator, manager or their agent, servant or employee under this subchapter shall provide and maintain a register in which shall be inscribed, in ink, at the time of arrival, the correct name of every guest renting or occupying a room as verified by and photocopy held of valid photo identification, together with the home street and city address of each such guest, and the number of the space assigned, together with the time when such was rented. When any guest shall terminate his stay, it shall be the duty of the owner, operator, manager, or their agent, servant or employee, to see to it that the time thereof is entered in the register. Each such check in/out is required to be recorded in the register. Such register shall be open to inspection to police, fire and health officers on official business.
(B) False information.
(1) (a) Any person who shall put up at any hotel, motel, inn, restaurant or café as a guest and shall procure any food, entertainment or accommodation without paying therefor, except when credit is given therefor by express agreement, with the intent to defraud such keeper thereof out of the pay for the same, or, who, with intent to defraud such keeper out of the pay therefor, shall obtain credit at any hotel, motel, inn, restaurant or café for such food, entertainment or accommodation, by means of any false show of baggage or effects brought thereto, is guilty of a misdemeanor. No conviction shall be had under the provisions of this section unless complaint is made within 60 days of the time of the violation hereof.
(b) Wherein a guest is in violation of the above section, hotel management or staff who can provide proof of proper registry to include valid photocopy of identification, sign in/room assignment and payment log, Code Enforcement or any other city authority able to enforce city ordinance, may be contacted to cite violator to the fullest extent allowable.
(2) Whenever an owner, operator or manager, or his agent, servant or employee, knows or has reasonable cause for believing that any person has inscribed a false name or given false information in such register, it shall be his duty to forthwith notify the code enforcement of such fact.
(3) It shall be unlawful for any person to write or cause or permit to be written in any hotel register any other or different nature or designation than the true name of the person so registered.
(C) "Short stay" shall be prohibited. The minimum increment of time per rental or occupying shall not be less than 24 hours.
('68 Code, § 4-1102) (Ord. 698, passed 2-18-91; Am. Ord. 861, passed 8-21-17) Penalty, see § 10.99