(a) Application. Applications for business permits shall be filed with the director and shall comply with the following requirements:
(1) Applications shall be filed a minimum of fifteen calendar days prior to the date requested for issuance of the permit.
(2) Applications shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount prescribed by resolution of the city council.
(3) Applications shall be completed on a form designated by the city, and signed by the applicant under penalty of perjury.
(4) The applicant shall authorize the city, its agents and employees to seek information and conduct an investigation into the truth of the statements set forth in the application.
(5) The applicant has obtained all other required permits or approvals from the city.
(b) Contents of Application Form and Renewal Application Form.
(1) Identification of the applicant, including the name of the business and the name of all owners of the business. Where the applicant is a corporation, association, partnership, limited partnership or other legal entity, “applicant” shall mean each partner, officer, director, and each shareholder owning or controlling more than ten percent of such entity. Rules and regulations governing the procedure for fingerprinting and photo identification, where such fingerprinting and photo identification is required by an application for a particular business permit, shall be established by the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department, license detail. A business permit may be issued to a corporation or to a person operating under a fictitious name who has complied with all of the applicable provisions of the Business and Professions Code of this state. In all other cases, a business permit must be obtained in the true name of the individual, or individuals, so applying;
(2) A complete description of the business activity proposed to be operated, and the location of such proposed business activity, including the address, telephone number and zone;
(3) Name, address and telephone number of the property owner;
(4) The previous use of the property or business, the length of time the building was vacant, and whether there are existing signs on the building;
(5) Changes in signage proposed by the applicant;
(6) Number of parking spaces and handicap spaces;
(7) The presence and type of landscaping;
(8) The presence of trash enclosures;
(9) The number of employees;
(10) The date the business is expected to open;
(11) The proposed hours of operation; and
(12) Any additional information required for the permitting of a particular business when such additional information is specifically required pursuant to other provisions of Title 5.
(c) Review by Director.
(1) An application which is not complete shall be returned to the applicant along with a list of the deficiencies within fifteen calendar days of receipt of the application. The application shall be deemed abandoned if, within ten calendar days from the first class mailing of any notice from the city, the application is not received by the city with all of its defects entirely corrected.
(2) Once a completed application is filed, and the applicant pays the prescribed fee, the director shall initiate an investigation of facts for each business permit application with the appropriate city and county agencies designated to review such applications. This departmental review process shall ensure that the action on each business permit application is consistent with the intent and purpose of this title. Upon completion of the investigation, the director shall review, and either approve or deny, the application. If the application is denied, the grounds for denial shall be based upon the provisions of Section 5.08.060 of this chapter, and the director shall attach to the notice a statement of the reasons for the denial. Notice of the director’s decision shall be mailed by certified or registered mail or personally delivered to the applicant within three days of the date of such decision. For businesses involving constitutionally protected expressive activities, the decision to approve or deny the application shall be made within fifteen calendar days after the filing of a completed application. For business activities which do not involve constitutionally protected expressive activities, the decision to approve or deny the application shall be made within thirty calendar days after the filing of the completed application. The time periods specified herein shall not be extended except upon the written consent of the applicant.
(d) Hearing Before City Council.
(1) Within thirty calendar days after the date of the director’s decision, any interested person may appeal the decision to the city council. The appeal shall set forth the ground(s) for the appeal and shall be accompanied by an appeal fee in an amount prescribed by resolution of the city council. A timely appeal accompanied by the required fee shall automatically entitle the aggrieved party to a hearing Before the City Council.
(2) The hearing shall be held and action taken at the next regularly scheduled city council meeting following the timely filing of a complete appeal; provided, however, that the “next regularly scheduled meeting” shall mean a regularly scheduled meeting which is at least fourteen days after the timely filing of a complete appeal. The “next regularly scheduled meeting” shall not be more than thirty calendar days after the timely filing of a complete appeal unless the applicant requests an extension.
(3) Notice of the hearing shall be given at least ten calendar days prior to the hearing in the following manner:
(A) Notice of the public hearing shall be posted at the three legal posting places specified in Section 2.04.140 of this code and shall include the time, place and date set for hearing as well as the business activity proposed to be operated, and the location of operation of such proposed business activity.
(B) Notice of the public hearing shall be posted on the site on which the proposed business activity is to be located and upon the street on which the proposed business activity is to be located. Such notice shall include the information specified in subsection (d)(3)(A) of this section.
(C) Notice shall be mailed, postage prepaid by the appellant, to the owners and tenants of the properties within a radius of five hundred feet of the exterior boundaries of the property involved in the application. For this purpose, the appellant shall provide a radius map, a mailing list and mailing labels which include the last known name and address of such owners as obtained from the last equalized assessment roll or from such other records of the county assessor or tax collector that contain more recent addresses. The appellant shall sign an affidavit verifying the authenticity and accuracy of the list.
(4) At the time set for the hearing, or at the date to which the hearing may be continued, the city council shall hear the applicant, who may present any facts to show why the permit should be granted, and shall hear testimony from all other interested persons who attend the hearing to present reasons why the permit should or should not be granted. Any interested person, at any time after the filing of the appeal and before the close of the public hearing regarding such appeal, may file with the city clerk written letters of support or protest, for or against the granting of such application. Any interested person, including the applicant, has the right to be represented by legal counsel at the hearing. The city council, in considering the application and the appeal, shall give consideration to all relevant documents filed and all relevant testimony given at the hearing.
(5) Within seven calendar days after the conclusion of the public hearing, the city council shall adopt and issue a written decision approving or denying an application for business activities involving constitutionally protected expressive activities. For business activities which do not involve constitutionally protected expressive activities, the city council shall adopt and issue a written decision approving or denying an application within thirty calendar days after the conclusion of the public hearing. Any decision to deny a permit application shall be based on the grounds set forth in Section 5.08.060 of this chapter. Notice of the city council’s decision shall be mailed by certified or registered mail or personally delivered to the applicant.
(e) Issuance of Permit. The operative date for a business permit shall be the date of final approval of the application by the director or city council.
(f) Information required to be updated. The applicant is required to notify the director of any change in facts or information presented in the application within ten calendar days after such change.
(g) Denial of Permit. If an applicant’s business permit application for a particular business activity has been denied, the director shall not process a new application by that applicant for that business activity for a one year period after the denial unless the director or city council, at the time of the denial, states that the denial was without prejudice to the applicant’s right to file another application within the one year period or unless the director determines that the reason for the denial has been cured and no longer exists.
(Ord. 786 § 2 (part), 1999)