(A) It is the intent of this chapter to require that all business, commercial and industrial activities in the Village of whatever nature except those listed in § 110.18 obtain a license to operate. The requirement of a general business license and the imposition of a fee therefor is intended:
(1) To provide the Village with complete identifying information concerning businesses and their owners and the owners of the premises on which the businesses are located, in order to protect the business in case of emergency, and to protect the public and other businesses in case of complaints alleging unsanitary or unsafe conditions;
(2) To reimburse the Village for the cost of administering the license regulations of the Village to the extent that such cost is not paid by license fees received for the issuance of other licenses provided for under this Code; and
(3) To provide reimbursement to the Village for the cost of inspections and investigations conducted by Village personnel for businesses not licensed under other sections of this Code.
(B) No person, firm or corporation not otherwise licensed by this Code except those engaged in a business listed in § 110.18 shall engage in any commercial, business or industrial activity of whatever kind in the Village without first having obtained a general business license as provided in this section. Application for a general business license shall be made in conformance with the requirements of § 110.03 relating to applications for licenses.
(C) General business licenses shall be of 4 types:
(1) Type “A” general business licenses shall require the payment of a fee of $200 and shall apply to retail businesses which regularly invite the public into their establishment for the purpose of providing goods and services, and to other businesses which are subject to substantial regulation by this Code and which require substantial investigation and an inspection prior to the issuance of a license or during its term;
(2) Type “B” general business licenses shall require the payment of a fee of $100. Type “B” licenses shall apply to all businesses in the Village which consist solely of an office, provided goods are not actually transferred within the office;
(3) Type “C” general business licenses shall require the payment of a fee of $100 and shall apply to all businesses required to be licensed under this section and not included in Type “A,” Type “B” or “industrial establishment” licenses. In general, Type “C” general business licenses shall apply to businesses other than mere offices, retail businesses and manufacturing establishments which do not require substantial investigation and inspection by the Village and are not subject to substantial regulation under this Code;
(4) "Industrial establishment" licenses shall apply to those businesses which occupy a building or premises or a portion thereof, the principal use of which is for manufacturing, including assembly, processing, fabrication and storage or scientific research and development. The license fee for industrial establishment licenses shall be the applicable fee set forth in § 110.13 of this Code.
(D) The Building Director shall make the initial determination as to whether each applicant for a general business license shall be required to obtain a Type “A,” Type “B,” Type “C” or “industrial establishment” license. He shall make his determination after reviewing the information provided in each application in light of the factors noted in division (C) above, and the intent of the section that businesses subject to substantial regulation under this Code shall pay their share of the cost of the Village business regulation program and that businesses licensed primarily for registration and information gathering purposes shall pay a nominal fee or no fee. The decision of the Building Director in this matter may be appealed to the Village Manager, whose decision shall be final.
(1997 Code, § 31.01) (Ord. 77-9, passed 7-9- 1977; Am. Ord. 82-23, passed 12-23-1982; Am. Ord. 83-9, passed 5-26-1983; Am. Ord. 87-2, passed 1-8-1987; Am. Ord. CO-09-27, passed 10-6-2009; Am. Ord. CO-2021-21, passed 8-17-2021; Am. Ord. CO-2022-22, passed 11-1-2022)