(A) Suspension of license.
(1) The Director may, without warning, notice, or hearing, suspend a license issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter if upon inspection there appears a reasonable likelihood that food products presently being stored, offered for sale, prepared or sold may be contaminated such as to be
hazardous to the consumer or are subject to extreme rodent or insect infestation, or interruption of electric or water supply, or improper disposal of sewage. Suspension is effective upon service of the notice as set forth hereinafter, and operations shall immediately cease thereafter.
(2) The holder of the license shall be afforded an opportunity for hearing before the Director within ten days of receipt of request for hearing. The holder of the license or the person in charge shall be notified in writing that the license is, upon service of the notice, immediately suspended, the specific reasons therefor, and that an opportunity for hearing will be provided if a written request for hearing is filed with the Director by the holder of the license within ten days. If no written request for hearing is filed within ten days, the suspension is sustained. The Director may end the suspension at any time if the reasons for suspension no longer exist.
(B) Revocation of license.
(1) The Director may, after providing opportunity for hearing, revoke a license for serious violations of this chapter or for interference with any regulatory authority in the performance of duty. "Serious violations of this chapter" shall mean violations of sufficient gravity to pose a hazard to public health. The hearing allowed herein shall be conducted before a three-member panel appointed by the Mayor for a one-year term and composed of one member of city staff, one Newcastle City Planning Commission member, and one member of the public at large.
(2) Prior to revocation, the Director shall notify, in writing, the holder of the license or the person in charge, of the specific reasons for which the license shall be revoked at the end of the ten days following service of such notice unless a written request for hearing is filed with the Director by the holder of the license within such ten-day period. If no request for hearing is filed within the ten-day period, the revocation of the license becomes final.
(3) The hearings provided for in this section shall be conducted by the Director, in the case of a suspension hearing, or the three-member panel, in the case of a revocation hearing, at a time and place designated by the Director or the panel. Any oral testimony given at a hearing shall be recorded, and the Director shall make provision for sufficient copies of the transcript. The Director shall make a final finding based upon the complete hearing record and shall sustain, modify, or rescind any notice or order considered in the hearing. A written report of the hearing decision shall be furnished to the holder of the license.
(4) Any holder of a license, the suspension or revocation of which has been sustained, by the Director in the case of a suspension hearing, or the three-member panel in the case of a revocation hearing, may appeal from such action to the district court having jurisdiction. Upon such appeal, the matter shall be tried de novo.
(5) A notice provided for in this section is properly served when it is delivered to the holder of the license, or the person in charge, or when it is sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the holder of the license. A copy of the notice shall be filed in the records of the regulatory authority.
(6) Whenever a revocation has become final, the holder of the revoked license may make written application for a new license.
(Ord. 856, passed 4-13-2020)