(A) In general. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate, engage in, or conduct a business without a valid license issued pursuant to this chapter. For purposes of this section, the term "valid license" means a license that is not pending, expired, suspended, or revoked.
(B) Scope. For purposes of this chapter, the term "business" means, but is not limited to, the following operations and activities:
(1) Any business, trade, or commercial activity that is physically conducted or operated, in whole or in part, within the city, whether or not specifically enumerated herein;
(2) Amusement device establishments;
(3) Arcade, billiards, or similar type of recreation activity;
(4) Auctioneer;
(5) Antique shop;
(6) Apartment building or complex;
(7) Athletic club;
(8) Banquet facility;
(9) Bar, club, pub, tavern, or similar establishment;
(10) Bicycle sales and rentals;
(11) Boat/watercraft sales and rentals;
(12) Body art facility;
(13) Bowling alley;
(14) Carnival, circus, and/or festival companies (business offices);
(15) Christmas tree sale;
(16) Convalescent home or center;
(17) Convenience store;
(18) Dance studio/dance hall;
(19) Daycare/child care;
(20) Driver training;
(21) Equipment sales;
(22) Exercise, tanning, and/or similar spa or facility;
(23) Fumigator/exterminator;
(24) Gas station;
(25) Golf course/driving range;
(26) Grocery store;
(27) Group home;
(28) Hair salon;
(29) Hall rental;
(30) Home rental, rooming house, and/or bed and breakfast;
(31) Hotel/motel;
(32) HVAC services/sales;
(33) Ice cream store or truck;
(34) Jeweler;
(35) Junk yard/junk dealer;
(36) Lawn care and/or landscaping service;
(37) Live entertainment;
(38) Massage establishment or school;
(39) Massage therapist, masseuse, and/or masseur;
(40) Moving services;
(41) Nail salon;
(42) Pawn shop;
(43) Peddler;
(44) Personal entertainment services, including but not limited to escorts, modeling, psychic readings, and tarot;
(45) Pet store or animal facility;
(46) Recycling;
(47) Restaurant, café, and/or coffee shop;
(48) Retail sales;
(49) Sales and sales solicitations;
(50) Scrap yard;
(51) Secondhand merchant;
(52) Shoe repair;
(53) Shopping centers;
(54) Smoking-related sales, including but not limited to tobacco, vaping, and hookah;
(55) Snow removal service;
(56) Sports exhibitors;
(57) Storage, including but not limited to vehicle storage/parking;
(58) Tailor;
(59) Temporary sales, such as going out of business, estate, and fire sales;
(60) Theaters;
(61) Trade centers/trade shows/booths;
(62) Transient merchant;
(63) Transportation service;
(64) Tree service;
(65) Vehicle, boat, and watercraft parts sales;
(66) Vehicle customization
(67) Vehicle repair;
(68) Vehicle sales and rentals;
(69) Vehicle washing/detailing;
(70) Venues providing live entertainment for their patrons;
(71) Any business, trade, or activity required by any other chapter of this Code to be licensed.
(C) Exemptions.
(1) The provisions of this chapter regarding auctioneers shall not apply to sheriffs, constables, or other public or court officers or to any person acting under the license, direction, or authority of any court, state or federal, selling property in the course of their official duties or to any person selling property under and by virtue of any state or federal law or regulation.
(2) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any business or activity which is licensed pursuant to the laws of the State of Michigan and/or of the United States of America, but only to the extent that the involved activity actually requires the license and the State of Michigan and/or United States of America actually regulates the business or activity. The fact that the county regulates a business or other activity does not have any bearing on it being required to have a city license.
a. For purposes of illustration only, and not for purposes of limitation, a business may offer the services of employees licensed by the State of Michigan, but the business itself may not be licensed by the State of Michigan. Such a business is still required to be licensed to operate within the city pursuant to this chapter.
b. Any business that is exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter due to state or federal licensing must still submit a properly-completed business registration to the City Clerk pursuant to Chapter 12 of the City Code, so that the purposes of this chapter may be fulfilled for every business, regardless of a licensing exemption.
(D) Limitations. The requirements of this chapter are only meant to apply to businesses or activities which:
(1) Engage in the business or activity within the city; and
(2) Actually involve contact between the customer, patron, or prospective customer and the business or activity.
(E) Licenses non-transferable. All licenses issued under this chapter are non-transferable. Upon the transfer of ownership of any business, the new owner shall obtain a new license for the business in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and shall pay the required fee.
(Ord. No. 471, § 1, 8-5-20)
Charter reference:
Authority of Council relative to licenses, see § 5.18