A. Required: It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in business within Summit County without first procuring the licenses and/or permits required by this chapter.
B. Each Business Must Obtain Separate License: A separate license must be obtained for each type of business, even if located on a single parcel or situs, each branch establishment or location or business within the county as if such types, branch establishments or locations were separate businesses and each license shall authorize the licensee to engage only in the business licensed thereby at the location or in the manner designated in such license; however, warehouses and distributing places used in connection with or incident to a business licensed under this chapter shall not be deemed to be separate places of business or branch establishments.
C. Application; Contents: It shall be the responsibility of a person engaging in business within the unincorporated county to voluntarily apply for and maintain in full force and effect a valid license.
1. Applications for business licenses shall be made to the county clerk on forms provided for that purpose. Such forms shall contain sufficient information so as to satisfy the requirements of county departments involved in the review process and such information as the county council may direct. Application forms shall be made available at the office of the county clerk during regular business hours, online, or by mail. Each license application shall be accompanied by an application fee.
2. The application form shall require the following information: business name, address, mailing address and telephone number; owner's and local manager's names, addresses and home telephone numbers; dates of birth; driver's license numbers; emergency phone number; Utah state sales tax number, federal employer identification number, Utah employer withholding number, business name and entity registration information, Utah state regulatory license information; and other identifiers as they are required for the applicant to legally conduct the applied for business; business start date; location start date (if different from business start date); and a description of the business activity to be conducted.
3. The general business license required under this chapter is in addition to all other approvals, licenses and permits required by other county ordinances, or state or federal law. As such, issuance of a business license shall not be deemed a waiver of the county's right to enforce all other provisions of its ordinances, development codes, or conditions of prior development approvals. No person shall engage in business without first procuring the necessary approvals, licenses and permits required by other Summit County ordinances, or state or federal laws, in addition to the license required by this section.
D. License Application Procedure:
1. Submission of an application does not constitute license approval. Upon receipt of the application form, the office of the county clerk shall review such for compliance with this chapter. Should the application be deemed incomplete or the required fee not be included, said application will be returned to the applicant with an explanation as to its deficiencies.
2. Once an application is found to be complete, the county clerk shall submit such to other county departments for review. These departments shall include, but shall not be limited to, health, planning and zoning, assessor, fire district, Snyderville Basin transit district, and sheriff. If, after review, the departments find the application form acceptable, it shall be returned to the county clerk bearing the signature of the reviewing official. Should any one or more of these departments find sufficient evidence from the application that a license should not be issued, an explanation for the recommended denial will be attached to the form and it will be returned to the county clerk. The county clerk shall provide the applicant with a copy of the explanation for denial. Signature of a department official shall not substitute for additional approvals, licenses, and development permits (i.e., conditional use permit, low impact or other development permit) required by county ordinance or state or federal law, nor shall it be construed as a waiver of such requirements.
E. Inspections Prior To Issuance: Prior to the issuance of a license to engage in a new business not heretofore licensed, the applicant shall permit inspections to be made of the prospective place of business by the appropriate department of the county or other governmental agency to ensure compliance with zoning, fire, health and safety codes. No license shall be granted without the approval of all such required inspections.
F. Applicant Information Referred To Law Enforcement:
1. Applicants for specified business licenses will have their business and personal identification information referred to law enforcement officials by the administrator for a local background check and to alert law enforcement to any new business to enable informed emergency support.
2. An applicant's criminal background may be grounds for denial of the license application if the applicant's record contains convictions for violations of any county, state or federal laws or other verifiable issues which demonstrate a potential risk to the health, safety, peace or general welfare of the county or its inhabitants; or if there are unresolved warrants for any applicant; or any other reason expressly provided for in this chapter as applicable to the subject special license or registration.
3. Applicants may appeal license application denial or conditional approval by submitting a request to the business license division pursuant to the appellate process identified within this chapter.
G. License Issuance Or Denial:
1. Within thirty (30) days of the county clerk's receipt of all the reviewing department officials' approvals/denials as set forth in subsection D of this section and criminal background check if applicable, the business license administrator shall either: a) issue the license as applied for, or b) provide the applicant with the reason for denial. Failure of the county clerk to act within said thirty (30) days shall constitute an automatic approval of the application. If circumstances do not allow completion of the application process in a timely manner, the applicant shall receive a notice warning of application denial for noncompliant issues and allowing a specified time frame for resolution of such. If compliance is not possible, the application will be denied. If an application is denied, the applicant may reapply and said application shall be treated as a new application and shall follow the same procedure as set forth in this section. If an application is approved, the applicant shall be notified of the approval and the final fee shall be paid in full before the license is issued.
2. A license may be denied if the applicant:
a. Has been convicted of a fraud or felony by any state or federal court within the past ten (10) years or now has criminal proceedings pending against him/her in any state or federal court for fraud or a felony;
b. Has obtained a license by fraud, misrepresentation or deceit;
c. Has failed to pay personal property taxes or other required taxes or fees imposed by the county, including prior licensing fees;
d. Has violated the laws of the state of Utah, the United States, or the ordinances of Summit County governing the operation of the business for which the applicant is applying for the license;
e. If applying for a solicitation license or a license for a sexually oriented business as defined in chapter 5 of this title, or a license for a business which also has a liquor license, the applicant has been convicted of any criminal offense against minors, sexual assault or is listed as a registered sex offender;
f. Has failed to comply with the conditions or requirements of a conditional use or low impact permit;
g. Is not in compliance with the terms or conditions of a development agreement or other development approval; or
h. Has failed to obtain all the required department official signatures as may be required pursuant to this section.
H. Display: Every licensee licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall keep his license displayed and exhibited while the same is in force in some conspicuous part of the place of business. It shall be the duty of any licensee to produce a valid license when requested to do so by any law enforcement or code enforcement officer. Every licensee not having a fixed place of business shall carry such license, or a copy thereof, with them at all times while carrying on the business for which the license is issued and shall produce the license for inspection when requested to do so by any person.
I. Inspections After Issuance:
1. Notice Of Violations: Existing places of business licensed within the county shall be inspected periodically by departments of the county for compliance with zoning, fire, health and safety codes. Written notice shall be given by the inspector to a licensee upon the finding of any code violation, which notice shall provide for a reasonable period not to exceed sixty (60) days in which to correct such violations, the failure of which shall result in a criminal citation and/or the revocation of the license by the administrator. A copy of any such notice to the licensee shall be provided by the inspector to the administrator when issued to the licensee.
2. Complaint In Case Of Noncompliance: The administrator shall request that a criminal citation be issued to any applicant or any licensee who continues to conduct business beyond the time limits provided in this chapter for noncompliance with the required standards.
J. Preparation And Listing: The business license administrator shall prepare and issue an appropriate license for every person qualifying therefor under the provisions of this chapter and shall state in each license the period of time for which it is issued, the name of the person to whom issued and location of the place of business. All licenses shall be signed by the administrator. The business license administrator shall maintain a list of all persons holding licenses and the status of each such license.
K. Applications For Special Licenses: Applications shall be required and special licenses issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. For the activities defined in subsequent articles of this chapter and chapters of this title, a regular license to engage in business of the kind required by this chapter may also be required in addition to the respective special licenses.
L. Transfers: No license granted or issued under the provisions of this chapter may be assigned, transferred, or sold by the licensee nor may the license be used for any purpose or business other than that for which said license was issued. Furthermore, a business license issued for a particular location may not be transferred for use to another location. Any county business license transferred or used as described in this section is deemed revoked. (Ord. 806, 6-12-2013)