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(A) Application for a permit, whether original or renewal, must be made to the Director by the intended operator of the enterprise. Applications must be submitted by hand delivery to the office of the Captain of the Vice Division of the Police Department during regular working hours (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, city holidays excepted). Application forms shall be supplied by the Director. The intended operator shall be required to give the following information on the application form:
(1) The name, and any and all aliases, street address (and mailing address if different) and state driver’s license number of the intended operator;
(2) The name and street address (and mailing address if different) of the owner;
(3) The name under which the enterprise is to be operated and a general description of the services to be provided;
(4) The telephone number of the enterprise and/or owner;
(5) The address and legal description of the parcel of land on which the enterprise is to be located;
(6) The date on which the owner acquired the enterprise for which the permit is sought and the date on which the enterprise began operations as an enterprise at the location for which the permit is sought; and
(7) A list of all employees or contractors involved in providing the services to be provided by the enterprise.
(B) (1) The application shall be accompanied by the following:
(a) Payment in full of a fee shall be made by certified check, cashier’s check or money order, which fee shall not be refunded under any circumstances. The amount shall be:
1. Three hundred fifty dollars for an original application; or
2. One hundred dollars for a renewal application.
(b) A certified copy of the assumed name certificate filed in compliance with the Assumed Business or Professional Name Act (Tex. Business and Commerce Code §§ 36.01 et seq.) if the enterprise is to be operated under an assumed name;
(c) If the enterprise is a state corporation, a certified copy of the articles of incorporation, together with all amendments thereto;
(d) If the enterprise is a foreign corporation, a certified copy of the certificate of authority to transact business in the state, together with all amendments thereto;
(e) If the enterprise is a limited partnership formed under the laws of the state, a certified copy of the certificate of limited partnership, together with all amendments thereto, filed in the office of the Secretary of State under the State Limited Partnership Act (Tex. Business and Commerce Code Ch. 153); and
(f) If the enterprise is a foreign limited partnership, a certified copy of the certificate of limited partnership and the qualification documents, together with all amendments thereto, filed in the office of the Secretary of State under the State Limited Partnership Act (Tex. Business and Commerce Code Ch. 153).
(2) The items listed in divisions (B)(1)(b) through (B)(1)(f) above shall not be required for a renewal application if the applicant states that the documents previously furnished the Director with the original application or previous renewals thereof remain correct and current.
(C) The application shall contain a statement under oath that:
(1) The applicant has personal knowledge of the information contained in the application and that the information contained therein is true and correct; and
(2) The applicant has read the provisions of this chapter.
(D) A separate application and permit shall be required for each enterprise.
(1998 Code, § 26-63)
Each permit shall be valid for a period of one year and shall expire on the anniversary of its date of issuance, unless sooner revoked or surrendered. Each permit shall be subject to renewal as of its expiration date by the filing of a renewal application with the Director. Renewal applications must be filed at least 20 days prior to the expiration date of the permit that is to be renewed.
(1998 Code, § 26-64)
(A) Within 20 days of receipt of any completed application, either original or renewal, the Director shall grant or deny the requested permit and give written notice to the applicant as to the decision.
(B) The Director shall issue a permit to the applicant unless one or more of the following conditions exist:
(1) The applicant’s enterprise is located within 2,500 feet of any school, regular place of religious worship, residential neighborhood, licensed day care center or park. Measurements shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest point on the property line of the applicant’s enterprise to the nearest point on the property line of such school, regular place of religious worship, residential neighborhood, licensed day care center or park;
(2) The applicant’s enterprise is located within 2,500 feet of any other enterprise for which there is a permit. Measurements shall be made in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest point on the property line of the applicant’s enterprise to the nearest point on the property line of any other enterprise;
(3) Seventy-five percent or more of the tracts within a circular area, as described in this division (B)(3), are residential in character. The radius of such circular area shall be 2,500 feet, and the center of such circular area shall correspond to the midpoint of a line joining the two most distant points on the boundary of the tract on which the enterprise is located;
(4) The applicant failed to supply all of the information requested on the application;
(5) The applicant gave materially false, fraudulent or untruthful information on the application;
(7) The application or the enterprise does not meet any other requirement of this chapter;
(8) The applicant has not fully complied with all state, federal and local laws or regulations affecting the conduct of its business; or
(9) The operator has had a permit revoked for the same enterprise within the 180-day period next preceding the date that the application was filed.
(C) Property uses and distances for original applications shall be determined as of the time that the application is filed. If a renewal application is timely filed as provided in § 117.04 of this chapter, the property uses and measurements for the renewal application shall be determined as of the time that the original application for the enterprise was filed. If not timely filed, renewal applications shall be subject to the same fees and shall be treated in the same manner in all respects as original applications.
(D) If the Director determines that an applicant is not eligible for a permit (in accordance with divisions (B)(1) through (B)(9) above), the applicant shall be given notice in writing of the reasons for the denial within 20 days of the receipt of its application by the Director. An applicant may appeal the decision of the Director regarding such denial by filing a written request for a hearing with the Director within 15 days after he or she is given notice of such denial. The Director’s decision on the application shall be final unless an appeal is timely filed. An appeal shall not stay the Director’s decision on the issuance of a permit. The applicant’s written request for a hearing shall set out the grounds on which the denial is challenged. The hearing shall be conducted by a Hearing Official to be designated by the Director. The Hearing Official shall not have participated in any investigation or decision relating to the denial of the permit. At the hearing, the Hearing Official shall receive oral and written testimony regarding the application. Hearings shall be conducted under rules issued by the Director, which shall be consistent with the nature of the proceedings and shall ensure that each party may present evidence, cross-examine witnesses and be represented by legal counsel.
(E) The Hearing Official shall conduct the hearing within 30 days after receipt of the applicant’s written request for a hearing, unless the applicant requests an extension in writing. The Hearing Official shall render a written decision and issue notice thereof to the applicant within five days after the conclusion of the hearing. The written decision of the Hearing Official shall be final unless an appeal is filed to the City Commission pursuant to division (F) below.
(F) The applicant may appeal the decision of the Hearing Official to the City Commission by filing a written notice of appeal with the City Secretary within 30 days after the applicant is given notice of the Hearing Official’s decision. The notice of appeal shall be accompanied by a memorandum or other writing which sets forth fully the grounds for such appeal and all arguments in support thereof. The Director may submit a memorandum in response to the appeal filed by the applicant on appeal to the City Commission. After reviewing such memoranda, as well as the Hearing Official’s written decision and the exhibits introduced at the hearing before the Hearing Official, the City Commission shall vote to either uphold or overrule the Hearing Official’s decision. Such vote shall be taken within 30 calendar days after the date on which the City Secretary receives the notice of appeal. However, all parties shall be required to comply with the Hearing Official’s decision during the pendency of the appeal. The decision of the City Commission shall be final.
(G) Failure of the Director to give timely notice of his or her action on an application, or failure of the Hearing Official to timely conduct or give notice of his or her decision on an appeal from the Director’s decision, or failure of the City Commission to vote on an appeal from the decision of the Hearing Official within the limitations of time specified in division (F) above, shall entitle the applicant to the issuance of a temporary permit, upon written demand therefor filed by the applicant with the Director. Such a temporary permit shall only be valid until the third day after the Director gives notice of his or her action on the application or the Hearing Official gives notice of his decision on the appeal or the City Commission votes on the appeal, as applicable.
(1998 Code, § 26-65) (Ord. 94-10, passed 6-8-1994)
(A) A permit is personal to the owner and operator designated in the application; provided, however, it may be transferred pursuant to this section. A transfer application must be filed by the tenth day next following any change of the owner or operator designated on the application. If a transfer application is not timely filed, then the permit shall be invalid for any purpose relating to the operation of the enterprise, and any transfer shall require and be treated in all respects as an original permit application. For purposes of measurements between enterprises under § 117.05(B)(2) of this chapter, an establishment for which the permit has become invalid by operation of this section shall be treated as though it had a permit until the permit is revoked pursuant to § 117.07 of this chapter and any appeal therefrom to the City Commission has been concluded.
(B) (1) The Director shall prescribe a form on which permit transfer applications shall be made. The form shall include a statement under oath that the original application remains correct as previously submitted in all respects, except those that are amended pursuant to this section.
(2) The transfer application shall contain a statement under oath that the individual signing the transfer application has personal knowledge of the information contained therein and that the information is true and correct, and the application shall not be complete unless accompanied by a non-refundable transfer fee of $100. Transfer applications shall be filed in the same place and at the same time as original applications, and the fee shall be payable in the same manner as for original applications, as provided in § 117.03 of this chapter.
(C) Transfers shall be reviewed, issued and subject to appeal in the same manner as original applications pursuant to § 117.05 of this chapter; except that, § 117.05(B)(1), (B)(2) and (B)(3) of this chapter shall not apply, and the transfers shall be issued for the remaining term of the permit to be transferred.
(1998 Code, § 26-66)
(A) The Director shall have the authority to revoke a permit for any one or more of the following reasons:
(1) The owner or operator of the permitted enterprise knowingly allowed a person under 21 years of age to enter an enterprise;
(3) Three or more cumulative violations of any of the offenses contained in Tex. Penal Code §§ 21.01 et seq., or Tex. Penal Code §§ 43.01 et seq., or Tex. Penal Code §§ 22.011 or 22.021, or of the offenses contained in this chapter, have occurred on the premises of the permitted enterprise. These violations must have occurred in a consecutive period of 12 months, and the owner or operator must have knowingly allowed such violations to occur or did not make a reasonable effort to prevent the occurrence of such violations;
(4) The operator of the permitted enterprise gave materially false, fraudulent or untruthful information on the original, renewal or transfer application form;
(5) The enterprise has been closed for business for a period of 30 consecutive days, unless such closure is due to circumstances beyond the control of the owner and the owner is proceeding with due diligence, given all attendant circumstances, to reopen the establishment;
(6) There was a change of owner or operator for which a transfer application was not timely filed pursuant to § 117.06 of this chapter; and
(7) The permit should not have been issued pursuant to the criteria of § 117.05 of this chapter.
(B) Prior to revocation of a permit, the Director shall investigate the grounds alleged to determine whether probable cause for revocation may exist and, if so, shall notify the owner and operator in writing of the reasons for the proposed revocation and grant such owner and operator the opportunity to appear before a Hearing Official to be designated by the Director at a time and place specified within such notice. The Hearing Official designated shall not have participated in any investigation of the alleged grounds for the revocation. Such hearing shall be held not less than 15 days after the notice is given. Hearings shall be conducted under rules issued by the Director. Such rules shall be consistent with the nature of the proceedings and shall ensure that each party may present evidence, cross examine witnesses and be represented by legal counsel. If, after the hearing, the Hearing Official finds that the permit should be revoked, he or she shall issue a written order revoking such permit, which shall be effective on the third day after notice thereof is given to the operator. If the Hearing Officer determines, based upon the nature of the violation, that the ends of justice would be served by a suspension in lieu of a revocation, he or she may suspend the operation of the permit for a period of time to be stated in the order of suspension, not to exceed two months; however, a suspension may not be ordered if the grounds are based upon divisions (A)(6) or (A)(7) above.
(C) The owner or operator shall have the right to appeal an order of the Hearing Official revoking a permit to the City Commission in accordance with the procedure set forth in § 117.05(F) of this chapter by delivering notice of appeal to the City Secretary within 15 days after notice is given to the owner and operator of the order. The filing of an appeal of a revocation to the City Commission shall not have the effect of superseding or suspending the order of the Director. Orders suspending permits shall not be subject to any appeal.
(D) An enterprise shall be treated as having a permit for purposes of measurements under § 117.05(B)(2) of this chapter pending the date for filing an appeal of a permit revocation and, if an appeal is filed, pending the disposition of the appeal by the City Commission. An establishment holding a suspended permit shall be treated as having a permit for the purpose of measurements made under § 117.05(B)(2) of this chapter.
(1998 Code, § 26-67)
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