A. License Required: All businesses based or physically located within Washington City are required to obtain the class of license required. No license shall be required for a business that is operated only occasionally by an individual who is under eighteen (18) years of age or as otherwise provided in this title. Businesses, physically located outside of Washington City boundaries, who desire to offer services within the City may be required to obtain a license in order to comply with Zoning, Public Works, Public Safety and/or other City Requirements. It shall be unlawful for any person, either directly or indirectly, to continue a business or nonprofit enterprise when a license pertaining thereto has been suspended or revoked.
B. Compliance With Other Laws: No license shall be issued to a person required to comply with any other law, regulation or licensing requirement in the conduct of his business or nonprofit enterprise until the applicant demonstrates the fact of such compliance. Compliance with zoning laws is required in all cases.
C. Applicable To Single Act Of Business: For the purpose of this title, any person shall be deemed to be in business or to be engaging in a nonprofit enterprise, and thus subject to the requirements of subsection A of this section, when he/she does one act of:
1. Selling any goods or services;
2. Soliciting business or offering goods or services for sale or hire; or
3. Acquiring or using any real or personal property in the City for a business purpose.
D. Responsibility For Obtaining License: It shall be the responsibility of a person engaging in business within the City to voluntarily apply for and maintain in full force and effect a valid license. The agents or other representatives of nonresidents who are doing business in this City shall be personally responsible for the compliance of their principals and of the businesses they represent with the terms of this title.
E. Application For License: The application shall be made to the License Officer on a form provided by the City and shall contain the following information: business name; general description of business to be engaged in, business mailing address and telephone number, owner’s name, residence address and phone number, state tax number if applicable, federal tax number if applicable, state contractor’s number if applicable, proof that the business is state and/or federally licensed and registered, and complies with all applicable state and federal laws, signature of applicant or applicant’s authorized agent provided under penalty of law that all information contained in the application is true, and such other information as the City License Officer shall deem reasonable and necessary to determine the fee amount or if the applicant’s business will place additional burdens on City services, utilities, or the provision of public safety.
F. Separate License For Branch Establishment: A separate license must be obtained for each branch established or each separate place of business in which the business activities of a licensee are carried on, except that warehouses and distributing plants used in connection with and incidental to a business licensed under the provisions of this title shall not be deemed to be separate places of business or branch establishments.
G. Nature And Location Of Business To Be Specified: Each license shall authorize the person obtaining it to carry on, pursue or conduct only that type of general business described in the license and only at the location which is indicated thereon. The carrying on of a different type of general business activity shall require issuance of a separate license, and carrying on of the business at a location different from that indicated on the license shall be considered a branch establishment and require a separate license.
H. Joint License: A person engaged in two (2) or more businesses at the same location shall be required to obtain separate licenses.
Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the City from requiring that a person obtaining a license under chapter 3 of this title for the sale of beer must obtain both the applicable business license required by this chapter and the beer license required by chapter 3 of this title. (Ord. 2022-64, 12-14-2022)