[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Cortlandt 8-13-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The terms used in this chapter are hereby defined as follows:
The standard calendar quarters that make up the year are
as follows:
The renting, leasing, maintaining, keeping, operating, conducting
or providing of overnight or temporary sleeping or housing accommodations
for a consideration to tourists, transients, nontransients or travelers,
collectively "guests," in a single building or structure comprising
at least three floors devoted exclusively to said business, commonly
known as "hotels."
The renting, leasing, maintaining, keeping, operating, conducting
or providing of overnight or temporary sleeping or housing accommodations
for a consideration to tourists, transients or travelers, collectively
"guests," in any building or structure or group of buildings or structures
comprising less than three floors devoted exclusively to said business,
commonly known as "motels," "tourist lodges," "tourist cabins," "motor
lodges," "motor courts," "tourist courts" or "tourist camps," whether
meals are served therein or not.
A building or part of a building, comprised of at least three
floors, containing no less than 30 or more guest rooms or suites ("guest
units") offering transient or nontransient temporary residence for
compensation.
For purposes of this chapter, the normative definition of
"moral turpitude" shall also include any sex offense, prostitution
offense or sex trafficking offense defined under New York State Penal
Law.
A building or part of a building, comprised of less than
three floors, containing three or more guest rooms or suites ("guest
units") offering temporary residence for compensation, only for transient
guests. This includes the "adult motels" as defined elsewhere in the
Cortlandt Town Code.
Occupancy of a unit or property by a guest or renter for
periods in excess of 30 consecutive days within a calendar year.
Any person who owns more than a de minimis share of a dwelling's
equitable, or legal, title; or any person who has been given an ownership
interest in a dwelling and is able to fully act and alter a property
as someone who owns a dwelling's equitable or legal title would.
A dwelling occupied by its owner or by members of his or
her family on a nonrental basis.
Occupancy of a unit or property by a guest for not more than
30 days within any annual year.
A.
All transient/short-term rentals, not permitted or excepted by this
section, are strictly prohibited. Amongst other things, this prohibition
applies to any dwelling with three or more rental units and any owner-occupied
dwelling not excepted by this section.
B.
Applicants seeking to obtain any operating permit must comply with
all applicable laws, ordinances, codes and regulations, including
obtaining relevant permits from other authorities having jurisdiction,
including but not limited to the New York State/Westchester County
Department of Health.
C.
The following requirements for any building or structure erected,
operated and/or used as a hotel or motel are mandatory and are not
subject to local variance.
(1)
Both hotels and motels.
(a)
No person shall engage in the business of conducting hotels
or motels without first having applied for and obtained from the Town
of Cortlandt an operating permit.
[1]
No operating permit shall be issued to any person who has been
convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.
[2]
No operating permit shall be issued to any entity where 5% or
more of any of its shares, equity or any right to remuneration is
owned by a person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral
turpitude.
[3]
No operating permit shall be issued to any person or entity
having a director or officer who has been convicted of a crime involving
moral turpitude.
(b)
Hotels and motels may include a manager's unit and incidental
amenities and services customarily provided by hotels and motels to
managers, provided it meets the requirements of a dwelling unit.
(c)
All hotel and motel managers and front desk persons must be
designated as a person upon whom process may be served. A manager
or a front desk person must be on premises at all times.
(2)
Hotels.
(a)
Transient/short-term rentals are permitted in hotels;
(b)
Nontransient/long-term stays are permitted in hotels, provided
that the occupancy of a hotel unit by a guest does not exceed 90 days
within any two annual quarters;
(c)
Hotel applicants shall relate to a building, or part of a building,
comprised of at least three floors, containing no less than 30 or
more guest units.
(d)
Each hotel sleeping room or unit shall have full bathroom facilities,
including toilet, basin, tub and/or shower.
(e)
Hotels may have nontransient/long-term guests for a period in
excess of 90 consecutive days if they fall into one of these defined
exceptions:
[1]
Corporate guest: A guest registered at a hotel via a corporate
account for business-related stay or a long-term project;
[2]
Humanitarian guest: A guest registered at a hotel who has a
permanent residence other than the hotel but requires occupancy away
from his/her permanent residence due to a state or city evacuation
or residential disaster caused by fire, flood, infestation or other
similar disaster, but in no event shall such stay exceed 180 days;
or
[3]
Circumstance-driven guest: A guest registered at a hotel who
has a permanent residence other than the hotel but requires occupancy
away from his/her permanent resident due to home reconstruction or
renovations, marital separation or divorce, medical treatment or other
similar circumstances, but in no event shall such stay exceed 180
days.
(f)
Nontransient/long-term guests, upon registering at a hotel,
must provide the hotel with registration information, including but
not limited to a) the type of nontransient guest category (corporate,
humanitarian, circumstance-driven), b) a primary residence address
that is not the hotel's address, and c) the ages and school enrollment
of any minors/children. If any school-age children of nontransient
guests are attending school during the duration of their time as a
guest in the hotel, school enrollment shall be based on the guests'
primary residence address, not the address of the hotel.
(3)
Motels.
(a)
Transient/short-term rentals are permitted in motels;
(b)
Nontransient/long-term stays are prohibited in motels;
(c)
Motel applicants shall relate to a building, or part of a building,
comprised of no more than three floors and shall have three or more
guest units.
(d)
Each motel sleeping room or unit shall have full bathroom facilities,
including toilet, basin, tub and/or shower.
(e)
No kitchen or cooking facilities and no cooking may be provided
or permitted in any motel room or unit.
(f)
A motel may contain no less than three rental units, arranged
in one or more buildings of less than three floors in any such building(s).
D.
Single- and two-family owner-occupied properties may only engage
in nontransient/long-term rentals and do not require a permit under
this section.
E.
Landlords of single- and two-family properties having three or fewer
rental units may only engage in nontransient/long-term rentals and
do not require a permit under this section.
F.
Dwellings with three or more rental units may only engage in nontransient/long-term
rentals and do not require a permit under this section.
G.
Bed-and-breakfasts who have received a special permit and are otherwise
in compliance with the Cortlandt Town Code, the Zoning Ordinance of
the Town of Cortlandt and the Table of Permitted Uses, are exempt
from complying with this chapter.
H.
Hospitals, nursing homes/assisted living facilities, universities,
colleges, seminaries, rectories, state-sponsored group homes that
are otherwise in compliance with the Cortlandt Town Code (or when
applicable/superseding the New York State Code), its Zoning Ordinance
of the Town of Cortlandt and its Table of Permitted Uses, are exempt
from complying with this chapter.
Each applicant for an operating permit shall make a written
application on forms prescribed and supplied by the Department of
Code Enforcement, setting forth:
A.
The full name, residence and post office address of the applicant.
B.
The exact location of the proposed permitted premises, giving the
street address, section, block and lot numbers as shown on the current
Tax Assessment Map of the Town, and the exact dimensions of the lands
upon which the business is to be conducted.
C.
A description of the buildings, structures and accommodations upon
said lands, including a statement of the number of guest units and
the maximum number of persons who can be accommodated at any given
time; a description of the character of said buildings or structures
as to size and type of construction; and a description of automobile
parking space and facilities.
D.
The name and address of each and every person having an ownership
interest in the land's structures.
E.
The name or names of the person or persons on the permitted premises
upon whom process may be served, including all managers or front desk
persons.
F.
A detailed description of the register or system used for the registration
of persons to whom accommodations are extended.
G.
Whether any person constituting the individual or partnership applicant
or whether the corporate applicant or any equity holder holding 5%
or more of the equity thereof or any director or officer thereof has
ever been convicted of a crime, and, if so, the details thereof, including,
with respect to each conviction, the name of the person convicted,
the date thereof, the nature of the crime, the court in which the
conviction was entered and the punishment imposed.
H.
In the case of legal entities (non-real live persons), the names
and residences of all stock or equity holders holding 5% or more of
the stock or equity of the entity, the names and residences of all
officers of the entity and the office held by each. In the case of
a trust, the names and addresses of all those with interests in the
trust must be listed. The names and addresses of the executor, trustor
and settlor shall also be listed.
The Department of Technical Services, Code Enforcement Division,
shall review such application and shall inspect the premises to determine
whether or not the premises comply with ordinances, laws, codes and
regulations. If the premises do not so comply, said officers shall
attach to said application a written list of recommendations and shall
return the same to the applicant. If the premises do so comply, said
officers shall attach thereto certificates of approval, and the Town
Clerk shall issue a permit to operate the hotel or motel to the applicant.
A.
A fee for said operating permit shall be paid annually to the Town
Clerk in an amount as set forth by the Town Board as same may be amended
from time to time.
B.
Said operating permit fee is hereby declared to be for the purpose
of defraying the cost of administering the laws or regulations pertaining
to the operation of hotels and motels.
A.
Any operating permit under the provisions of this chapter shall be
for a term of one year commencing on the date that the operating permit
is issued.
B.
Each operating permit shall be valid only to the applicant to whom
it is issued. All operating permits shall be displayed at a prominent
place on the premises.
C.
Any change in any of the information set forth in the application
during the term of the operating permit shall forthwith be communicated
by the permitted entity, in writing, to the Town of Cortlandt Code
Enforcement Division.
D.
Any known crime of moral turpitude or known felony offense under
the New York State Penal Law occurring on premises shall be communicated
by the permitted entity, in writing, to the Town of Cortlandt Code
Enforcement Division.
E.
Upon transference of the property to a new owner, or upon the sale
of a substantial interest, or upon the change of a controlling interest,
a new updated operating permit will be required within 30 days of
any event.
A.
Each permitted entity shall at all times cause to be maintained on
the permitted premises a physical and electronic register. Said register
shall be preserved for 10 years upon the permitted premises.
B.
The permitted person or entity shall cause to be entered into the register the number or name of the guest unit assigned to each registrant, the date and hour of registration, a brief description or designation of the identification displayed to the permitted person, entity or their authorized agent by the registrant pursuant to Subsection B hereof, the signature of the person taking or accepting the registration and the date when the occupant or occupants of each guest unit quit and surrender the same.
C.
Records of the make, model, and license plate number of all cars
parked at the hotel or motel shall be kept as part of the register.
D.
Said register shall be kept and preserved by the permitted person
or entity and shall be available on request at any hour of the day
or night to any police officer or any other duly authorized agent
of the governing body of the Town of Cortlandt.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Director of Code Enforcement of the Town
of Cortlandt to inspect (or have inspected) the premises from time
to time, at any hour of the day or night, to determine that the provisions
of this chapter are being complied with.
B.
At a minimum, the Director of Code Enforcement of the Town of Cortlandt
shall inspect (or have inspected) the premises at least once per annual
quarter.
No permitted person or entity shall employ in, on or about the
permitted premises any person convicted of a crime involving moral
turpitude within a period of five years from the date of conviction.
Any permit issued under this chapter may be suspended or revoked
for any violation of this chapter after due notice of the charges
presented by the Department of Code Enforcement and a hearing by the
Cortlandt Zoning Board of Appeals at which hearing the interested
persons shall be afforded a public hearing. Any denial of a permit
application, or adverse determination by the Department of Code Enforcement,
arising under this chapter may likewise be appealed to the Zoning
Board of Appeals.
A.
Any person, corporation, limited liability company, or partnership, whether as owner, lessee or its agent or employee, who violates or is accessory to the violation of any provision of this chapter or any regulation made under the authority conferred by this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the same enforcement requirements, including the civil and criminal penalties, provided for in Chapters 149 and 307 of the Town Code.
B.
Each day during which any violation of the provisions of this chapter
continues shall constitute a separate offense, punishable as provided
in this chapter.
C.
Depending on the prevalence of multiple violations, the Director
of Code Enforcement may deem each and every effected hotel or motel
unit as constituting a separate and distinct violation.
