It shall be unlawful, without obtaining a license from the City
Clerk, for any person, firm or corporation, either as owner, tenant
or agent, to run, operate or maintain in the City of Kingston a hotel,
motel, bed-and-breakfast, boardinghouse, or any building used in the
business of renting out to transient uses.
No license shall be issued or renewed except after the application
has been investigated and the premises inspected by the Building Inspector/Code
Enforcement Officer and upon review and consideration of all code
violations and police reports generated by the property in the preceding
12 months. The applicant is required to keep and maintain, and make
available to the Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer upon
request, records in which the following information is recorded:
A. The name of each guest spending the night or taking a room.
B. The permanent residence and telephone number of said guest.
C. The hour of the day, month and year at which such guest arrived and
departed from the premises in question and the number of the room
assigned to each guest.
No license shall be issued or renewed for a longer period than
one year, and all licenses shall expire on December 31 of each year.
All applications, properly filled out, must be filed at least 30 days
before the applicant intends to commence operations.
No license shall be issued except where the applicant has satisfied
the Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer that toilet and sewerage
facilities are adequate and proper for taking care of the number of
guests for which the applicant proposes to take out a license, and
that an adequate supply of potable and wholesome drinking water is
at all times available, and hot water for bathing and dishwashing;
also that the building is structurally safe and properly protected
from fire, and that the rooms are adequate as to size and ventilation.
The Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer may require additional
certifications by other regulating authorities as needed to ensure
compliance with all public health and safety requirements.
All licenses issued hereunder must be conspicuously displayed
in the office or lobby of the licensed establishment.
The City of Kingston may also enforce obedience to this chapter
and restrain violations thereof by injunction and may proceed against
all violators hereof by any and every other means or method provided
by law, although not herein specifically referred to.
This chapter is enacted by authority of § 20, Subdivision
5, of the Municipal Home Rule Law and any other law referenced herein
as authority herefor.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
BED-AND-BREAKFAST
A residential, owner or operator occupied establishment where
rooms are rented to transient, nonpermanent guests, on a short-term
basis, with breakfast being the only meal served to said guests.
BOARDINGHOUSE
A private dwelling in which at least three rooms are offered
for rent and table board is furnished only to roomers. A rooming house
or a furnished room house shall be deemed a "boardinghouse." A boardinghouse
may function as both transient and transitional housing, subject to
approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals and/or Planning Board.
HOTELS, MOTELS, AND OTHER TRANSIENT LODGING
A building or portion of it which is regularly used and kept
open for lodging of transient guests on an overnight basis. For purposes
of this chapter, the term "hotel" or "motel" includes short-term rentals,
an apartment hotel, motor court or inn, "tourist cabins," boardinghouse
or club, or similar hotel- or motel-type of accommodations by whatever
name designated, whether or not meals are served.
TRANSIENT LIVING
A guest or customer of a hotel or motel the nature of which
the term of stay is limited to no more than 30 consecutive days or
90 total days in any individual calendar year.
As used in this chapter, the following terms have the meaning
given them in this section:
CHIEF OF POLICE
As used in this chapter, includes any person designated by
the City of Kingston Chief of Police as his or her delegate in the
enforcement of this chapter.
OWNER
Any person, agent, firm, corporation, association or partnership,
including:
A.
A mortgagee in possession in whom is vested:
(1)
All or part of the legal title to property; or
(2)
All or part of the beneficial ownership and a right to present
use and enjoyment of the premises; or
(3)
An occupant of that structure.
PERSON
Any natural person, association, partnership or corporation
capable of owning or using property in the City of Kingston.
SPECIFIED CRIME PROPERTY
Any kind of hotel, motel, inn, boardinghouse or unit(s) thereof
where activity involving the unauthorized delivery or manufacture
of a controlled substance as defined in the Public Health Law, gambling
as defined in the Penal Law or prostitution as defined in the Penal
Law has occurred or is occurring.
Owners of a structure determined to be a specified crime property
may obtain relief from the court's judgement if:
A. They appear and pay all costs associated with the proceedings under
this chapter;
B. They file a bond in such a place and form as the court may by order
direct in an amount not less than the tax-assessed value of the structure,
and keep said bond in force for a period not less than one year or
such period as the court directs;
C. They enter into a stipulation with the City that they will immediately
abate the conditions giving rise to the specified crime property and
prevent the same from being established or maintained thereafter.
The stipulation will then be made part of the court's file. In
the event that the owner violates the terms of the stipulation, the
City may thereafter apply to the court for an order awarding up to
the entire amount of the aforementioned bond to the City as a penalty
as well as other relief, including closure for any additional period
of up to one year, that is deemed by the court as appropriate.