[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Atlantic
City 3-15-1989 by Ord. No. 13-1989. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No phrenologists, mediums, clairvoyants, soothsayers, fortune-tellers, palmists, reader-advisors or the like, by whatsoever named called, shall conduct business or practice their trade in the City of Atlantic City without first obtaining a mercantile license in accordance with Ordinance No. 6 of 1981 (Chapter 170, § 170-1 et seq. of the Code of the City of Atlantic City) and any amendments thereto, after a criminal history background check conducted by the Chief of Police or his designee, and the issuance of a certificate of land use compliance by the Land Use Administrator.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A person who performs a trade, practice or service set forth in § 109-1 hereof, but who does not possess or own the property or premises upon which said trade, service or practice is conducted.
A person who by deed, lease or other means has possession of the property or premises upon which the trade, business or practice set forth in § 109-1 hereof is to be conducted.
A license to conduct a business described in § 109-1 of this chapter shall be issued only to individuals. No such license shall be issued to any corporation, company, partnership or the like.
Along with the application for a mercantile license, the applicant
shall submit to the Mercantile License Bureau, a valid social security
card as proof of the identity of the applicant, and the social security
number shall be kept in the records of the Mercantile License Bureau.
Additionally, an applicant for an operator's license shall present
a promise of employment at a location which is licensed or for which
an application for a license has been filed.
[Amended 8-23-1989 by Ord. No. 42-1989]
A.
Every applicant for a license pursuant to § 109-1 hereof shall be fingerprinted by Sagem Morpho, Inc. To provide for a timely and efficient criminal history background review, the City of Atlantic City will be utilizing the state-police-coordinated, non-criminal-justice fingerprinting process known as "Live Scan." The State of New Jersey has contracted with a vendor, Sagem Morpho, Inc., to perform this service. The company has established permanent sites throughout the state as well as several mobile units available to meet its contractual agreement. Sagem Morpho charges a fee for the fingerprinting for which the applicant will be responsible. There will be an additional fee of $20 payable to the City of Atlantic City, for the processing of the fingerprint documentation required by Sagem Morpho. The Chief of Police or his designee shall conduct a criminal history background check upon any such applicant to determine whether the applicant has been convicted, whether by trier of fact or a plea of guilty, under the laws of the State of New Jersey of an offense involving dishonesty or of a crime of the third degree or above, pursuant to New Jersey law, or under the laws of another state or of the United States of an offense or a crime which, if committed in the State of New Jersey, would be such an offense or crime. No license shall be issued to any applicant found to have a criminal history of conviction of such offenses or crimes.
[Amended 9-17-2008 by Ord. No. 74-2008]
B.
Should said criminal history background check reveal that the applicant
has a criminal history which would prohibit licensure, the Chief of
Police or his designee shall forthwith advise the Director of Revenue
and Finance regarding such finding. Thereafter the Director of Revenue
and Finance or his designee shall give written notice to the applicant
regarding his or her ineligibility for licensure, which notice shall
also state the reason therefore.
C.
An applicant who receives written notice of ineligibility may, within
10 days of the receipt of such notice, submit a written request for
a hearing, by certified mail, to the Director of Revenue and Finance.
The request for a hearing shall set forth compelling reasons therefor,
and if the Director of Revenue and Finance shall find that there is
probable cause to believe that such compelling reasons may exist,
the Director or his designee may, in his or her discretion, schedule
a hearing to be held within 30 days of the receipt of said request.
The purpose of the hearing shall be to decide whether the determination
of ineligibility is to be reversed by the Director of Revenue and
Finance. The applicant shall be advised, in writing, regarding the
Director's determination, within 10 days of the date on which
the hearing is completed.
[Amended 8-23-1989 by Ord. No. 42-1989; 9-17-2008 by Ord. No.
74-2008]
The fee for a mercantile license, pursuant to this chapter, shall be $400 for an owner and $50 for an operator or such other amount as shall be set by any subsequent amendment to Section 4 of Ordinance No. 6 of 1981 (Chapter 170, § 170-5, of the Code of Atlantic City). In addition to such licensing fee, the applicant, whether an owner or an operator, shall annually pay a fee to cover the cost of the criminal history background check and fingerprinting.
The application for a mercantile license pursuant to § 109-1 hereof, whether for an owner or an operator, among other things, shall set forth the location of the premises upon which the business will be conducted by the owner or at which the operator will practice his or her trade, as the case may be. No mercantile license shall be issued until a land use certificate has been issued by the Atlantic City Land Use Administrator, authorizing the conducting of the type of business set forth in § 109-1 hereof, upon the premises so designated in said application filed with the Mercantile License Bureau. The mercantile license, when issued, shall be used only upon the premises designated in the application filed with the Mercantile License Bureau. The license certificate, when issued, shall set forth thereon the name of the licensed owner or operator, as the case may be, the category of license, i.e., owner or operator, and the approved location. Said license certificate shall be displayed, at all times, in a prominent place upon the licensed premises.
[Amended 8-23-1989 by Ord. No. 42-1989]
The use of any premises regulated hereby, shall be in accordance
with the Land Use Development Code of the City of Atlantic City.
The licensing year shall be from July 1 to June 30.
If, after January 1 but prior to June 30 in any licensing year, a licensee should seek to move his or her business to a location different from that set forth in the application on file with the Mercantile License Bureau and as set forth in the license certificate issued, said licensee shall submit to the Mercantile License Bureau a new application, along with a license application fee of $25 for an owner. Upon the filing of said new application, the Land Use Administrator shall review said new application to determine whether the proposed new location is in compliance with local land use regulations. Should the Land Use Administrator determine that the proposed new location is in compliance, the prior license shall be surrendered by the licensee and a new license setting forth the new location shall be issued to the licensee upon the receipt of a two-hundred-dollar license fee. Should the Land Use Administrator determine that the proposed new location is not in compliance with local land use regulations, no license shall be issued for such new location. For any such move sought after July 1 but prior to January 1 of the licensing year, the applicant or licensee shall pay the full applicable licensing fee set forth in § 109-6 hereof. Any previously licensed operators seeking to move to a new location shall submit an updated application and a license fee of $25.
No person who is not individually licensed may conduct any business set forth in § 109-1 hereof, nor shall any license issued for one premises be used upon another.
An operator shall not conduct any trade or practice set forth in § 109-1 hereof at a location or premises which is not properly licensed hereunder, nor shall an operator conduct such trade or practice at a location not stated in his or her license application or designated in his or her license certificate.
Any person violating any provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the fines and penalties set forth in Section 14 of Ordinance No. 6 of 1981 (Chapter 170, § 170-13, of the City Code) and any amendments thereto, upon conviction, in the Municipal Court of the City of Atlantic City. Upon notice to the licensee and a due process hearing conducted by the Director of Revenue and Finance, or his designee, at which it has been determined that the licensee has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude in a court of competent jurisdiction, a license issued pursuant to this chapter may be revoked.
The provisions of this chapter are in addition to and not instead of those set forth in Ordinance No. 6 of 1981 (Chapter 170 of the Code of the City of Atlantic City) and any amendments thereto.
