[Adopted as §§ 4.9.1 to 4.9.6 of the 1981
Bylaws]
[Amended 4-28-1986 ATM, approved 7-23-1986]
A.
The Select Board shall make such rules, orders, and regulations for
the licensing and operation of hackney carriages, taxicabs and vehicles
for hire operated within the Town of Belmont and relative to the licensing
of the operators thereof, including the imposition of penalties for
violations thereof, as the Select Board deem necessary and advisable
from time to time. Such rules, orders and regulations shall be printed
in a form made available to applicants for such licenses. Notice thereof
and of changes therein shall be duly published in a newspaper, all
as prescribed by MGL c. 40, § 22.
B.
The Select Board may license suitable persons to set up and use job
and express wagons for the transportation for hire of goods, wares,
furniture or rubbish within the Town. No person shall engage in the
business of transporting for hire goods, wares, furniture or rubbish
without obtaining a license or licenses therefor.
C.
The Select Board may from time to time grant licenses to suitable
persons to be hawkers of fruit and vegetables within the Town.
D.
The Select Board may license suitable persons as junk collectors
to collect, by purchase or otherwise, junk, old metals and secondhand
articles from place to place in the Town, and no person shall engage
in the business of collecting such without a license.
E.
The Select Board may license suitable persons to be dealers in and
keepers of shops for the purchase, sale and barter of junk, old metal
and secondhand articles, and no person shall be a dealer in or keeper
of such a shop without such a license.
F.
No place of business for the retail sale of food, goods or services
shall be open for the transaction of business between the hours of
11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. without a license from the Select Board.
This subsection shall not apply to a professional office (e.g., a
physician, dentist or attorney at law) or to an undertaking establishment.
(1)
Any license granted pursuant to this subsection shall expire on June
30 of each year and may be revoked or suspended at any time by the
Select Board for any violation of any rules, orders, or regulations
adopted hereunder by the Select Board.
[Added 5-6-2013 ATM, approved 10-9-2013 (Art. 36 of the 1981 Bylaws)]
A.
Purpose. Certain occupations for which the Town has the authority
to issue licenses, permits, or registrations carry with them an unusual
risk of criminal abuse of members of the public. This section is adopted
pursuant to MGL c. 6, § 172B 1/2, to provide for a criminal
history check for persons seeking to receive from the Town licenses
or permits to pursue these occupations.
B.
CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECK
LICENSE
LICENSING AUTHORITY
Definitions. As used in this section, the following words or phrases
shall have these meanings:
The fingerprint-based criminal history check authorized by
MGL c. 6, § 172B 1/2, for the purpose of conducting a state
and national criminal history records check pursuant to MGL c. 6,
§§ 168 and 172, and 28 U.S.C. § 534 based
upon a full set of fingerprints submitted by the applicant to the
Police Department.
Any permission granted by a licensing authority to pursue
an occupation, including a license, permit, or registration.
The Town or any of its officers, departments, boards, committees,
or other authorities which are authorized to issue licenses, permits,
or registrations by the Massachusetts General Laws, the General Bylaws,
or a local rule or regulation.
C.
Occupations subject to a criminal history check.
(1)
Prior to being issued an original license and prior to being allowed
to renew a license, a person who seeks to pursue one of the following
occupations within the Town shall be required to submit to a criminal
history check:
(2)
The requirement of a criminal history check in this bylaw shall be
in addition to any other qualification required by state law or the
Town's bylaws or regulations.
D.
Initial processing of criminal history check by Police Department.
(1)
The Police Chief shall by rule or regulation establish a criminal
history check process and assign an officer or officers to provide
this service for applicants.
(2)
A person who applies to the Town or one of its officers for a license to pursue one of the occupations listed in Subsection C(1) shall appear at the police station.
(3)
The applicant shall tender a nonrefundable fee for the criminal history
check, which fee shall be in addition to any other fee required for
the application for the license.
(4)
The applicant shall submit such personal information as may be required
for the criminal history check and a full set of fingerprints.
(5)
Upon receipt of the fee established for this check and the set of
fingerprints, the officer will transmit the applicant's fingerprints
to the Massachusetts State Police Identification Unit through the
Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS). The State
Police will compare the applicant's fingerprints against its criminal
files and then transmit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for comparison against records kept by the FBI. The
FBI will transmit its results to the State Police which shall disseminate
the Massachusetts and federal results to the Police Department.
(6)
The Town authorizes the Massachusetts State Police, DCJIS, and the
FBI, and their successors, as may be applicable, to conduct fingerprint-based
state and national criminal record background checks, including checking
FBI records, consistent with this bylaw.
(7)
Information received from the Massachusetts State Police, DCJIS,
and the FBI pursuant to a criminal history check will not be disseminated
to unauthorized persons or entities.
E.
Recommendation of fitness for issuance of license.
(1)
Upon receipt of the records, the officer shall make a preliminary
determination as to whether the applicant will be recommended to the
licensing authority as fit or unfit for issue of the license.
(2)
In determining whether to recommend the applicant as fit for the
license, the officer shall consider whether any entry in the records
constitutes an automatic disqualification from the occupation. The
officer shall also consider how the following convictions or pending
criminal cases bear specifically upon the applicant's fitness or ability
to serve in the occupation for which he or she is seeking a license:
(a) any felony, (b) any offense related to unlawful sexual conduct,
(c) the distribution or possession with intent to distribute a controlled
substance, (d) any misdemeanor involving as an element the use or
threatened use of force, (e) any misdemeanor involving the unlawful
taking or receipt of property, or attempts to do so, and (f) any other
relevant crime. In addition, the officer conducting the check shall
consider whether the person is registered as a sex offender.
[Amended 5-5-2014 ATM, approved 9-21-2014]
(3)
Prior to transmitting the results and the criminal history record
to the licensing authority, the officer shall communicate the preliminary
recommendation to the applicant.
(4)
If the applicant wishes, the officer shall provide the applicant
with a copy of the criminal history record.
(5)
If the officer's preliminary recommendation is that the applicant
is unfit, the officer will:
(a)
Indicate to the applicant which record or records appear to
make the applicant unfit.
(b)
Allow the applicant to challenge the accuracy of records and
provide additional information.
(c)
Provide the applicant with information regarding procedures
for changing, correcting, or updating of a criminal record, which
information will include the DCJIS guide and 28 CFR Part 16.34.
(d)
Allow the applicant a reasonable time to dispute the accuracy
of criminal record with the agencies responsible for creating or keeping
the record.
(6)
The Police Department will transmit the recommendation as to the
applicant's fitness and the result of the criminal history check only
if the officer reasonably believes the record to be complete and accurate.
F.
Licensing authority action.
(1)
The licensing authority shall use the results of the criminal history
check and the Police Department's recommendation solely for the purpose
of determining the applicant's fitness for a license.
(2)
If requested by the applicant, the licensing authority will afford
the applicant with an opportunity to provide information in mitigation
of his or her criminal record or to suspend the application process
until the applicant has had the opportunity to correct or complete
the criminal record.
(3)
The licensing authority will consider the information provided pursuant
to this section and other information relevant to the applicant's
fitness.
[Amended 5-5-2014 ATM, approved 9-21-2014]
(4)
The licensing authority is authorized to act upon information it
receives pursuant to this bylaw to deny any application for a license,
or to revoke or suspend any license, or to deny a renewal or transfers
of a license.
(5)
Neither the Police Department's recommendation as to fitness nor
the information received from the Massachusetts State Police, DCJIS,
and the FBI pursuant to a criminal history check will be disseminated
to unauthorized persons or entities.
G.
Collection and disbursement of fee. The fee for the criminal history
check is $100. A portion of the fee collected from the applicant shall
be deposited into the Firearms Fingerprint Identity Verification Trust
fund as directed in MGL c. 6, § 172B 1/2. The remainder
shall be retained by the Police Department for costs associated with
the administration of the criminal history checks.
H.
Severability. If any provision of this section shall be found invalid for any reason, such invalidity shall be construed as narrowly as possible, and the balance of the section shall be deemed to be amended to the minimum extent necessary, so as to secure the purposes thereof, as set forth in Subsection A.
[Added 5-5-2014 ATM, approved 9-21-2014]
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to continue to allow private
citizens, civic groups and neighborhood groups to conduct private
sale events known variously as garage sales, yard sales, tag sales,
driveway sales, and moving sales (collectively referred to herein
as "private sales"), so long as they are carried out in conformity
with the Town's bylaws and are respectful of neighbors. Neighboring
residents' willingness to tolerate these sales cheerfully can be expected
only if they take place infrequently.
B.
Application.
(1)
Any person or group intending to hold a private sale shall obtain
a permit therefor from the Town Clerk. No more than three permits
per calendar year may be issued for private sales at a single address.
Copies of the issued permit shall be sent by the Town Clerk to the
Police Department.
(2)
Any person or group holding a private sale shall take appropriate
steps to avoid creating traffic congestion, unsafe parking conditions,
unreasonable noise or other neighborhood nuisance.
(3)
A single private sale may be held over the course of a Saturday and
Sunday in a single weekend. Sale hours shall not commence before 8:30
a.m. and shall end each day by 5:30 p.m. All unsold items or objects
from the sale shall be stored out of public view by 6:00 p.m.
(4)
All signs erected or posted in connection with a private sale shall
be promptly removed at the end of the sale.
(5)
If it is substantiated that a person or group is holding a private
sale without a permit issued pursuant to this section the Belmont
Police are authorized to order the sale to cease immediately. Thereafter,
any person or group attempting to reestablish a private sale at the
same address during the calendar year without a permit shall be subject
to a fine of $300 for each violation.
(6)
The Belmont Police are authorized to enforce this section by issuing
noncriminal citations as provided in MGL c. 40, § 21D. The
penalty for any violation of this section shall be $50 for each offense.
