Every person or business engaged or intending to engage in any
calling, business, occupation or profession by maintaining a business
location, in whole or in part, within the limits of the City of Lancaster,
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is required to register and pay a
business registration fee to operate a business in the City.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter,
shall have the meaning ascribed herein:
BUSINESS
A calling, occupation, profession, or activity engaged in
with the object of gain, benefit or advantage, either directly or
indirectly. "Business" shall include charitable organizations and
organizations performing a charitable purpose.
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION
An organization that is determined by the Internal Revenue
Service to be exempt from federal income taxes under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3),
(4), (6), (7), (8), (10) or (19).
CHARITABLE PURPOSE
A benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic, or eleemosynary purpose
which does not result in personal gain to a sponsor, organizer, officer,
director, trustee or person with ultimate control of the organization.
CITY
The City of Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, partnership, LLP, LLC, cooperative
nonprofit membership, corporation, joint venture, association, estate,
trust, business trust, receiver, syndicate, holding company, or other
group or combination acting as a unit, in the singular or plural,
and the agent or employee having charge or control of a business in
the absence of the principal.
The business registration required by this chapter is for the
purpose of establishing a database of businesses operating within
the City and assisting the City of Lancaster Revitalization and Improvement
Zone Authority in performing its functions.
It shall be unlawful for any person or business subject to the
provisions of this chapter to submit a false registration for a business
or to give or file, or direct the giving or filing of, any false information
with respect to the registration required by this chapter.
The Registration Official shall administer the provisions of
this chapter, administrate registrations, make or initiate investigations
to insure compliance, report violations to the City Solicitor, assist
in prosecution of violators, produce forms, make reasonable regulations
relating to the administration of this chapter, and perform such other
duties as may be duly assigned.
Except in accordance with proper judicial order or as otherwise
provided by law, it shall be unlawful for the Registration Official,
any City public official, City employee or City-contracted professional
to divulge or make known in any manner any personal or proprietary
information set forth or disclosed in any application or report required
under this chapter. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit the publication of statistics, so classified as to prevent
the identification of particular reports. Aggregate registration data
may be shared with other public officials or employees of the City
in the performance of their duties, whether or not those duties relate
to enforcement of this chapter.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be
deemed guilty of an offense and shall be subject to a fine of up to
$100 upon conviction. Each month of violation shall be considered
a separate offense. Punishment for violation shall not relieve the
offender of liability for fees, penalties and costs provided for herein.
In addition, the City may pursue any of the remedies available to
it in law or in equity to mandate compliance with the terms hereof.
In the event any provision, section, sentence, clause or part
of this chapter shall be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall
not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sections, sentences,
clauses or parts of this chapter, it being the intent of the City
of Lancaster that the remainder of the chapter shall be and shall
remain in full force and effect.
In no instance shall the registration of a business and the
payment of registration fees be construed to exonerate the owner,
local agent or other responsible party from responsibility for compliance
with any other City of Lancaster code or ordinance.
The penalty and collection provisions of this chapter shall
be independent, non mutually exclusive separate remedies, all of which
shall be available to the City as may be deemed appropriate for carrying
out the proposes of this chapter. The remedies and procedures provided
in this chapter for violation hereof are not intended to supplant
or replace to any degree the remedies and procedures available to
the City in the case of a violation of any other City of Lancaster
code or ordinance, whether or not such other code or ordinance is
referenced in this chapter, and whether or not an ongoing violation
of such other code or ordinance is cited as the underlying ground
for a finding of a violation of this chapter.