[Adopted 4-25-2018]
A hotel or motel is a building or group of buildings used
to provide temporary sleeping accommodations to transient persons.
HOTELAny building used for the feeding and lodging of guests licensed or required to be licensed under the provisions of MGL c. 140, § 6.
MOTELAny building, or portion thereof, other than a hotel or lodging house, in which persons are lodged for hire, with or without meals, and which is licensed or required to be licensed under the provisions of MGL c. 140, § 32B, or is a private club.
A.
No person or entity shall operate a hotel or motel without a license
issued by the Board of Health in accordance with the provisions of
MGL c. 140 and the provisions of this regulation.
B.
An application for a license to operate a hotel or motel must be
provided to the Sharon Board of Health along with an application fee
of $100 annually.
This article is adopted under the authority of MGL c. 140, §§ 30,
32A, 32B, and MGL c. 111, § 122.
A.
No person shall let to another for occupancy any rental unit in a
hotel or motel, for any period of time, for the purpose of temporary
sleeping and living, which does not comply with this article of the
Sharon Board of Health Regulations.
B.
Hotels, motels and other short-term living facilities must be in
full compliance with these regulations. Failure to meet the requirements
for these facilities may result in closure of the motel, hotel or
other short-term living facility by the Sharon Board of Health.
The license to operate a hotel or motel will be based on continued
compliance with the regulations below.
A.
The accommodations provided by the hotel or motel must meet the minimum
standards for habitability as described in Chapter 2 of the State
Sanitary Code, 105 CMR 410.000.
B.
The rules and regulations for rental of a temporary sleeping accommodation
or temporary residence in a hotel or motel are reasonably designed
to ensure the health, safety, welfare and peaceful enjoyment of renters
and the surrounding area.
C.
Premises must be equipped with an operational video surveillance
and recording system deployed to the satisfaction of the Sharon Police
Department so as to make visible all interior and exterior common
areas, including but not limited to lobbies, parking areas, outdoor
areas on the property of the motel/hotel, common hallways, meeting
areas, public sidewalks adjoining the property, etc. For purposes
of implementation of this regulation, all licensed hotels/motels shall
install approved video surveillance equipment within 90 days of passage
of this regulation.
D.
The owner or operator of a hotel or motel shall take all steps reasonable
and necessary to insure that video surveillance and recording equipment
is in good working order at all times.
E.
Video surveillance records shall be retained a minimum of 60 days
from the day of creation.
F.
A register of renters must be maintained in accordance with the provisions
of MGL c. 140, § 27, and this regulation. Failure to comply
with the requirement for maintenance of a guest registry may result
in denial of a license upon reapplication. Information on all hotel
and motel guests must be maintained on file for six years and is subject
to review by the Sharon Police Department. Notice of the register
must be posted in a conspicuous place as described in MGL c. 140,
§ 31.
G.
All guests must provide, and hotels must make and maintain a copy
of, identifying information from the renter(s). No person shall be
allowed to rent accommodations without providing suitable photographic
identification at the time of registration. A "suitable identification"
shall mean a government-issued photo identification card such as a
driver's license, passport, or other proof of permanent address.
H.
The owner or operator of a hotel or motel shall immediately, upon
notice that a registration was incomplete or inaccurate, terminate
the rental agreement and evict from the premises all persons occupying
the room for which such incomplete or inaccurate registration was
provided.
I.
No owner or operator of a hotel or motel shall knowingly permit the
premises to be used for any illegal purpose, including but not limited
to those purposes outlined in MGL c. 140, § 26.
J.
No owner or operator of a hotel or motel shall allow occupancy by
any person if he knows or has reason to know that the person has engaged
in illegal activity during a past period of occupancy on the premises.
K.
For purpose of this section, notification from the Police Department
that an arrest for illegal activity has been made during a period
of occupancy shall create a presumption that illegal activity has
occurred, provided that said presumption may be refuted by evidence
that charges were subsequently dismissed.
L.
The owner or operator of a hotel or motel shall, upon request, provide
immediate access to registration information and video surveillance
recordings to the Police Department empowered to enforce this regulation.
M.
No owner or operator of a hotel or motel shall allow or permit renters
or occupants to create a public nuisance, as defined in Article 4
of the Sharon Board of Health regulations, on the premises.
N.
Enforcement. Provisions of this regulation may be enforced by members
of the Sharon Police Department and the Board of Health, its agents
and/or employees.
O.
The provisions of this regulation shall not limit the authority of
police officers to make arrests for any criminal offense arising out
of conduct regulated herein, nor shall they limit the Town of Sharon's
or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' ability to initiate and
prosecute any criminal offense arising out of the same circumstances
necessitating the application of any provision of this regulation.
The Sharon Police Department may, when deemed necessary for the purpose
of enforcing the provisions of this regulation, with prior verbal
notification to the operator, post a police detail on the premises
of a licensed motel or hotel, the cost of which may be charged to
the license holder.
P.
All food services provided at a hotel or motel in Sharon must be
in full compliance with 105 CMR 590.00: Minimum Sanitation Standards
for Food Service Establishments.
Q.
Sanitary conditions must be maintained on the premises to include
rooms, bathrooms, and common areas.
R.
To ensure the safety of guests and visitors, all outdoor areas on
the property of a motel or hotel must have security lighting, i.e.,
lighting that is intended to deter or detect intrusions or other criminal
activity on a piece of real property, on all areas of the property,
including but not limited to interior common areas and exterior parking
areas, walkways, and paths.
S.
Animals, if allowed on site, must be maintained in a sanitary and
humane manner.
T.
All hotels and motels must provide drinking water from an approved
source which meets all federal, state and local standards.
U.
All hotels and motels must be in full compliance with the Massachusetts
Building Code and local building regulations.
V.
All hotels and motels must be in full compliance with state and local
fire codes and safety regulations.
W.
All hotels and motels must maintain contained and sanitary waste
disposal units on site for containment and removal of garbage, trash,
and other nonsanitary waste.
X.
A wastewater system in full compliance with 310 CMR 15.000: Title
Five and Article 7 of the Sharon Board of Health regulations must
be on site.
A.
The Board of Health may, at any time on its own motion, and shall,
at the request of the Police Department, hold a public hearing relative
to suspension or revocation of a license granted under this regulation.
A minimum of three days' written notice of said hearing shall
be provided to the license holder, delivered to the licensed premises,
and it shall specify the reasons for the hearing.
B.
The Board of Health may suspend or revoke any license/permit where
it finds that the holder has failed to substantially comply with the
provisions of this regulation. Three uncontested citations or adjudicated
violations in any twelve-month period shall be prima facie evidence
of failure to substantially comply with this regulation as set out
in MGL c. 140, § 30, and MGL c.140, § 32B.
A.
Violation of the provisions of this regulation may result in penalties of $300 per violation upon the owner and/or person or entity in control of the property. Such fines may be imposed as criminal fines, pursuant to MGL c. 40, § 21, or civil fines pursuant to MGL c. 40, § 21D, and Chapter 1, Article I, of the General Bylaws.
B.
For purpose of this regulation, the existence of a violation may
be deemed a separate offense for each day that such violation continues.
C.
If the owner or person or entity in control of the property fails
to pay fines issued for violations of this regulation, the Town may
impose a lien upon the property pursuant to MGL c. 40, § 58.
