[1]
Editor’s note–See corresponding note located in Appendix A of this code.
(a) 
Any operator whose business operates six (6) or more skill or pleasure coin-operated machines or any operator whose principal business is the operation of skill or pleasure coin-operated machines, without regard to number, shall obtain an operator’s game room permit from the city secretary.
(b) 
All associated fees for obtaining an operator’s game room permit shall be set by the current fiscal budget of the city. If no fee is established by budget ordinance, a minimum fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the administrative costs of processing the operator’s game room permit shall be required.
(c) 
Each time the location of a machine is changed, the operator shall notify the city secretary of the change by filing an amendment to the operator’s game room permit application within ten (10) days of the change.
(d) 
An application for the renewal of an operator’s game room permit must be made to the city secretary by December 31st of each year.
(1983 Code, sec. 3-115; Ordinance 8372, sec. 2, adopted 11/18/1982; Ordinance 10038, sec. 5, adopted 12/18/1997; Ordinance 2019-O0037 adopted 3/26/2019)
(a) 
An operator’s game room permit application may be obtained at the city secretary’s office.
(b) 
The applicant shall be required to furnish the following information:
(1) 
The name of the applicant’s business and the address of the location where the machines are to be located.
(2) 
The date of birth and full legal name, including any and all names by which the person has been known, of the applicant and of each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 8.04.001 of this article.
(3) 
If the applicant is a corporation, the exact corporate name, state of incorporation and principal place of business for the corporation.
(4) 
The current residence address and telephone number of the applicant and of each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 8.04.001 of this article.
(5) 
A copy of the driver’s license, state identification card, or other forms of identification acceptable to the city secretary and sufficient to establish the truth and accuracy of the information provided in the application of the applicant and of each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 8.04.001 of this article.
(6) 
The name and home address of a local agent if the applicant is not a resident of the City of Lubbock. If the applicant is a resident of the City of Lubbock, the applicant may serve as the local agent or designate a separate individual as the local agent. A copy of the local agent’s driver’s license, state identification card, or other forms of identification acceptable to the city secretary and sufficient to establish the truth and accuracy of the information provided in the application.
(7) 
The name and home address of the manager of the applicant’s business who will be primarily responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business. A copy of the manager’s driver’s license, state identification card, or other forms of identification acceptable to the city secretary and sufficient to establish the truth and accuracy of the information provided in the application.
(8) 
All felony and misdemeanor convictions and deferred adjudications, except for class C traffic offenses, of the applicant and of each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 8.04.001 of this article, and of the local agent and manager, including, but not limited to, any of the offenses as described at section 8.04.064(d)(5) of this article, except for deferred adjudications when a court has issued an order of nondisclosure.
(9) 
The maximum number of skill or pleasure coin-operated machines to be located at the business.
(10) 
The landline telephone number for the address of the location where the machines are to be located.
(11) 
The application shall be signed under penalty of perjury by the applicant, attesting to the truth and accuracy of the information provided, including each document attached to the application.
(c) 
Only one operator’s game room permit may be issued for a single location and each operator’s game room permit is non-transferable to any other location or address or to any person, firm, company, association, franchise, or corporation that was not originally the applicant as set forth at section 8.04.001 of this article.
(d) 
The operator shall have a continuing duty, during the term of any operator’s game room permit or renewal thereof, to notify the city secretary of any change in the information required to be submitted on the application for the operator’s game room permit.
(e) 
Issuance of an operator’s game room permit by the city secretary is contingent on the verification of the application information with assistance of other city departments as appropriate, including, without limitation, the police, planning and zoning, code enforcement, fire marshal, environmental health, and building inspection departments.
(1983 Code, sec. 3-116; Ordinance 8372, sec. 2, adopted 11/18/1982; Ordinance 10038, sec. 6, adopted 12/18/1997; Ordinance 2019-O0037 adopted 3/26/2019; Ordinance 2020-O0133 adopted 10/13/2020)
An applicant or permit holder shall permit representatives of the police department, building inspection department, fire department, code enforcement department and environmental health department of the city to inspect the premises of the game room business for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the law and this division at any time that the premises are occupied by one or more persons.
(Ordinance 2019-O0037 adopted 3/26/2019)
(a) 
The chief of police shall investigate said application and the background of the applicant. At his or her discretion, the chief of police shall be assisted in his investigation by the building official, environmental health officer, code enforcement officer, and/or the fire marshal. Within forty-five (45) days after receipt by the city secretary of the fully completed application for the permit, including all attachments or submissions as may be required, the chief of police shall report the results of the investigation to the city secretary.
(b) 
Within sixty (60) days after receipt by the city secretary of the fully completed application for the permit, including all attachments or submissions as may be required, the city secretary shall inform the applicant by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by email if elected by the applicant, as to the approval or denial of said permit.
(c) 
The city secretary shall issue a permit to the Applicant which shall be valid only as to the game room activities described in the application and approved on the face of the permit, unless one or more of the following conditions exists:
(1) 
The location of the game room business or enterprise is or would be in violation of chapter 40 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lubbock, Texas.
(2) 
The applicant has failed to make full disclosure, or to supply all of the information requested on the application, or the application is otherwise incomplete.
(3) 
The applicant has provided false, fraudulent or untruthful information on the application, or is attempting to acquire the permit under false pretenses.
(4) 
The application or the establishment or the venture does not meet one or more of the requirements of this article.
(5) 
The correct permit fee has not been tendered to the city and, in the case of a check or bank draft, honored with payment upon presentation.
(6) 
The structure, configuration or layout of the premises, as proposed by the applicant, if permitted, would not comply with all applicable laws, including, but not limited to, the city building, zoning, fire prevention and protection, and health ordinances and regulations.
(7) 
The applicant or the manager or any other person principally in charge of the operation of the business is under eighteen (18) years of age, or is under twenty-one (21) years of age and the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages would be an aspect of the venture.
(8) 
The applicant has not demonstrated that the applicant owns, leases or otherwise has or continues to have the lawful right to occupy and use the premises for the purpose stated in the application.
(9) 
The applicant has been a permit holder, owner, manager, local agent, or an employee with managerial responsibilities for a game room business when the permit for such business has been denied or revoked, within two (2) years preceding the date of the application.
(d) 
The city secretary shall not issue a permit to the applicant which shall be valid only as to the game room activities described in the application and approved on the face of the permit, unless:
(1) 
The parking ratio of one parking space per fifty (50) square feet of gross floor area is provided on the development lot.
(2) 
The legal description of the property of the business where the machines will be located is provided.
(3) 
The name of the owner of the property where the business is located is provided.
(4) 
A copy of the lease or rental agreement is provided, if the property is leased or rented. A sublease, agreement, or contract with a person or entity other than the person or entity listed with the Lubbock County Central Appraisal District as the property owner for the address where the business will be located shall not be sufficient to satisfy this requirement.
(5) 
The applicant and of each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 8.04.001 of this article, the manager, and the local agent, has not been convicted or received a deferred adjudication for any offense set forth in chapter 47 of the Texas Penal Code (gambling); chapter 34 of the Texas Penal Code (money laundering); chapter 71 of the Texas Penal Code (organized crime); any offense involving the manufacture, possession or delivery of a controlled substance in penalty groups 1, 1A, 2, 3, or 4, or the delivery of marihuana, as more fully described in chapter 481 of the Texas Health & Safety Code; or any crime of moral turpitude.
(e) 
A business that existed on or before November 3, 1982, and has remained in continuous operation shall be permitted to obtain an operator’s game room permit under this division without complying with subsection (d)(1), provided that no structural alterations are made except those required by law or ordinance. Compliance with subsection (d)(1) of this section shall be required when an exempted business is added to or enlarged. This requirement may be satisfied upon the granting of a variance by the zoning board of adjustment.
(f) 
When a permit is issued to the applicant, each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 8.04.001 of this article shall be considered to be a permit holder.
(Ordinance 2019-O0037 adopted 3/26/2019; Ordinance 2020-O0133 adopted 10/13/2020)
(a) 
The chief of police may suspend a permit for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days if he determines that a permit holder or any employee of a permit holder has violated or is not in compliance with this article; or that a condition exists which would be grounds for denial of an application for a permit under this article.
(b) 
The chief of police shall inform the permit holder by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the suspension of a permit and of the permit holder’s right to appeal as set forth at section 8.04.067 of this article. Written notice of the suspension of a permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the business premises. The chief of police shall inform the city secretary of the suspension.
(Ordinance 2019-O0037 adopted 3/26/2019)
(a) 
Any operator’s game room permit issued under this division shall be subject to revocation by the city secretary for the following reasons:
(1) 
The correct operator’s game room permit fee has not been tendered to the city secretary, in the case of a check or bank draft, honored with payment upon presentation.
(2) 
Failure to comply with the requirements of this article.
(3) 
Operation of the coin-operated machines in a manner which violates the law.
(4) 
Any condition which would make the applicant, operator or local agent ineligible to receive an operator’s game room permit, including, without limitation, conviction of any offense set forth in chapter 47 of the Texas Penal Code (gambling); chapter 34 of the Texas Penal Code (money laundering); chapter 71 of the Texas Penal Code (organized crime); any offense involving the manufacture, possession or delivery of a controlled substance in penalty groups 1, 1A, 2, 3, or 4, or the delivery of marihuana, as more fully described in chapter 481 of the Texas Health & Safety Code; or any crime of moral turpitude.
(b) 
The chief of police or any other representatives of the police department, building inspection department, fire department, code enforcement department and environmental health department of the city shall inform the city secretary of an applicant’s or operator’s failure to comply with the requirements of this article.
(1983 Code, sec. 3-117; Ordinance 8372, sec. 2, adopted 11/18/1982; Ordinance 2019-O0037 adopted 3/26/2019)
Any applicant or operator whose operator’s game room permit is denied or revoked pursuant to the provisions of this division shall have ten (10) business days following receipt of the notice of such denial or revocation to appeal the denial or revocation to the City of Lubbock permit and license appeal board in accordance with chapter 2, article 2.03, division 3, section 2.03.071 et seq., of the Lubbock Code of Ordinances.
(1983 Code, sec. 3-118; Ordinance 8372, sec. 2, adopted 11/18/1982; Ordinance 10038, sec. 7, adopted 12/18/1997; Ordinance 2019-O0037 adopted 3/26/2019; Ordinance 2020-O0133 adopted 10/13/2020)