(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.
(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)
