Billiard Hall.
Shall mean any building, room, or establishment of any nature
or kind whatsoever and by whatever name called where a non-coin-operated
billiard table or billiard tables are operated for profit whether
the same be operated in connection with any other lawful business
or not.
Public Domino Parlor.
As used herein, shall mean any place within the city where
dominoes are kept to be played with the public; provided, any dominoes
used in connection with any place of business where cigars, or other
things of value are sold shall be regarded as within the meaning of
such term.
Coin-Operated Machine.
Shall mean a machine or device operated by insertion of a
coin, token, or similar object for the purpose of music, or skill
or pleasure.
City Manager.
Shall mean the city manager of the City of DeSoto, or his
designated agent.
Licensee.
Shall mean a person licensed to operate a billiard hall or
public domino parlor.
Operator.
Shall mean a person who manages or controls a billiard hall
or public domino parlor.
Person.
Shall mean an individual, assumed name entity, partnership,
joint venture, association, or other legal entity.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4, Article 4.1300,
Section 4.1301; Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
No person may operate a billiard hall or public domino parlor
in the city without first obtaining a license from the city manager.
(Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
(a) An applicant
for a license shall file with the city manager a written application,
on a form provided for that purpose, which shall be signed by the
owner of the billiard hall or public domino parlor. Should an applicant
maintain a billiard hall or public domino parlor at more than one
(1) location, a separate application must be filed for each location.
Each application shall contain:
(1) Name,
address, telephone number, driver's license number, social security
number, and date of birth of the applicant, including the trade name
by which the applicant does business and the street name of the billiard
hall or public domino parlor, and if incorporated, the name registered
with the Secretary of State;
(2) Name,
address, telephone number, driver's license number, social security
number, and date of birth of the operator of the billiard hall or
public domino parlor and proof that the operator is at least eighteen
years of age;
(3) Whether
the applicant, operator, and if applicable, any corporate officer
of the applicant has been convicted of a felony or within the preceding
five (5) years of an offense involving drugs, gambling, prostitution,
obscenity or unlawfully carrying a weapon;
(4) The
previous occupation of the applicant, operator, and if applicable,
all corporate officers of the applicant within the preceding five
(5) years;
(5) Whether
a previous license of applicant, or if applicable, corporate officer
of applicant has been revoked within two (2) years of filing of the
application;
(6) Total
number of billiard tables or domino tables in the center or hall;
(7) A
statement that all the facts contained in the application are true.
(b) The
city manager may require additional information of an applicant or
licensee to clarify items on the application.
(c) No applicant
may maintain a billiard hall or public domino parlor in violation
of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of the City of DeSoto.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4, Article 4.1300,
Section 4.1304; Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
(a) No license
shall be issued until the annual occupation tax has been paid on each
billiard table or domino table as defined herein.
(b) All
licenses issued under the provisions of this article shall terminate
one (1) year from the date of such issuance, unless they are renewed
as provided herein.
(c) Every
owner who owns, controls, possesses, exhibits, displays, or who permits
to be exhibited or displayed in this city, any billiard table or domino
table shall pay, and there is hereby levied on each billiard table
or domino table, as defined herein, except as are exempt herein, an
annual occupational tax as provided for in the fee schedule found
in the appendix of this code.
(d) The
fee for issuing a replacement license, for one lost, destroyed, or
mutilated is as provided for in the fee schedule found in the appendix
of this code. The fee is payable upon approval of the license by the
city manager. No refund of occupational taxes shall be made.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4, Article 4.1300,
Section 4.1305; Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
(a) Each
license issued pursuant to this article must be posted and kept in
a conspicuous place in the billiard hall or public domino parlor and
must state the number of billiard tables or domino tables for which
the license was issued.
(b) A replacement
license may be issued for one lost, destroyed, or mutilated, upon
application on a form provided by the city manager. The replacement
license shall have the word "replacement" stamped across its face
and shall bear the same number as the one it replaces.
(c) A licensee
shall notify the city manager of a change in the number of billiard
tables or domino tables of the billiard hall or public domino parlor.
Occupational taxes for additional billiard tables or domino tables
must be paid prior to putting these devices in operation.
(d) A billiard
hall or public domino parlor license is not assignable or transferable.
(e) A licensee
shall notify the city manager within ten (10) days of a change or
partial change in the ownership, partnership, or management of the
billiard hall or public domino parlor, or a change of address or trade
name.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4, Article 4.1300,
Section 4.1306; Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
(a) The
city manager shall refuse to approve issuance or renewal of a billiard
hall or public domino parlor license for one (1) or more of the following
reasons:
(1) A
false statement as to the information supplied in the application
for license;
(2) Conviction
of the applicant, his operator, or corporate officer of the applicant
of a felony or within the preceding five (5) years of an offense involving
drugs, gambling, prostitution, obscenity, or unlawfully carrying a
weapon; or
(3) Revocation
of a license, pursuant to this article, of the applicant or corporate
officer of the applicant within two (2) years preceding the filing
of the application.
(b) The
city manager shall not issue or renew a license under this article,
and shall suspend for any period of time, or cancel a license, if
he finds that the applicant or licensee is indebted to the city for
any fees, costs, penalties, or delinquent taxes.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4, Article 4.1300,
Section 4.1307; Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
(a) The
city manager shall revoke a billiard hall or public domino parlor
license for one (1) or more of the following reasons:
(1) A
false statement as to the information supplied in the application
for license, license renewal, or a hearing concerning the license;
(2) Conviction
of the licensee, his operator, or corporate officer of the licensee
of a felony of an offense involving drugs, gambling, prostitution,
obscenity, or unlawfully carrying a weapon;
(3) Conviction
twice within a one-year period of the licensee or his operator for
a violation of the hours of operation provision of this article
(4) Employment
by the licensee of an operator who is under seventeen (17) years of
age;
(5) Operation
of the billiard hall or public domino parlor containing more billiard
tables or domino tables than the center or hall is licensed for; or
(6) Violation
by the licensee, or his operator, of any of the provisions of this
article.
(b) The
city manager shall send written notice of revocation to the last known
address of the licensee by certified mail, return receipt requested,
setting forth the reasons for the revocation.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4, Article 4.1300,
Section 4.1308; Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
If the city manager refuses to approve the issuance of a license
or the renewal of a license to an applicant or revokes a license issued
to a licensee under this article, this action is final unless the
applicant or licensee, within ten (10) days after the receipt of written
notice of the action, files with the city manager a written appeal.
The city manager shall, within ten (10) days after the appeal is filed,
consider all the evidence in support of or against the action appealed
and render a decision either sustaining or reversing the action. If
the city manager sustains the action, the applicant or licensee, may
within ten (10) days of that decision file a written appeal with the
city secretary to the city council setting forth specific grounds
for the appeal. The city council shall, within thirty (30) days, grant
a hearing to consider the action. The city council has authority to
sustain, reverse, or modify the action appealed. The decision of the
city council is final.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4, Article 4.1300,
Section 4.1309)
No licensee, or his operator, may operate the billiard hall
or public domino parlor except between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and
11:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday; between the hours of 9:00 a.m.
and 1:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday; and between the hours of 12:00
noon and 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.
(Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
(a) A licensee,
or his operator, may not permit any of the following activities within
the billiard hall or public domino parlor:
(1) Violation
of any possession, sale, or delivery provision of the Texas Controlled
Substances Act;
(2) Violation
of any city ordinances;
(3) Violation
of any provision of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code;
(6) Entry
of a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age between the hours
of 9.00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. during the fall or spring term when students
are required to attend school in the school district in which the
center is located.
(b) A licensee,
or his operator, of any billiard hall or public domino parlor may
not permit any activities on the premises otherwise prohibited by
the ordinances of the City of DeSoto, statutes of the State of Texas
or the United States.
(c) In subsection
(c) of this section, "premises" means an area, other than the interior of the billiard hall or public domino parlor, to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and which is under the control of an owner or operator of a billiard hall or public domino parlor, such as a parking facility or private sidewalk.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4, Article 4.1300,
Section 4.1311; Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
Officers of the police department on official duty are authorized
and empowered to enter during business hours, for the purposes of
inspection and for the preservation of law and order, any billiard
hall or public domino parlor within the city.
(Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
The fire marshal, in cooperation with the chief of police and
code enforcement officer, will set and enforce maximum capacity or
maximum occupancy standards for each billiard hall or public domino
parlor. Maximum capacity or maximum occupancy will be set at licensing.
(Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
(a) The
interior of any billiard hall or public domino parlor must be well-lighted
and all devices must be clearly visible from the building entrance,
and there shall be a minimum of five feet (5') of clear open space
surrounding each billiard table. The floor space under and surrounding
the billiard tables must be carpeted with indoor-outdoor carpeting.
(b) No license
shall be issued for the ownership or operation of devices on any premises
where a hotel, rooming house, or lodging house is conducted in the
same building, and there shall not be any devices on the premises.
(c) The
interior of each center or hall must be kept clean and neat. The premises
shall not have the appearance of being dirty or shabby and shall not
be degrading to the surrounding neighborhood or let run down.
(1995 Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4, Article 4.1300,
Section 4.1314; Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)
(a) This
section does not apply to a stamp vending machine, service coin-operated
machine such as a pay toilet or telephone that dispenses only a service,
or a gas meter, food vending machine, confection vending machine,
beverage vending machine, merchandise vending machine or cigarette
vending machine which is subject to an occupation or gross receipts
tax.
(b) The
city hereby imposes an occupation tax on a coin-operated machine displayed
for public use within the city at a rate not exceeding 1/4 of the
rate of the tax imposed by the state under Section 2153.401 of the
Occupations Code, which state tax is currently sixty dollars ($60.00)
per machine per year. The chief of police is authorized to seal a
coin-operated machine if the tax imposed by this subsection is not
paid and to charge a fee of not more than five dollars ($5.00) for
the release of a sealed coin-operated machine.
(c) For
purposes of zoning, the exhibition of a music or skill or pleasure
coin-operated machine as an accessory use shall be permitted where
the principal use of the property is permitted by this comprehensive
zoning ordinance.
(d) If the
display of coin-operated machines is the principal use of the property,
not an accessory use, such use shall he permitted if it is authorized
on the property by the comprehensive zoning ordinance of the city.
(Ordinance 1394-01 adopted 1/16/01)