It is the purpose and intent of the city council, in enacting this chapter, to regulate internet cafés for the protection of the public from the perils of fire and hazards to health, for the additional protection of minors, and for the preservation of the peace and welfare of the community. It is the city council's further intent to establish minimally intrusive protocols to provide accountability for internet access and use at internet cafés. The city council finds such accountability to be reasonably necessary in order to minimize the risk of use of the internet by persons at internet cafés for criminal purposes and to increase the chances of apprehension of such persons, while recognizing each person's right to use the internet for legitimate purposes.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002)
As used in this chapter, "internet café" means and include any "cyber café" or any similar business that, as its primary purpose, makes available for public use and for any form of remuneration, six or more computers capable of being connected to the internet or "world wide web" for any purpose including, but not limited to, online gaming, sending or receiving e-mail, and/or accessing websites.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002)
It is unlawful for any person to engage in, conduct or carry on, in or upon any premises or real property located within the city, the activities of an internet café, unless such person has been granted a valid permit pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. A separate permit shall be required for each location within the city where an internet café is to be established. A permit may be issued only to a natural person.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002)
An internet café permit, issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, that has not been suspended or revoked, may be renewed for a period not to exceed one year on written application to the chief of police made at least sixty days prior to the expiration date of the current valid permit. The application for renewal of a permit shall contain all of the information required by Section 5.52.060 of this chapter and shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002)
A. 
Any person desiring to obtain a permit, or renew an existing permit to operate an internet café, shall file a written application with the chief of police or designee thereof ("chief of police" hereinafter in this chapter). The application shall be signed under penalty of perjury. Prior to submitting the application, a nonrefundable fee in the amount of two hundred dollars, or such other amount as established by resolution of the city council, shall be paid to the department of finance to defray, in part, the cost of the investigation required by this chapter. The department of finance shall issue a receipt showing that such application or renewal fee has been paid. The receipt, or a copy thereof, shall be supplied by the applicant to the chief of police at the time such application is filed. The permit issuance or renewal fee required under this chapter shall be in addition to any license, permit or fee required under this code.
B. 
Neither the filing of an application for a permit or renewal thereof, nor payment of an application or renewal fee, shall authorize the operation of an internet café until such permit has been granted or renewed.
C. 
Each applicant for an internet café permit, or renewal thereof, shall furnish the following information:
1. 
The present or proposed address where the business is to be conducted;
2. 
The full true name under which the business will be conducted;
3. 
The full true name and any other names used by the applicant;
4. 
The present residence and business addresses and telephone numbers of the applicant;
5. 
Each residence and business address of the applicant for the five-year period immediately preceding the date of filing of the application and the inclusive dates of each such address;
6. 
California driver's license or identification number of the applicant;
7. 
Acceptable written proof that the applicant is at least eighteen years of age;
8. 
A precise description of the services to be provided;
9. 
The true names and residential addresses of all persons employed or intended to be employed;
10. 
A detailed site and floor plan of the proposed business, depicting the building and unit proposed and including interior dimensions and off street parking spaces required by the city's zoning code; and
11. 
Such other identification and/or information as the chief of police may require in order to discover the truth of the matters required to be set forth in the application.
D. 
The applicant shall personally appear at the police department of the city and produce proof that the required application or renewal fee has been paid, and shall present the application containing the information and supporting documentation required by subsection C of this section. A copy of the application shall be distributed to the city's planning and building departments and the Orange County fire authority for review.
E. 
When any change occurs regarding the written information required by subsection C of this section to be included in the application, the applicant or permit holder, as the case may be, shall give written notification of such change to the chief of police within five business days of such change.
F. 
The chief of police shall have a reasonable period of time in which to investigate the facts set forth in the application and to receive comments from the planning and building departments and Orange County fire authority. The chief of police shall, within forty-five days after the date of the filing of the application, render a written recommendation to the city manager, as to approval or denial of the application.
G. 
The city manager, or his or her designee ("city manager" hereinafter in this chapter) shall, within ten days after receiving the application and aforementioned recommendation from the chief of police, grant the permit, or renewal thereof, only if it is found that all of the following requirements have been met:
1. 
The required fees have been paid;
2. 
The application, and all information contained therein, conform in all respects to the provisions of this chapter;
3. 
The applicant has not knowingly made a material misrepresentation of fact in the application;
4. 
The internet café, as proposed, would comply with this chapter and all other applicable city, county and state laws including, but not limited to, health, zoning, fire and safety requirements and standards and that, as proposed, the internet café would not tend to generate criminal activities, present unnecessary criminal opportunities, or tend to cause violations of curfews by minors;
5. 
The applicant is at least eighteen years of age;
6. 
The internet café site and floor plans have been reviewed by the planning and building departments and the Orange County fire authority which have approved the same as well as all fire and panic safety equipment required to be installed pursuant to the city's building and fire codes; all requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act have been satisfied; and the maximum occupancy has been established, will be posted and will not likely be exceeded based on the floor plan.
H. 
If the city manager does not find that all of the requirements of subsection G of this section have been met, the application shall be denied. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the city manager receives evidence that the applicant has, within the previous five years, had any permit or entitlement to operate an internet café revoked due to the applicant's commission of a crime or violation of conditions of approval applicable to the internet café, an internet café permit may be granted subject to additional conditions designed to preclude a recurrence of the events or activities causing the prior permit revocation.
In the event the application for the permit or renewal thereof is denied, written notice of the denial shall be given within ten business days to the applicant, specifying the ground or grounds of the denial. Notice of denial of the application may be personally served or served by first-class postage prepaid and addressed to the applicant at the residence address set forth in the application. Mailed notice shall be deemed received three days after mailing. Any applicant whose application for an internet café permit, or renewal thereof, has been denied, may appeal such denial to the city council as provided in Section 5.00.320 of this title.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002)
Unless otherwise provided in conditions of a discretionary approval applicable to the permitted internet café, each internet café shall maintain the necessary facilities, equipment and personnel to provide and maintain the following consumer protection and service standards under normal conditions and operations:
A. 
Unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, no minor who is subject to compulsory education or compulsory continuing education may be present in an internet café between the hours of eight a.m. and two-thirty p.m. on days when the minor's school is in session, or, if those hours are not applicable to the minor, then on those days and during those hours of schooling applicable to the minor. No minor may be present in an internet café between eight p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and two a.m. the day following, or ten p.m. on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and two a.m. the day following, unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Each operator of an internet café shall post a sign in a conspicuous location near each entrance of the business, in letters at least two inches in height, stating that no minor is permitted on the premises without a parent or legal guardian: 1. While the minor's school is in session; and 2. After the hours established in this subsection.
B. 
A waiting area with not less than eight seats shall be provided for customers waiting to use a computer. The operator of the internet café shall not allow persons waiting to use a computer to block any sidewalk abutting the business or otherwise impede the free movement of any patron utilizing or waiting to utilize a computer.
C. 
Each internet café operator shall take all steps necessary to prevent waiting patrons or patrons using a computer from interfering with another patron's use of the facilities. Each operator of an internet café shall be responsible to request a response from the Buena Park police department in the event any criminal activity occurs in his or her presence.
D. 
It shall be unlawful for any intoxicated person or person under the influence of drugs to be present on the premises. It shall be unlawful for any person to consume alcohol on the premises of an internet café. Each owner of an internet café shall be responsible for causing the removal of any person found to be intoxicated on the premises including the area immediately adjacent to any entrance.
E. 
An internet café may operate only between the hours of seven a.m. and two a.m. No person except employees shall be on the premises of an internet café between the hours of two a.m. and seven a.m., any day of the week.
F. 
A minimum of two employees, no less than eighteen years of age, shall be present in the internet café at all times while open for business.
G. 
Any adult use and/or adult activity subject to regulation as an "adult entertainment business" pursuant to Chapter 5.44 of this title, is strictly prohibited on the premises of an internet café.
H. 
A fully functional camera and video tape or other recording system satisfactory to the chief of police shall be installed and maintained and shall record activities in the entire interior, including all entrances and exits, of each internet café. Each video tape or other storage media shall be kept a minimum of seventy-two hours and made available to the police department upon request. Each internet café shall post a sign in a conspicuous location near each entrance stating that the premises are subject to video surveillance.
I. 
When deemed necessary by the chief of police, the internet café operator shall, at his or her own expense, provide a state-licensed security guard, twenty-one years or older, during hours and on days specified by the chief of police. The security guard shall be in addition to the two employees required by this chapter to be on the premises. Each security guard must be approved, in advance, by the chief of police.
J. 
Each owner of an internet café shall maintain a log of patrons' actual and screen names, and home or business address which shall be available for review by any police officer as part of a criminal investigation. The operator shall be responsible, to the extent possible, for ensuring that each patron utilizes a screen name given to the operator when accessing the internet.
K. 
Every internet café shall maintain all exterior windows free of signage, tinting and/or any other visual obstructions.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002)
Unless prior application is made, thereafter approved, and a permit issued thereon, upon the sale or transfer of any interest in an internet café, the permit shall immediately become null and void. A new application shall be made and fee paid by any person, firm or entity desiring to own or operate the internet café. Any application involving the sale or other transfer of any interest in an existing internet café, as well as any permit which may thereafter be granted, shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002)
A. 
A holder of a valid internet café permit shall notify the chief of police and director of planning, in writing, of any proposed change in the business location, floor plan or business name. Such notification shall be made at least thirty days prior to such change.
B. 
Nothing in this section shall excuse the owner of an internet café from obtaining all other approvals necessary to change a location, floor plan or business name, including modification of a conditional use permit or business license.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002)
A. 
If the city manager finds that any person holding a city-issued internet café permit has violated or allowed the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or has conducted the business in a manner that would have been grounds for permit denial, the permit may be revoked following notice and hearing.
B. 
No revocation shall become effective until the permit holder has been notified in writing of the right to appeal the revocation pursuant to the provisions of Section 5.00.320 of this title. Notice of the pending revocation and right to appeal shall be given to the permit holder either by personal delivery or by certified or registered mail, addressed to the permit holder at the address set forth in the application. Mailed notice shall be deemed received three days after mailing.
C. 
If a timely appeal is filed, the revocation shall be stayed and shall become effective only upon an adverse decision of the city council, unless immediate revocation pending the hearing is necessary due to an immediate threat to the public health, safety or welfare. Otherwise, the revocation shall become effective upon expiration of the appeal period. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the city council shall have authority to sustain, reverse, or conditionally reverse the city manager's decision to revoke.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002)
A. 
Any internet café operated, conducted or maintained contrary to the provisions of this chapter shall be and is hereby declared to be unlawful and a public nuisance, and the city may, in addition to or in lieu of prosecuting a criminal action hereunder, commence an action or actions, proceeding or proceedings, for the abatement, removal or enjoinment thereof, in the manner provided by law, and may take such other steps and may apply to such court or courts as may have jurisdiction to grant such relief to abate or remove such establishment and restrain and enjoin any person from operating, conducting or maintaining an internet café contrary to the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
The prevailing party in any action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding to abate a nuisance pursuant to this section shall be entitled to its reasonable attorneys' fees if: (1) the city elected to seek recovery of its own attorneys' fees at the initiation of the action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding; and (2) the award of attorneys' fees does not exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the city in the action or proceeding.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002; Ord. 1518 § 8, 2008)
It is unlawful for any person to violate any provision or to fail to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter. Any person violating, permitting or causing the violation of Section 5.52.030 of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as set forth in Section 1.04.010 of this code, or any successor provision thereto. A violation of any other provision of this chapter shall be deemed to be an infraction and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as set forth in Section 1.04.020 of this code. Each person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or any portion thereof during which any violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is committed, continued or permitted by such person and shall be deemed punishable therefor as provided in this section.
(Ord. 1428, § 1, 2002)