"Council"
shall mean the City Council.
"For pay"
shall mean for a fee, reward, donations, loan or receipt of anything of value.
"Fortune telling"
shall mean telling of fortunes, forecasting of futures, or furnishing of any information not otherwise obtainable by the ordinary process of knowledge, by means of any occult, psychic power, faculty, force, clairvoyance, clairaudience, cartomancy, psychology, psychometry, phrenology, spirits, tea leaves or other such reading, mediumship, seership, prophesy, augury, astrology, palmistry, necromancy, mind reading, telepathy, or other craft art, science, cards, talisman, charm, potion, magnetism, magnetized article or substance, gypsy cunning or foresight, crystal gazing, oriental mysteries or magic, of any kind or nature.
(Prior code § 3-10.1)
A. 
No person shall conduct, engage in, carry on, participate in, or practice fortune telling or cause the same to be done for pay without having first obtained a permit from the Council and without having posted and maintained in full force and effect a surety bond as required in Section 5.72.060.
B. 
No person shall violate any of the terms and conditions of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter nor any of the regulations and provisions within this chapter. Each day such a violation or violations occur shall constitute a separate offense.
(Prior code § 3-10.2)
Every natural person who, for pay, actively conducts, engages in, carries on, or practices fortune telling shall file a separate verified application for a permit with the City Clerk. The application shall contain:
A. 
The name, home and business address, and home and business phone number of the applicant;
B. 
The record of conviction for violations of the law, excluding minor traffic violations;
C. 
The fingerprints of the applicant on a form provided by the Sheriff's Department;
D. 
The address, city and state, and the approximate dates where and when the applicant practiced a similar business, either alone or in conjunction with others;
E. 
Obtain and submit the written consent of the property owner.
(Prior code § 3-10.3)
Upon the filing of the application, it shall be referred by the City Clerk for investigation, report and recommendation. The investigation shall be conducted to verify the facts contained in the application and any supporting data. The investigation shall be completed and a report and recommendation made in writing to the Council within 30 days after the filing of the application, unless the applicant requests or consents to an extension of the time period. If the report recommends denial of the permit to the applicant, the grounds for the recommended denial shall be set forth. At the time of the filing of the report and recommendation with the Council, a copy thereof shall be served personally or by certified mail by the City Clerk on the applicant, accompanied by a notice that the applicant may request to be heard when the Council considers the application and report.
(Prior code § 3-10.4)
A. 
The Council shall consider the application and the report and recommendation at a hearing held at a regularly scheduled meeting on or before the fourteenth day after the filing of the report and recommendation referred to in Section 5.72.040.
B. 
Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given to all parties by the City Clerk at least three days prior to the hearing.
C. 
Any interested party shall be heard upon a reasonable request.
D. 
The City shall have the burden of proof to show the permit should be denied.
E. 
The decision of the Council to grant or deny the permit shall be in writing, and if adverse to the applicant, shall contain findings of fact and a determination of the issues presented.
F. 
Unless the applicant agrees in writing to an extension of time, the Council shall make its order denying or granting the application within 24 hours after completion of the hearing on the application for a permit and shall notify the applicant of its action by personal service or certified mail.
G. 
Any member of the Council who is absent from the hearing or has not read or heard the record of the proceedings shall not vote on the decision.
(Prior code § 3-10.5)
A. 
The Council shall approve the issuance of the permit if they find:
1. 
All the information contained in the application and supporting data is true.
2. 
The applicant has not, within the previous six months, been convicted of any violation of Title 9 or any law relating to fraud or moral turpitude.
3. 
The applicant appeared in person at the hearing.
4. 
The applicant agrees to abide by and comply with all conditions of the permit and this chapter.
B. 
The Council shall deny the permit only if it cannot make each of the findings set forth above.
C. 
If the Council approves the permit, the City Finance Officer must issue the permit after either of the following:
1. 
The applicant has posted with the City Clerk, surety bond in the principal sum amount of $10,000 executed as surety by a good and sufficient corporate surety authorized to do a surety business in the State of California and as a principal by the applicant. The form of the bond must be approved by the City Attorney and must be given to insure good faith and fair dealing on the part of the applicant and as a guarantee of indemnity for any and all loss, damage, theft, or other unfair dealings suffered by any patron of the applicant within the City during the term of the permit.
2. 
Alternately, in lieu of the surety bond as provided in Subsection (C)(1) of this section, the applicant may post, with the City, a cash bond in the sum of $2,000 as a guarantee of indemnity for any and all loss, damage, theft, or other unfair dealings suffered by any patron of the applicant within the City during the term of the permit. The form of the bond must be approved by the City Attorney and given to insure good faith and fair dealing on the part of the applicant.
D. 
The term of the permit shall be for no more than the term of a regular business tax certificate. A renewal application shall be filed no later than 30 days prior to the expiration of the permit and shall be processed in the same manner as a new application.
(Prior code § 3-10.6; Ord. 1336 § 13, 5/8/17)
Upon the discovery of any false or misleading statement in the application or any misrepresentation by the applicant in procuring the permit or upon the termination of the bond required hereunder or upon the applicant's violation of any provision of Title 9, the Council may conduct a hearing upon five days written notice to the applicant to determine whether the permit should be revoked.
(Prior code § 3-10.7)
A. 
The provisions of this chapter do not apply to any person solely by reason of the fact that he or she is engaged in the business of entertaining the public by demonstrations of mind reading, mental telepathy, thought conveyance, or the giving of horoscopic readings, at public places and in the presence of and within the hearing of other persons and at which no questions are answered, as part of such entertainment, except in a manner to permit all persons present at such public place to hear such answers.
B. 
No person is required to take out any permit for conducting or participating in any religious ceremony or service when such person holds a certificate of ordination as a minister, missionary, medium, healer, clairvoyant, or other recognized representative of a bona fide religious organization (collectively, representative) maintaining a religious facility and holding regular assemblies; provided that:
1. 
Except as otherwise provided, the fees, gratuities, emoluments, and profits collected must be paid solely to or for the benefit of the bona fide religious association.
2. 
The representative of such bona fide religious association must file with the City Clerk a certified copy of the representative's contact information and identify where the activities will be conducted.
(Prior code § 3-10.8; Ord. 1319 § 4, 10/10/16; Ord. 1336 § 14, 5/8/17)
Fortune telling shall only be permitted in the CO and CG Zones of the City.
(Prior code § 3-10.10)