This chapter is enacted for regulatory purposes of the City of Dixon.
(Ord. 12-004)
Subject to the provisions of this chapter, all businesses engaged in or carried on in the City shall obtain and maintain in force a business license. It is unlawful for any person to commence, transact, engage in, or carry on any business in the City without obtaining a valid license and paying the license fee therefor, or without complying with any and all applicable provisions of this chapter. Compliance with such requirements shall not be construed to be a condition precedent to engaging in any business or corporation within the City where the imposition of such a condition precedent would be contrary to law. When any person, by use of signs, circulars, cards, telephone book, or newspapers, advertises, holds out, or represents that he/she is in business in the City, or when any person holds an active license or permit issued by a governmental agency indicating that he/she is in business in the City, and the person fails to deny by a sworn statement given to the Collector that he/she is not conducting a business in the City after being requested to do so by the Collector, then these facts shall be considered prima facie evidence that he/she is conducting a business in the City. It shall be unlawful for any sidewalk vendor, peddler, or solicitor to sell, display or offer for sale any food, beverage, goods, or merchandise without first obtaining a business license and a sidewalk vending or peddler's permit from the City.
(Ord. 23-004 § 1; Ord. 12-004)
For the purpose of this title, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
means professions, trades, occupations, gainful activities, and all and every kind of calling whether or not carried on for profit.
means and includes activities for the benefit of nonprofit philanthropic, social service, benevolent, patriotic, educational, or religious activities, including, but not limited to, nonprofit organizations, tax-exempt organizations, and public and private schools.
means the City of Dixon, a municipal corporation of the State of California, in its present incorporated form or in any later reorganized, consolidated, enlarged or reincorporated form.
means the Director of Finance or other City officer or employee charged with the administration of this chapter.
means and includes any and all activities excepting activities for charitable purposes, as defined in this section.
means the premises occupied in the City for the particular purpose of conducting a business there and regularly kept open for that purpose with a competent person in attendance for the purpose of attending to such business.
means hotels, motels, apartment buildings, and multifamily structures with four (4) or more dwelling units, or boarding houses with three (3) or more rooms to let.
means any person who, for commercial purposes, goes from place to place, from house to house, or from street to street or who by telephone seeks to make sales and/or deliveries of the goods, wares, merchandise, or services in which he deals. "Peddler" shall not include vendors of milk, dairy products, newspapers, or other goods, who distribute their goods to regular customers on established routes. "Peddler" shall not include any person who meets the criteria for "sidewalk vendor."
means all domestic and foreign corporations, associations, syndicates, joint stock corporations, partnerships of every kind, clubs, businesses, or common law trusts, societies and individuals transacting and carrying on any business in the City.
means the Chief of Police or his or her designee.
means a person who sells food or merchandise from a pushcart, stand, display, pedal-driven cart, wagon, showcase, rack, or other nonmotorized conveyance, or from one's person, upon a public sidewalk or other pedestrian path. A sidewalk vendor may be either a:
"Roaming sidewalk vendor,"
which means a sidewalk vendor who moves from place to place and stops only to complete a transaction; or
"Stationary sidewalk vendor,"
which means a sidewalk vendor who vends from a fixed location.
means any person who, for commercial purposes, goes from place to place, from house to house, or from street to street or who by telephone solicits or takes or attempts to take orders for the sale of goods, wares, merchandise or property of any nature for future delivery, or for services to be performed in the future for making, manufacturing, or repairing any article whatsoever for future delivery or subscriptions to periodicals or tickets or admission or entertainments or memberships in any club. "Solicitor" shall not include any person who meets the criteria for "sidewalk vendor."
means an affidavit sworn before a person authorized to take oaths or declaration or certification made under penalty of perjury.
means any person who engages in temporary or transient business in the City, selling goods, wares, merchandise, or any other thing of value with the intention of conducting such business in the City for a period of less than six (6) months and who, for the purpose of carrying on such business, hires, leases or occupies any room, vacant lot, building or other place for the exhibition or sale of goods, wares, merchandise or other thing of value for a period of less than six (6) months.
(Ord. 23-004 § 2; Ord. 12-004)
Persons required to pay a license fee for transacting and carrying on any business under this chapter shall not be relieved from the payment of any fees for the privilege of carrying on any similar or related activity required under any other ordinance of the City and shall remain subject to the regulatory provisions of other ordinances. No person shall be entitled to a business license and the Collector shall not issue a business license to any person commencing business unless and until the person has complied with all applicable City ordinances. No license shall be issued covering any food or drink dispensing establishment, restaurant, pet hospital, pet shop, veterinarian, or kennel services until the applicant has obtained clearance from the County Department of Health.
The City shall waive the initial business license fee for City residents, upon proof of residency such as a driver's license or utility bill, establishing a new business within the City. This provision shall exclude solicitors, peddlers and itinerant merchants. This does not apply to the surcharge enacted by SB 1186, and amended by AB 1379 which increases the fee. The business shall comply with DMC § 4.02.080, Exemptions – Claim for, when applying for an exemption for payment of said business license tax.
(Ord. 18-006 § 1; Ord. 17-011 § 1; Ord. 12-004)
Every person required to have a license under the provisions of this chapter shall make application for the same to the Collector providing such information and in such manner as may be required by the Collector, and pay a fee as set forth by resolution of the City Council to cover the actual cost of processing each application for an original license, and a fee for the filing of each application for renewal. Such application shall be a statement upon a form provided by such Collector and shall be written by the applicant under penalty of perjury or sworn to by the applicant before a person authorized to administer oaths. The Collector may refer to any governmental agency any statement and all other information submitted by persons subject to the provisions of this chapter in connection with the conduct of a business regulated or supervised by or otherwise the concern of any such agency, including agencies concerned with health regulations, zoning conformance, fire safety, police considerations or any other safeguard of the public interest.
(Ord. 12-004)
A separate license must be obtained for each branch establishment or location of the business transacted and carried on and for each separate business at the same location, and each license shall authorize the licensee to transact and carry on only the business licensed thereby at the location or in the manner designated in the license; provided, that warehouses and distributing plants used in connection with and incidental to a business licensed under the provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to be separate places of business or branch establishments.
(Ord. 12-004)
No license issued pursuant to this chapter is transferable; provided, that where a license is issued authorizing a person to carry on a business at a particular place, the licensee may, upon application therefor and paying a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00), have the license amended to authorize the carrying on of the business at some other location to which the business is or is not to be moved.
(Ord. 12-004)
A duplicate license may be issued by the Collector to replace any license previously issued under this chapter which has been lost or destroyed upon the licensee filing a statement of such fact and, at that time of filing the statement, paying to the Collector a fee of five dollars ($5.00) for the duplicate license.
(Ord. 12-004)
Any licensee transacting and carrying on a business at a fixed place of business in the City shall keep a license posted in a conspicuous place upon the premises where the business is carried on. Any licensee transacting and carrying on business, but not operating in a fixed place of business in the City, shall keep the license upon his person at all times while on such business in the City and shall display same upon demand.
(Ord. 12-004)
No license shall be issued for a period of more than twelve (12) months. All annual licenses shall expire on the thirty-first day of December.
(Ord. 12-004)
A.
It shall be within the authority of the Collector, as defined in DMC § 6.02.030, to enforce each and all of the provisions of this chapter. The Chief of Police shall render such assistance in the enforcement of this chapter as may from time to time be required by the Collector.
B.
The Collector and each and all of his designees and any police officer shall have the power and authority to enter, free of charge, and at any reasonable time, any place of business required to be licensed under this chapter, and demand an exhibition of its license certificate. Any person possessing the issued license certificate who willfully fails to display it on demand of the Collector may be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to the penalties provided for by the provisions of this code. It shall be within the authority of the Collector to file a complaint with the City Manager against any person found to be violating any of the provisions of this chapter.
C.
Penalties for violation of this chapter:
1.
A new business determined to be operating without a business license shall have ten (10) days to obtain the necessary business license. If a complete application is not received by the end of the ten (10) calendar-day period, the applicant will be subject to a penalty of fifty percent (50%) of the application fee. If the business continues to operate beyond the ten (10) day period, the business may be subject to additional late fees or penalties as determined by resolution of the City Council. If the business continues to operate without a valid license, the business may be subject to all other penalties authorized under Chapters 1.06 and 4.02 DMC, DMC Title 6, and Chapter 9.01 DMC or any other resolutions passed by the City Council.
2.
Payment for renewal of a business license will be deemed late and subject to a penalty of fifty percent (50%) of the processing fee if the complete application, including all fees, is not received within sixty (60) days of the date of expiration of the immediately preceding license. If the business continues to operate without a valid license, the business may be subject to all other penalties authorized under Chapters 1.06 and 4.02 DMC, DMC Title 6, and Chapter 9.01 DMC or any other resolutions passed by the City Council.
3.
Operating a business without a business license in violation of this chapter, after written notice of violation and order to cease operations, is deemed to be a public nuisance. Persons operating a business in violation of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and may be punishable by a fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation and as provided in Chapter 1.06 DMC. Where the conduct constituting the violation is of a continuing nature, each calendar day that the conduct continues shall be deemed a separate and distinct violation. Staff shall present an annual report to the City Council by April of each year delineating all businesses with delinquent business license fees. At that time, the City Council can determine if the delinquent businesses shall be sent to collection or whether the fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) per violation shall be levied against property owned by the business.
4.
Any person who knowingly makes any false statement in any application for a business license or in any report or document required under this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and may be punishable as provided for in Chapter 1.06 DMC.
5.
All remedies prescribed in this chapter shall be cumulative, and the use of one or more remedies by the City shall not bar the use of any other remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter.
6.
Should court action be required to collect any business license fees or penalties, any additional penalty shall be charged equal to costs of suit, including attorney's fees. The penalties shall be added to the delinquent fees and they shall become due and payable and collected along with the outstanding fees.
(Ord. 16-003 § 1; Ord. 12-004)
Notwithstanding any provision in this code or in the Dixon Municipal Code to the contrary, no license, permit or land use entitlement shall be issued for any use or business which is unlawful under the terms of any applicable Federal, State or local law. Notwithstanding Chapter 6.12 DMC, this prohibition includes, but is not limited to, uses or businesses which include the distribution, possession or use of any prohibited or unlawful substance under the terms of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 ("the Controlled Substances Act," 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq.).
(Ord. 16-009 § 1; Ord. 12-004)
Repealed by Ord. 23-003.
(Ord. 19-004 § 1; Ord. 16-003 § 1; Ord. 12-004)
Any person aggrieved by any decision of an administrative officer or agency with respect to the issuance or refusal to issue a license required by this title, or any penalties imposed under DMC § 6.02.110, may appeal to the Council by filing a notice of appeal with the Collector within fifteen (15) days of the denial, approval, or imposed penalty. The Council shall fix a time and place for hearing such appeal and the Collector shall give notice in writing to such person of the time and place of the hearing by serving it personally or by certified mail, postage prepaid, addressed to such person at the address appearing on his or her last license or application. The findings of the Council shall be final and conclusive and shall be served upon the applicant in the manner prescribed above for service of notice of hearing.
(Ord. 19-004 § 1)