The purpose of this chapter is to provide a means for obtaining public information and compiling statistical information on existing and new businesses in the city to ensure the legal conduct of the businesses and to assist in the effective administration of the health, fire, building, zoning and other codes of the city.
(Ord. 1239 § 1, 1993)
Except as otherwise expressly declared or clearly apparent from the context in which used, the following definitions shall be applied in construing the provisions of this chapter:
(2) 
“Business Licensing Service” or “BLS”
means the office within Washington State Department of Revenue providing business licensing service to the city.
(3) 
The term “engaging in business”
means commencing, conducting, or continuing in business, and also the exercise of corporate or franchise powers, as well as liquidating a business when the liquidators thereof hold themselves out to the public as conducting such business.
(4) 
This section sets forth examples of activities that constitute engaging in business in the city, and establishes safe harbors for certain of those activities so that a person who meets the criteria may engage in de minimis business activities in the city without having to pay a business license fee. The activities listed in this section are illustrative only and are not intended to narrow the definition of “engaging in business” in subsection (3) of this section. If an activity is not listed, whether it constitutes engaging in business in the city shall be determined by considering all the facts and circumstances and applicable law.
(5) 
Without being all inclusive, any one of the following activities conducted within the city by a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor, broker or another acting on its behalf, constitutes engaging in business and requires a person to register and obtain a business license:
(A) 
Owning, renting, leasing, maintaining, or having the right to use, or using, tangible personal property, intangible personal property, or real property permanently or temporarily located in the city.
(B) 
Owning, renting, leasing, using, or maintaining an office, place of business, or other establishment in the city.
(C) 
Soliciting sales.
(D) 
Making repairs or providing maintenance or service to real or tangible personal property, including warranty work and property maintenance.
(E) 
Providing technical assistance or service, including quality control, product inspections, warranty work, or similar services on or in connection with tangible personal property sold by the person or on its behalf.
(F) 
Installing, constructing, or supervising installation or construction of real or tangible personal property.
(G) 
Soliciting, negotiating, or approving franchise, license, or other similar agreements.
(H) 
Collecting current or delinquent accounts.
(I) 
Picking up and transporting tangible personal property, solid waste, construction debris, or excavated materials.
(J) 
Providing disinfecting and pest control services, employment and labor pool services, home nursing care, janitorial services, appraising, landscape architectural services, security system services, surveying, and real estate services including the listing of homes and managing real property.
(K) 
Rendering professional services such as those provided by accountants, architects, attorneys, auctioneers, consultants, engineers, professional athletes, barbers, baseball clubs and other sports organizations, chemists, psychologists, court reporters, dentists, doctors, detectives, laboratory operators, teachers, veterinarians.
(L) 
Meeting with customers or potential customers, even when no sales or orders are solicited at the meetings.
(M) 
Training or recruiting agents, representatives, independent contractors, brokers or others, domiciled or operating on a job in the city, acting on its behalf, or for customers or potential customers.
(N) 
Investigating, resolving, or otherwise assisting in resolving customer complaints.
(O) 
In-store stocking or manipulating products or goods, sold to and owned by a customer, regardless of where sale and delivery of the goods took place.
(P) 
Delivering goods in vehicles owned, rented, leased, used, or maintained by the person or another acting on its behalf.
(6) 
If a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor, broker or another acting on the person’s behalf engages in no other activities in or with the city but the following, it need not register and obtain a business license:
(A) 
Meeting with suppliers of goods and services as a customer.
(B) 
Meeting with government representatives in their official capacity, other than those performing contracting or purchasing functions.
(C) 
Attending meetings, such as board meetings, retreats, seminars, and conferences, or other meetings wherein the person does not provide training in connection with tangible personal property sold by the person or on its behalf. This provision does not apply to any board of director member or attendee engaging in business such as a member of a board of directors who attends a board meeting.
(D) 
Renting tangible or intangible property as a customer when the property is not used in the city.
(E) 
Attending, but not participating in, a trade show or multiple vendor events. Persons participating at a trade show shall review the city’s trade show or multiple vendor event ordinances.
(F) 
Conducting advertising through the mail.
(G) 
Soliciting sales by phone from a location outside the city.
(7) 
A seller located outside the city merely delivering goods into the city by means of common carrier is not required to register and obtain a business license; provided, that it engages in no other business activities in the city. Such activities do not include those in subsection (5) of this section.
The city expressly intends that “engaging in business” includes any activity sufficient to establish nexus for purposes of applying the license fee under the law and the Constitutions of the United States and the state of Washington. Nexus is presumed to continue as long as the taxpayer benefits from the activity that constituted the original nexus generating contact or subsequent contacts.
(Ord. 1239 § 2, 1993; Ord. 1374 § 1, 1998; Ord. 1406 § 1, 1999; Ord. 1874 § 1, 2018; Ord. 1891 § 4, 2020)
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the following:
(1) 
Any person or business whose annual value of products, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income of the business in the city is equal to or less than two thousand dollars and who does not maintain a place of business within the city shall be exempt from the general business registration requirements in this chapter. The exemption does not apply to regulatory license requirements or activities that require a specialized permit;
Beginning January 1, 2026, the threshold amount is four thousand dollars. The threshold amount will be adjusted every forty-eight months on January 1st, by an amount equal to the increase in the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) for “West Urban, All Urban Consumers” (CPI-U) for each twelve-month period ending on June 30th as published by the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics or successor agency. To calculate this adjustment, the current rate will be multiplied by one plus the cumulative four-year (forty-eight-month) CPI increase using each twelve-month period ending on June 30th of each prior year, and rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars. However, if any of the annual CPI increases are more than five percent, a five percent increase will be used in computing the annual basis and if any of the annual CPI decreased during the forty-eight-month period, a zero percent increase will be used in computing the annual basis.
(2) 
Public utility companies identified in Chapter 4.08;
(3) 
Farmers or gardeners selling their own unprocessed farm products raised or grown exclusively upon lands owned or occupied by them;
(4) 
Garage and yard sales;
(5) 
Any business which is owned and operated by a person under the age of eighteen years and which does not generate a net income of more than one thousand five hundred dollars per year;
(6) 
Any instrumentality of the United States, state of Washington, or any political subdivision thereof, with respect to the exercise of governmental functions;
(7) 
All special events sponsored by the city but not to include participating commercial peddlers;
(8) 
All persons, firms, associations, clubs, copartnerships or societies or any other organization which would otherwise be licensed by the city of Omak as pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers as provided for under Chapter 4.42.
(Ord. 1239 § 3, 1993; Ord. 1341 § 1, 1997; Ord. 1404 § 1, 1999; Ord. 1874 § 2, 2018; Ord. 1891 § 5, 2020; Ord. 1957 § 1, 2025)
Application for a business license issued under this chapter is made through the Business Licensing Service (BLS) and must include all information required to obtain all the licenses requested, the total fee due for all licenses, and the application handling fee required under RCW 19.02.075. Prior to the issuance of the business license, the application will be reviewed by and the proposed business location and building thereto inspected and approved by the fire chief, the building official, and the police chief. The business license will be approved for issuance through BLS only if the location and building are in compliance with building codes, fire codes, and zoning regulations of the city as those codes and regulations relate to existing and/or new structures.
(Ord. 1239 § 4, 1993; Ord. 1891 § 6, 2020)
The business license issued under this chapter expires on the date established by the Business Licensing Service (BLS) and must be renewed on or before that date to continue to engage in business in the city after that date.
(1) 
Application for renewal of the license is made through BLS, and must include all information required to renew all licenses due for renewal, the total fees due for all licenses, and the renewal application handling fee required by RCW 19.02.075.
(2) 
The license term and respective fee amount may be prorated as necessary to synchronize the license expiration with that of the business license account maintained by BLS.
(3) 
Failure to complete the renewal by the expiration date will incur the late renewal penalty required by RCW 19.02.085 in addition to all other fees due.
(4) 
Failure to complete the renewal within one hundred twenty days after expiration will result in the cancellation of the license and will require submitting a new application, as provided for in this chapter, in order to continue to engage in business in the city.
(Ord. 1891 § 7, 2020)
Any applicant denied a business registration by the city shall have a right of appeal to the city council. The applicant shall, within ten days of mailing by the clerk of notice of denial, give a notice of appeal to the city clerk, in writing. The clerk shall advertise a public hearing on the matter of the appeal of the business license denial at the first available regularly scheduled meeting that legal notice can be provided for, following receipt of the appeal and place the applicant’s appeal on the agenda of said regularly scheduled city council meeting and inform the applicant in writing of the date, time and location of the meeting.
(Ord. 1239 § 6, 1993; Ord. 1782 § 1, 2014)
(a) 
The city council shall hold a public hearing at which the applicant may present testimony as to his compliance with the statutes or ordinance which he is allegedly not conforming with.
(b) 
After the close of the public hearing, the city council shall either grant the registration or sustain the denial. The city council shall make findings of fact which shall be incorporated in its minutes as to the basis for its decision. The council’s decision shall be final.
(c) 
Conduct of business after such denial of registration is unlawful.
(Ord. 1239 § 7, 1993)
The mayor may, at any time, suspend or revoke any registration issued under the provisions of this chapter whenever the registrant, or any manager, officer, director, agent or employee of the business owner, has caused, permitted or knowingly done any of the following:
(1) 
Violated any federal, state or city statute, law, regulation or ordinance upon the business premises, or in connection with the business operation, whether or not any party has been convicted in any court or competent jurisdiction of such violations; or
(2) 
Conducted, engaged in or operated the business or premises in the city which does not conform to the ordinances of the city; or
(3) 
Engaged in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of the business, operated the business in such a manner as to constitute a public nuisance; or
(4) 
Made any material false statement or representation, or failed to disclose any material information to the city in connection with obtaining the business registration or any renewal thereof.
(Ord. 1239 § 8, 1993; Ord. 1782 § 2, 2014)
Upon revocation, the permittee shall have a right of appeal to the council. The registrant shall, within ten days of the notice of revocation, give notice to the city clerk, in writing, of his intent to appeal the revocation to the council. The clerk shall advertise a public hearing on the matter of the appeal of the business license revocation at the first available regularly scheduled meeting that legal notice can be provided for following receipt of the appeal and place the registrant’s appeal on the agenda of said regularly scheduled council meeting, and inform the registrant, in writing, of the date, time and location of meeting.
(Ord. 1239 § 9, 1993; Ord. 1782 § 3, 2014)
(a) 
The council shall hold a public hearing at which the registrant may present testimony as to his compliance with the statutes or ordinances which he allegedly has failed to comply with.
(b) 
After the close of the public hearing, the council shall make findings of fact which shall be incorporated in its minutes as to the basis of its decision. The council may sustain the revocation of the registrant, reinstate the license with conditions, reinstate the registration after a certain time, or immediately reinstate the permit.
(Ord. 1239 § 10, 1993)
The applicant may resubmit an application previously denied or suspended upon submission of adequate proof to the council that the reasons for an original denial or suspension have been corrected. A new registration shall accompany any reapplication.
(Ord. 1239 § 11, 1993)
A home occupation when conducted as an accessory use to a dwelling in a residential zone must comply with the licensing requirements of this chapter, and is subject to the requirements of both Section 18.16.030, and the following limitations:
(1) 
No exterior display shall be permitted;
(2) 
No exterior storage of materials shall be permitted;
(3) 
Exterior signs shall be restricted to those permitted in the zone in which the home occupation is located. There shall be no other exterior indication of the home occupation;
(4) 
A home occupation which creates a nuisance because of noise, smoke, odor, dust, or gas or the generation of vehicle or pedestrian traffic is prohibited.
(Ord. 1239 § 13, 1993; Ord. 1891 § 9, 2020)
Every business registration issued pursuant to this chapter shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the place of business of the registrant. All registrations issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be personal and nontransferable.
(Ord. 1239 § 14, 1993)
Every registrant under this chapter shall do the following:
(1) 
Permit reasonable inspections of the business premises by governmental authorities for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter;
(2) 
Comply with all federal, state and city statutes, laws, regulations and ordinances relating to the business premises and the conduct of the business thereon;
(3) 
Refrain from unfair or deceptive acts or practices, or consumer fraud, in the conduct of the business, and avoid maintaining a public nuisance on the business premises;
(4) 
Refrain from operating the business during the period that the registration may be suspended or revoked.
(Ord. 1239 § 15, 1993)
Upon the sale or transfer of any business which is registered pursuant to this chapter, the registration issued to the prior owner shall automatically expire on the date of such sale or transfer and the new owner shall apply for and obtain a new business registration, as provided in this chapter, prior to engaging in, conducting or operating the business.
(Ord. 1239 § 18, 1993; Ord. 1891 § 10, 2020)
On and after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, there is levied upon and shall be collected from every business engaging in business in the city a one-time registration and annual renewal fees. Such fees, payable in advance, are identified in the current city of Omak fee schedule.
(Ord. 1239 § 19, 1993; Ord. 1418 § 14, 1999; Ord. 1891 § 11, 2020)
All funds received by the city under the terms of this chapter shall be paid into the current expense fund of the city and budgeted annually for any municipal purpose, as required by law.
(Ord. 1239 § 20, 1993)