[HISTORY: Adopted by the Rochester City Council 11-25-1941. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Added 9-28-1965; amended 10-10-1967 by Ord. No. 67-326; 11-23-1971 by Ord. No. 71-694; 5-24-1983 by Ord. No. 83-189; 9-15-1992 by Ord. No. 92-339; 6-18-1996 by Ord. No. 96-204; 9-19-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-300; 6-16-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-179; 6-15-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-197; 10-11-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-324; 4-20-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-96; 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-326]
No person shall engage in any of the businesses and trades described in the following chapters of this Code without having procured a license or permit as herein provided:
Chapter 29
Amusements and Entertainment
Chapter 32
Auctions and Auctioneers
Chapter 36
Bingo License Law and Games of Chance
Chapter 37
Bowling Alleys
Chapter 40
Plumbing Licensing Ordinance
Chapter 46
Dance Halls
Chapter 49
Electrical Licensing Ordinance
Chapter 54
Fire Prevention Code
Chapter 60
Food Trucks, Trailers and Carts
Chapter 62
Commercial Travelers, Solicitors and Special Events
Chapter 66
Junkyard Operators, Junk Dealers and Scrap Processors
Chapter 80
Pawnbrokers
Chapter 85
Poulterers
Chapter 96
Secondhand Dealers
Chapter 98
Sexually Oriented Businesses
Chapter 99
Shooting Galleries
Chapter 101
Solid Fuel Dealers
Chapter 103
Stationary Engineers and Refrigeration Operators Licensing Ordinance
Chapter 108
Taxicabs
Chapter 108A
Towing
Chapter 109
Transient Merchants
A. 
Renewal licenses and permits shall be issued in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as original licenses and also subject to any additional requirement for renewal of the license or permit applied for. Where, as a condition precedent to granting a license, a physician's certificate is required, a similar certificate shall be filed upon application for renewal.
B. 
The licensing authority shall, in all cases where an examination as to ability is required before the issuing of a license, renew any such license without examination if the applicant for renewal is a person who has performed military duty, as defined in § 246 of the Military Law of the State of New York, provided that such person or persons held such license at the time or in the year previous to induction into such service, and provided further that application for such renewal without examination as to ability is made within one year after the termination of such military duty. When such licenses are renewed under the circumstances herein provided, the fee charged for such renewal shall be the same as if such renewal had been made at the time of the expiration of such license.
C. 
In the event that any person who shall have performed such military duty does not apply for a renewal of a license hereunder within one year after the termination of such military duty, and an examination as to ability is required before the issuing of a license for which the application is made, no fee shall be charged the applicant for reexamination to quality for the license for which he or she applied.
[Amended 1-14-1947; 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-22]
[Amended 8-22-1958; 5-24-1960; 9-28-1965; 1-27-1970 by Ord. No. 70-36; 5-24-1983 by Ord. No. 83-189; 5-14-1996 by Ord. No. 96-155; 2-15-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-48]
Applications for all licenses or permits shall be made to the City Clerk unless otherwise provided in this Code. Applications shall be made in writing and upon forms in either paper or digital format as prescribed by the issuing authority, shall be verified by the applicant, and shall be submitted in person or by means of an online portal as prescribed by the issuing authority.
All fees for licenses and permits shall be paid at the time the application therefor is made and shall be transmitted daily to the City Treasurer.
[Amended 9-19-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-293]
Upon satisfactory compliance with the conditions specified for the license or permit applied for, a license or permit shall be issued to the applicant; provided, however, that no license or permit shall be issued to a person who has been convicted for violation of an ordinance regulating the business for which a license or permit is requested, or to a person whose license or permit for the same business has been revoked for a period of one year after such revocation. No license or permit shall be issued for a business unless all renewal fees for any alarm system owned, used, leased or operated by the business have been satisfied.
[Amended 8-22-1958; 9-28-1965]
During such time as the conservation of critical materials is of vital importance, licensing authorities are hereby authorized and directed to substitute signs of such material as they may deem proper in lieu of the metal signs required to be displayed in connection with any license or permit issued under the provisions of chapters listed in § 68-1 of this Code. Signs of such material as shall be so designed shall be displayed and affixed as required for metal signs by the provisions of chapters listed in § 68-1 of this Code.
[Amended 2-14-1950; 9-28-1965; 7-19-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-241]
Whenever proof shall be submitted to the licensing authority that a license issued for any of the purposes set forth in chapters listed in § 68-1 inclusive of this Code has been lost or destroyed, the licensing authority may, upon payment of $10 by the applicant, issue a new license in lieu of the one that has been lost or destroyed.
[Amended 8-22-1958; 9-28-1965; 1-23-1968 by Ord. No. 68-19; 1-27-1970 by Ord. No. 70-36; 11-23-1971 by Ord. No. 71-694; 5-24-1983 by Ord. No. 83-189]
Licenses or permits shall be issued by the official designated in the various sections of this Code. Where no issuing authority is designated, the issuing authority shall be the Chief of Police.
[Amended 9-28-1965]
Except licenses for motorbuses and as otherwise hereinafter specified, no license or permit issued under the provisions of chapters listed in § 68-1 inclusive of this Code shall be transferable.
[Amended 1-23-1968 by Ord. No. 68-19; 5-24-1983 by Ord. No. 83-189]
A. 
The authority issuing the license or permit, after a hearing, shall have the power to suspend or revoke a license or permit granted or renewed pursuant to this Code for a violation by the licensee, his or her agents or employees of any law, ordinance, rule or regulation of the State of New York or the City of Rochester relating to the conduct of the business or trade for which the license or permit was issued, for fraud or deceit in such business or trade or for making a material misrepresentation on a license application. The authority issuing the license or permit shall have power to revoke summarily the license or permit of any person who pleads guilty to or is convicted of violating the laws of the State of New York or ordinances of the City of Rochester relating to the business or trade in which the licensee is engaged.
[Amended 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-22]
B. 
However, entertainment center licenses for centers offering, operating, presenting or exhibiting any motion picture, limited entertainment or public entertainment protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and amusement game licenses for those individual mechanical motion-picture machines commonly known as "peep shows" shall only be suspended or revoked due to a guilty plea or conviction of a crime upon a showing, after a hearing, of a clear and present danger of serious, substantive evil.
[Amended 11-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-326]
C. 
The authority issuing the license or permit shall revoke a license or permit in the event that the bond or insurance policy filed at the time of application is canceled or has expired and the holder of the license or permit has failed to file a new bond or policy within 10 days after notice to do so. No part of any license or permit fee shall be rebated in the event that said license or permit is revoked or suspended for cause.
D. 
All hearings required under this section shall be held by the issuing authority or by a person designated by the issuing authority to conduct the hearing and make a recommendation to him or her. The license holder shall be permitted to be represented by counsel at the hearing, to submit evidence and summon witnesses on his or her own behalf, to inspect opposing evidence and cross-examine opposing witnesses. The burden of proof shall be upon the person bringing the charges. Compliance with the technical rules of evidence shall not be required.
[Amended 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-22]
E. 
In addition to the power granted to the authority issuing a license or permit either in this chapter or in other chapters of the Municipal Code, a license or permit for a business or trade issued by the City of Rochester may be revoked or suspended in accordance with the procedures established in § 10-12, Abatement of nuisances, of the City Charter.
[Added 5-14-1996 by Ord. No. 96-137; amended 6-19-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-173]
[Amended 5-24-1983 by Ord. No. 83-189; 11-10-1992 by Ord. No. 92-404]
All bonds and insurance policies required to be filed in connection with a business or trade shall be executed by the applicant and a surety company or an insurance company authorized to do business in the State of New York, shall provide for 30 days' notice of cancellation to be given to the City and shall be approved by the Director of Finance as to form and method of execution.
[Amended 9-28-1965; 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-22]
The provisions of this chapter relating to licensing of business and trades shall be enforced as to each specific business or trade by the officer issuing the license or permit therefor, and members of his or her staff may enter upon any premises wherein the licensed or permitted business is being conducted for the purpose of inspection and examination.
[Added 9-28-1965]
No person engaged in a business or trade in the City of Rochester shall violate any of the provisions of the chapters listed in § 68-1 nor of the provisions of Chapter 113, Weights and Measures.
[Amended 9-28-1965; 1-23-1968 by Ord. No. 68-19; 7-22-1969 by Ord. No. 69-329; 6-19-1990 by Ord. No. 90-258]
Except as otherwise provided in the various chapters where violations are referred to the Municipal Code Violation Bureau, a violation of the chapters listed in § 68-1 of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $150 or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, or by a penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $500, to be recovered by the City of Rochester in a civil action.
[Added 10-10-1967 by Ord. No. 67-325; amended 11-19-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-354]
A grant of a license pursuant to this chapter to any person, firm or corporation engaged in any of the businesses and trades enumerated in § 68-1 shall not waive the rights of the City of Rochester to enforce compliance with the provisions of its Charter or of any chapter of the Code of the City of Rochester, including but not limited to Chapter 120 of the Municipal Code, Zoning Code.