[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:
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Chapter 29
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Amusements and Entertainment
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Chapter 32
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Auctions and Auctioneers
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Chapter 36
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Bingo License Law and Games of Chance
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Chapter 37
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Bowling Alleys
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Chapter 40
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Plumbing Licensing Ordinance
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Chapter 46
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Dance Halls
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Chapter 49
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Electrical Licensing Ordinance
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Chapter 54
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Fire Prevention Code
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Chapter 60
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Food Trucks, Trailers and Carts
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Chapter 62
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Commercial Travelers, Solicitors and Special
Events
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Chapter 66
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Junkyard Operators, Junk Dealers and Scrap Processors
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Chapter 80
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Pawnbrokers
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Chapter 85
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Poulterers
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Chapter 96
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Secondhand Dealers
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Chapter 98
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Sexually Oriented Businesses
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Chapter 99
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Shooting Galleries
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Chapter 101
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Solid Fuel Dealers
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Chapter 103
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Stationary Engineers and Refrigeration Operators
Licensing Ordinance
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Chapter 108
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Taxicabs
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Chapter 108A
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Towing
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Chapter 109
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Transient Merchants
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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 5-24-1983 by Ord. No. 83-189]
A record shall be kept by the City of all licenses
and permit issued hereunder.s
[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]
[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.
