Ordinance 11-01(S) Requiring a Business License to Engage in Business in the City of Homer

CITY OF HOMER
HOMER, ALASKA

Hogan

ORDINANCE 11-01

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF HOMER, ALASKA, ENACTING HOMER CITY CODE CHAPTER 8.02, BUSINESS LICENSES, REGARDING THE REQUIREMENT OF A LICENSE TO ENGAGE IN BUSINESS IN THE CITY; AND ENACTING HOMER CODE 9.16.015, DETERMINING WHEN A SALE, RENTAL OR SERVICE OCCURS IN THE CITY.
 

THE CITY OF HOMER ORDAINS:

Section 1. Homer City Code Chapter 8.02, Business Licenses, is enacted to read as follows:

Chapter 8.02

BUSINESS LICENSES

8.02.010 License required.
8.02.020 Application—Fee.
8.02.030 Review of application.
8.02.040 Information on business license—Changes in information—Display of license.
8.02.050 Transfer of business.
8.02.060 Suspension or revocation of business license.
8.02.070 Regulations.
8.02.080 Violations—Remedies.

8.02.010 License required. a. No person may engage in business in the city without a current business license issued by the city under this chapter. A person engages in business in the city if the person engages in a sale, rental or service in the city under HCC 9.16.015 that is not exempt from sales taxation under Kenai Peninsula Borough Code Chapter 5.18.
b. A business license is issued for a calendar year, and expires on December 31 of the calendar year for which it was issued. The city will issue one business license for all locations at which the licensee engages in business in the city.

8.02.020 Application—Fee. a. An application for a business license is submitted to the finance director on a form approved by the finance director, and shall be accompanied by the fee required under subsection b of this section. The application shall include the following information, and any additional information that the finance director may reasonably require:
1. The name of the applicant.
2. Any other name under which the applicant will engage in business in the city.
3. The applicant’s mailing address, telephone number and email address.
4. The street address and legal description of each location in the city where the applicant will engage in business.
5. If the applicant is not a natural person, the applicant’s type of organization, and the jurisdiction under whose laws the applicant was organized.
b. The fee for a business license is ten dollars ($10.00). The fee is not prorated if the business license is issued after the calendar year commences. The city shall waive the fee if the applicant held a business license for the entire preceding calendar year, and had no sales tax payment delinquencies in that calendar year.

8.02.030 Review of application. a. The finance director shall issue a business license to an applicant upon finding that the application includes all required information, the applicant has paid any required application fee, and the applicant has satisfied the requirements of subsections b and c of this section.
b. The finance director shall refer a business license application for review by the finance department to determine whether the applicant is delinquent in paying to the city any tax or assessment, or any fee or charge for city services. The finance department shall notify the applicant in writing of any delinquency that it finds. In response to the notice, the applicant shall either:
1. Provide evidence satisfactory to the finance director that the delinquent amount has been paid; or
2. Provide a plan for paying the delinquent amount satisfactory to the finance director, with security satisfactory to the finance director for the payment of the delinquent amount.
c. The finance director shall refer a business license application for review by the city planner to determine whether any structure, or use of land or a structure, where the applicant will engage in business does not conform to HCC Title 21, or the terms and conditions of any rezoning, planning commission approval, or administrative approval granted under HCC Title 21. The city planner shall notify the applicant in writing of any such nonconformity. In response to the notice, the applicant shall either:
1. Provide evidence satisfactory to the city planner that the nonconformity has been corrected;
2. Obtain a final decision recognizing the nonconformity as a lawful nonconforming use or structure under HCC Chapter 21.61; or
3. Provide a plan for correction of the nonconformity satisfactory to the city planner, with security satisfactory to the city planner for the performance of the plan.
d. The finance director may investigate the financial condition and credit history of a business license applicant, and if the finance director finds that the financial condition or credit history of the applicant indicates a substantial risk that the applicant will not make full and timely payment of sales tax as required under HCC Chapter 9.16, the finance director may require the applicant to post a bond or other security for such full and timely payment.

8.02.040 Information on business license—Changes in information—Display of license. a. A business license shall state the information concerning the licensee that the finance director may reasonably require.
b. A licensee shall notify the finance director promptly in writing of any change in the required information on the business license. In response to the notice, and upon the surrender of the prior businesses license, the finance director shall issue a new business license for the same calendar year bearing the current required information. There shall be no charge for the issuance of a new business license under this subsection.
c. The licensee shall display prominently the original business license at the licensee’s principal business location in the city, and a copy of the business license at each other business location of the licensee in the city. If the licensee has no regular business location in the city, the licensee shall display the business license upon the request of the finance director or the finance director’s designee.

8.02.050 Transfer of business. a. A business license expires upon the effective date of a transfer of the business. Not later than fifteen (15) days after the effective date of the transfer, the licensee shall provide written notice to the finance director of the transfer, including the name, address, form of organization and jurisdiction of organization of the transferee, and surrender the licensee’s business license to the finance director.
b. In subsection a of this section, the term “transfer” includes any of the following:
1. A change in voting control or in more than fifty (50) percent of the ownership interest in a licensee that is a corporation, limited liability company or partnership;
2. A sale of substantially all of the assets used in the business of the licensee; and
3. The initiation of a lease, management agreement or other arrangement under which another person becomes entitled to the licensee’s gross receipts from sales, rentals or services.

8.02.060 Suspension or revocation of business license. a. The finance director may suspend or revoke a business license when the finance director determines that the licensee is delinquent in paying sales tax under HCC Chapter 9.16, or the licensee has failed to comply with the requirements of HCC 8.02.040 or 8.02.050.
b. The finance director shall not suspend or revoke a business license without first providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the suspension or revocation under this subsection.
1. At least fifteen (15) days before suspending or revoking a business license, the finance director shall mail notice of the suspension or revocation by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last-known address of the licensee.
2. The notice of proposed suspension or revocation shall identify the licensee and describe the sales tax payment delinquency or other cause for the suspension or revocation, state that unless a hearing is requested, the finance director will suspend or revoke the licensee’s business license under this section upon the expiration of fifteen (15) days from the date of the notice, state that the right to a hearing will be waived if not timely requested, and the name, address and telephone number of the finance director or other city representative to be contacted concerning the proposed suspension or revocation.
3. The licensee may obtain a hearing on the proposed suspension or revocation by requesting the hearing in writing at the office of the finance director not more than fifteen (15) days after the date of the notice of proposed suspension or revocation.
c. Upon written request by the licensee, a hearing officer designated by the finance director shall conduct a hearing on the proposed suspension or revocation within seven days after the request for hearing. The sole issue before the hearing officer shall be whether one or more of the grounds stated in subsection a of this section for suspending or revoking the business license has occurred and is continuing. The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing in an informal manner and shall not be bound by the technical rules of evidence. The licensee may appear, present evidence, and cross-examine witnesses. The hearing shall be recorded. Within seven days after the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall prepare a written decision whether to suspend or revoke the business license, and provide a copy of the decision to the licensee.
d. A hearing officer’s decision suspending or revoking a business license shall include an order that the licensee immediately cease and desist from engaging in business in the city unless and until the business license is reinstated or reissued.
e. Any person aggrieved by the hearing officer’s decision under subsection c of this section to suspend or revoke a business license may appeal the decision to the superior court within thirty (30) days after the date the decision was mailed or delivered to the parties. Unless the court orders otherwise, a decision to suspend or revoke a business license takes effect immediately upon its issuance.

8.02.070 Regulations. The finance director may promulgate regulations and adopt forms to implement, interpret or make specific the provisions of this chapter.

8.02.085 Violations—Remedies. a. No person may:
1. Engage in business in the city without a current business license required by this chapter.
2. Knowingly submit false information in a document filed with the city under this chapter.
b. A person who is convicted of violating a provision of this subsection shall be subject to a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300.00) plus any surcharge required to be imposed by AS 29.25.074, imprisonment for not more than ninety (90) days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
c. The city may bring a civil action to:
1. Enjoin a violation of this chapter. On application for injunctive relief and a finding of a violation or threatened violation, the superior court shall enjoin the violation.
2. Recover a civil penalty of three hundred dollars ($300.00) for each violation of this chapter.
d. Each act or omission in violation of this chapter, and each day in which the act or omission occurs, is a separate violation of this chapter.
e. All remedies for violations of this chapter are cumulative and are in addition to any others existing at law or in equity.

Section 2. Homer City Code 9.16.015, Sale, rental or service within the city, is enacted to read as follows:

9.16.015 Sale, rental or service within the city. The following rules determine whether a sale, rental or service occurs within the city:
a. A sale or rental occurs within the city if delivery occurs in the city, and the seller either:
1. Maintains a place of business, or an agent or employee, in the city; or
2. Regularly or repeatedly promotes sales or rentals in the city by means such as advertising, promotional events or solicitation of sales.
b. A service occurs within the city if:
1. All or a substantial part of the service is rendered in the city; or
2. The seller maintains a place of business, or an agent or employee, in the city, the service benefits a person or property in the city, and either the order for the service is received or solicited in the city, or payment for the service is received in the city.
c. A rental of real property occurs in the city if the real property is located in the city.
d. A service involving the construction, repair, renovation, improvement, sale or rental of real property is made in the city if the real property is located in the city.

Section 3. This Ordinance is of a permanent and general character and shall be included in the City Code.

ENACTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF HOMER, ALASKA, this ________ day of ______________ 2011.

CITY OF HOMER

_____________________________
JAMES C. HORNADAY, MAYOR

ATTEST:

______________________________
JO JOHNSON, CMC, CITY CLERK
YES:
NO:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:

First Reading:
Public Hearing:
Second Reading:
Effective Date:

Reviewed and approved as to form:

________________________ ____________________________
Walt E. Wrede, City Manager Thomas F. Klinkner, City Attorney

Date: ___________________ Date: _______________________