Sec. 6-405. General licensing requirements.
(a) Applications. All applications for any license authorized by this article shall be submitted to the local licensing authority upon forms provided by the local licensing authority.
(b) Complete applications. For purposes of this article an application for a license authorized by this article shall not be considered complete until the local licensing authority has (1) determined that all requirements of the application have been provided to the City, (2) received the licensing fee, and (3) obtained all other information the local licensing authority determines necessary to make a decision whether to approve or deny the license application, or approve it with conditions.
(c) Operations plan. Every application for a new license issued pursuant to this article must include an operations plan. Every application for a renewal of a license issued pursuant to this article must include an updated operations plan if the operation of the business and the operation plan on file with the city changed during the past year.
(d) Separate licenses. A separate license shall be required for each class of license issued pursuant to this article. A separate license shall be required for each geographic location as established by a different street address, different unit or suite number for the geographical location.
(e) Issuance of a license. If after investigation the local licensing authority determines that:
(1) The applicant has met all the terms, conditions, provisions, and requirements imposed upon the applicant or the licensee by the City Code and all the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, and all applicable building, fire, health or zoning statutes, codes, ordinances, rules, or regulations adopted pursuant thereto related to such a business application;
(2) The license application is complete and all requested supplemental documentation has been provided;
(3) The license application contains no falsified information, no false statements or misrepresented material or relevant facts;
(4) All fees and late charges, if any, have been paid;
(5) The applicant has timely filed all tax returns as required by law in relation to the business for which the license is sought;
(6) The applicant is not overdue on his or her payment to the city of any taxes, fines, interest, penalties or collections costs assessed against or imposed upon such applicant in relation to the business for which the license is sought;
(7) The applicant is of good moral character;
(8) The applicant has made all the improvements to the licensed premises as required by the City Code or has an improvement implementation plan and timeline to make nonessential improvements to the premises or location approved by the local licensing authority;
(9) The applicant has obtained a certificate of occupancy issued by the city's building division for the use approved in the application; and
(10) The applicant is reasonably likely to begin operating the business within one year of the issuance of the license;
then the local licensing authority shall issue the license sought, with or without terms and conditions being ordered upon the license, to the applicant for the use and the location identified in the license application as the situs of the business.
(f) Denial of application. Each of the following, in and of itself, constitutes full and adequate grounds for denying an application:
(1) The applicant has not paid all applicable fees required by this article;
(2) The applicant has violated, does not meet, or has failed to comply with any provision of the City Code or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, or any other applicable building, fire, health rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto or any zoning statute, code, or ordinance;
(3) The application contains falsified information, false statements, misleading or incomplete information;
(4) The applicant or anyone stated in the application is not of good moral character;
(5) The applicant is not reasonably likely to commence operations within one year of the issuance of the license;
(6) The applicant has failed to file any tax return as required by law in relation to the business for which the license is sought;
(7) The applicant is overdue on his or her payment to the city of any taxes, interest, penalties, and collection costs assessed against or imposed upon such applicant or licensee in relation to the business for which the license is sought;
(8) For good cause; or
(9) A certificate of occupancy has not been issued by the city's building division for the use desired in the application.
(g) Notice of denial. If after investigation the local licensing authority determines that the application will be denied then the local licensing authority shall:
(1) Deny the application based upon the information presented in the license application; and
(2) Notify the applicant of the local licensing authority's decision of denial and the reasons for the denial.
(h) Appeal. All decisions of the local licensing authority are final, subject only to an appeal and public hearing before the finance director if a petition for an appeal is received by the finance director within 20 days of the date on the notice of denial. Every petition for appeal shall set forth in writing the legal and factual support for the appeal. The finance director shall only consider those issues specifically addressed in the petition for appeal.
(i) Duty to supplement. If, at any time before or after a license is issued pursuant to this article, any information required by this article, the City Code, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto changes from that which is stated in the application the applicant or licensee shall supplement their application with the updated information within 10 days from the date upon which such change occurs.
(j) Sample testing. All samples tested for THC concentrations shall be conducted in state designated agencies/laboratories.
(k) No vested rights. Notwithstanding anything contained in this article, an applicant issued a license authorized by this article has no vested right to the license or the renewal of a license, and no property right in the license or the renewal of a license.
(l) Notices by e-mail. All notices, orders and other communications required to be given to an applicant or a licensee under this article shall be sent via e-mail to the applicant or licensee at the e-mail address shown in the application on file with the local licensing authority of the City. The applicant or licensee has a duty to inform the local licensing authority of their current e-mail address and has an ongoing duty to notify the local licensing authority of any change in their e-mail address within 24 hours of any change. The local licensing authority shall maintain a record of applicant's or licensee's e-mail address and shall store a copy of all e-mail communications with the applicant or licensee for a period of approximately two years. This storage record creates a presumption, and is prima facie proof, that any notice, order, or other communications was sent by the city and received by the applicant or licensee. (Ord. No. 2020-15, § 5, 5-21-2020)