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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 963ORDINANCE NO. 963 BEING AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 853, CITY CODE OF 1977, PERTAINING TO ARCADES The City Council of the City of Columbia Heights does ordain: Section 1: Section 5.411 of Ordinance No. 853, City Code of 1977, passed June 21, 1977, which is currently reserved, shall hereafter read as follows, to-wit: 5.411 (1) No person shall operate an arcade without first paying a license fee and obtaining and having a current license as herein provided. The license required under this section shall be in addition to any license or li- censes required to be obtained under any other provision of this Code. 5.411 (2) For the purpose of this section, the term "arcade" shall mean any building, structure or tract of land which has as at least one use or activity the providing of any of the following or any combination of any of the follow- ing amusements: (a) Billiard, pool, foosball, air hockey or pigeon hole tables; (b) Pinball machines (c) Shooting gallery machines (d) Any electric or electronic device or game patterned after table tennis, hockey, and similar games, including electric rifle or gun ranges (e) Any other mechanical or electrical device which is designed to be played by a contestant or contestants and upon which the con- testants receive a score or rating based upon their performance. which building, structure or tract of land contains nine or more such amusement tables, machines or devices, hereinafter referred to as de- vices, or any combination thereof, shall be defined as an "arcade". (f) Such devices shall be kept at all times'within a building which con- forms to the City of Columbia Heights building code and zoning ordi- nance and which is the primary building on the lot. (g) If the devices are kept within a separate room within a conforming building, or in a separate conforming building connected by an open- ing to another building, such separate room or separate building must be adjacent to and directly connected to the remaining por- tions of the building or separate building as the case may be by an opening not less than ten feet (10') in height as measured from the floor to the top of the opening and not. less than ten feet (10') in width. (h) If the building in which such devices are kept is connected to a sep- arate building as referred to in paragraph 5.411(2)(g), such con- nected separate building shall conform to the City of Columbia Heights building code and zoning ordinance for use as an arcade except that no additional automobile parking or bicycle parking racks as provided by paragraph 5.411(7)(e) shall be required for the separate building unless the separate building is also used as an arcade or unless otherwise required by state or local law. 5.411 (3) 5.411 (4) (i) Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, any build- ing, structure, or portion thereof, the primary use or activity of which is the'providing of the amusements referred to herein by the use of nine or more of the devices or any combination thereof, as referred to herein shall be defined as an "arcade". Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, any room or portion of a building, the primary use or activity of such room or portion of such building is the providing of the amusements re- ferred to herein by the use of nine or more of the devices, or any combination thereof as referred to herein, shall be defined as an "arcade" if such room or such portion of such building is accessible to the public by a separate entrance in addition to the entrance from the remainder of the building. Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, any room or portion of a building, the primary use or activity of such room or portion of such building is the providing of the amusements re- ferred to herein by the use of nine or more of the devices, or any combination thereof as referred to herein, shall be defined as an "arcade" if such room or such portion of such building is accessible to the public by a separate entrance other than an entrance from the remainder of the building. Any person desiring to operate an arcade or to renew his license to con- duct such activity shall file with the Clerk an application on forms pro- vided by the Clerk for that purpose. The application form shall contain the following, together with any other information which the City Manager may require: (a) Name and address of applicant; (b) Address of the proposed arcade, and a diagram of the proposed floor plan of the premises; (c) The name and address of all persons owning or having an interest in the licensed premises and in the proposed business. In the case of a corporation, this shall include the names and addresses of the officers and directors of the corporation and all share- holders who own alone or in conjunction with their spouse or child- . ten more than 10% of the issued shares of corporate stock; (d) If the licensed business is owned by a corporation, a copy of the certificate of incorporation, articles of incorporation and by- laws of the corporation; (e) The name and address of the manager or managers who will supervise the licensed activity; (f) Whether any of the persons listed in paragraphs (a), (c), or (e) of this subdivision have been engaged in the business of operating an arcade in the last five years; (g) Whether any of the persons listed in paragraphs (a), (c), or (e) of this subdivision have been convicted of a crime or have had an application for an arcade license denied,.revoked or suspended within the last five years; (h) The applicant's plan of security for the licensed premises. The license fee shall be for the calendar year and must accompany the license application. The license fee shall be set by annual resolution -2- 5.~ll (s) 5.411 (6) 5.411 (7) of the Council which may set a higher fee for the first year than for license renewals. All applications for licenses shall be referred to the Chief of Police and to such other persons on the City staff as the City Manager shall deem necessary for investigation and 'recommendation. The persons to WhSm an application has been referred shall make their report and recom- mendations in writing. Upon receipt of the written reports and recommendations, the City Mana- ger shall cause to be published in the official newspaper, at least 10 days in advance, a notice of public hearing to be held by the City Council setting forth the day, time and place when the hearing will be held, the name of the applicant and the location where the business is to be conducted. The application, together with the City Manager's recommendation, shall be submitted to the City Council at the hearing. After the hearing, the Council may grant or deny the license. In granting the license, the Council may impose special conditions if it deems such conditions to be necessary because of particular circumstances related to the applica- tion. Existence of any of the following conditions shall render the applicant ineligible for a license, to-wit: (a) If the applicant or the manager of the licensed business is: (i) under 21 years of age; (ii) an alien; (iii) a foreign corporation; (b) If the applicant, manager, or persons owning the licensed activity: (i) is not a person of good moral character and repute; (ii) has been convicted of an offense which relates to the conduct of the licensed business; (c) has operated a similar business elsewhere which operation did not substantially comply with the provisions of this section relating to the manner in which the business is conducted; (d) has been denied a license to conduct a like or similar activity or has had such license suspended, revoked or canceled. Issuance and retention of licenses shall be subject to each of the follow- ing conditions, to-wit: (a) Only premises which are within commercial districts of the City may be licensed. An arcade that is a primary use of the parcel on which it is located may not be within one hundred fifty feet (150') of any residential district or within three hundred feet (300') of any school or church; (b) No premises may be licensed unless sufficient visibility exists from outside the entrance to the premises for a person of average stature to visually survey the entire premises and all possible locations of patrons therein; (c) The consumption of alcoholic beverages, whether classified as in- toxicating or non-intoxicating, or the use of any controlled substance upon any part of the licensed premises is prohibited; - 3- 5.411 (8) 5.411 (7) - cont. (d) No person under the age of 17 years shall be permitted to remain on any part of the licensed premises after 10:00 o'clock p.m. unless accompanied by his parent or legal guardian; (e) No .person under the age of 14 years shall be permitted to enter or remain upon any part of the licensed premises unless accompanied by his parent or legal guardiam; (f~ Adequate off street parking for automobiles must be provided in com- pliance with the current City Code requirements. Additionally, the licensee shall provide bicycle racks for at least twenty (20) bicycles which shall not be substituted for required a6tomobile parking; (g) The licensed premises shall fully comply with all applicable State and local regulations dealing with health, zoning and b6ilding requirements; (h) The licensee shall be responsible for maintaining order on all parts of the licensed premises. (i) Only amusements with a current valid Columbia Heights license sticker attached may be offered for use or kept on the licensed premises; (j) No wagering or betting for a consideration or any other gambling shall be permitted on the licensed premises. (k) The licensed activity shall be conducted in such a manner and located in such a place so as not to be likely to result in injury or dam- age to persons or property in the neighborhood or injurious, annoy- ing or disruptive to patrons of other businesses located in the area. Sound emitted at any point of the perimeter of the licensed premises may not exceed the sound allowed at any lot line in ac- cordance with Section 9.117(9) of this Code. (1) The applicant or manager designated in the license application shall be present on the premises during all times the premises are open. No new manager may be placed in supervision of the premises until he has been approved by the City Council; (m) A uniformed Columbia Heights peace officer shall be present on the premises during all times that the premises are open. No pe~ce officer shall be required to serve on the premises except with the approval of the Chief of Police and only when the licensee has paid in advance for such service. (n) The consumption of food and beverages upon any part of the licensed premises is prohibited. (o) The smoking of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or tobacco in any form upon any part of the licensed premises is prohibited. (p) If the arcade is an accessory use of the property on which it is located, the arcade may not be open for business at times when the primary use of the property is not also open for business. (q) If the arcade is an accessory use of the parcel on which it is lo- cated, any and all entrances to the arcade must be directly through the primary use area of the parcel, and no arcade may be directly accessible to patrons without passing through such other use. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the arcade area may have a fire door that will permit patrons to exit only in times of emergency. At the time of filing an application for license under this section, the applicant shall file a bond with a corporate surety with the City Clerk in the amount of $5,000.00. Alternatively, the applicant may file a cash bond in the same amount. Ail such bonds shall be kept in full force -4 - and effect throughout the license period and shall be conditioned as fol- lows: (a) The licensee shall obey the laws relating to the licensed business; (b) The licensee shall pay to the City when due all taxes, license · - fees, penalties and other charges provided by law; (c) In the event of violation of any law relating to the business for which the license has been granted, the bond shall be for- feited to the City. 5.411 (9) The license may he revoked or suspended i~ accordance with this Chapter whenever the licensee, its owner, manager, or any of its employees or agents have engaged in any of the following conduct: (a) (b) Fraud, deception or misrepresentation in connection with the securing of a license; Conduct inimical to the interests of public health, safety and welfare; (c) Conduct involving moral turpitude; (d) Conviction of an offense involving moral turpitude by any court of competent jurisdiction; (e) Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this section or engaging in conduct which would be grounds for denial of an initial application for licensure. Section 2: This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after thirty (30) days after its passage. First reading: July 27, 198l Second reading: September 15, 198] Date of passage:September 15, 198] Offered by: Seconded by: Roll call: Heintz Logacz Logacz, Heintz, Hentges, 0-A~n~ Student, Secretary to the Council -5 -