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
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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;
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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
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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
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