Avenal Municipal Code Ch. 2 Card Rooms

5-2.01 License required. 5-2.02 Card room—Defined. 5-2.03 Application for license. 5-2.04 Employee work permits. 5-2.05 Suspension and revocation. 5-2.06 Nontransferable. 5-2.07 Card room regulations. 5-2.08 License fee for card rooms. 5-2.09 Club licenses. 5-2.10 Exemptions. 5-2.11 State law violations. 5-2.12 Effective date. 5-2.01 License required. No person shall engage in, or carry on, or maintain or conduct, or cause to be engaged in, carried on, maintained or conducted, any card room in the City without first having secured a license from said

Title 5 PUBLIC WELFARE Avenal, California, Code of Ordinances Page 4 city so to do, according to each and every requirement of this chapter, or without complying with each and every regulation contained herein pertaining to such card room. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.02 Card room—Defined. For the purpose of this article a "card room" is hereby defined to be any space, room or enclosure, furnished or equipped with a table used or intended to be used as a card table for the playing of cards and similar games, and the use of which is available to members of any non-profit society, club, fraternal, labor or other organization, or to the public or any portion of the public, provided that "card room" shall not include a room to which the public is admitted and in which the sole card game played is duplicate bridge. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.03 Application for license. (a) An applicant for a card room license shall submit his application to the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the City which application shall be under oath, and shall include, among other things, the true names and addresses of all persons financially interested in the business. The term "persons financially interested" shall include all persons who share in the profits of the business, on the basis of gross or net revenue. The past criminal record, if any, of the applicant and of all persons financially interested in the business shall be shown on such application. The application shall also be accompanied by fingerprints and recent photographs of the applicant and of persons financially interested in the business. A license may be issued only to persons who have resided in the County of Kings for at least two (2) years immediately preceding the issuance of such license. (b) The Chief Law Enforcement Officer shall issue a license, unless he/she finds that: (1) The applicant or any person financially interested has previously been convicted of a felony and a period of ten (10) years has not expired from date of termination of confinement, parole and/or probation; or (2) The applicant or any person financially interested has previously been convicted of one of the following misdemeanor violations, and a period of ten (10) years has not elapsed from the date of termination of confinement, parole and/or probation: (i) Any theft from a person; (ii) Any theft involving cheating; (iii) Any series of petty thefts; (iv) Any crime involving pimping, pandering or prostitution; (v) Any crime involving bookmaking or gaming; (vi) Any crime involving narcotics or dangerous drugs; or (3) The applicant or any person financially interested is not, in the opinion of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, a fit and proper person to operate a card room; or (4) The card room is to be located within any area of the City which is wholly residential; or, if the card room is to be located adjacent to a residential area, and, in the opinion of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, the issuance of the card room license would tend to cause a police problem or public nuisance; or (5) The card room is to be located within six hundred (600) feet of a public school, church, hospital, or children's playground, or any other public facility where the presence of the card room might tend to promote a demoralizing effect, or cause a law enforcement problem, or create a public nuisance.

Title 5 PUBLIC WELFARE Avenal, California, Code of Ordinances Page 5 (c) The action of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in denying such a license on the basis of subsection (3) or subsection (4) or subsection (5) of this section shall be subject to an appeal to the City Council. Notice of such appeal shall be filed with the City Clerk within ten (10) days after the denial of such license. Upon failure to file such notice within the ten-day period the action of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in denying such license shall be final and conclusive. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.04 Employee work permits. (a) Card room employees must obtain a work permit from the Chief Law Enforcement Officer. Card room employees for the purpose of this article are defined as dealers, overseers, and others directly connected with the operation and supervision of the card tables, excluding waitresses, bartenders, culinary workers and others not connected with such operation and supervision. Applications for such work permits shall be submitted under oath and contain the past criminal record, if any, of the applicant and such information as may be deemed by the Chief Law Enforcement Officer necessary to determine whether the applicant is a proper person to be issued a card room work permit. The application shall also be accompanied by the fingerprints and a recent photograph of the applicant for submission to the Department of Justice for a criminal history background check. A work permit shall be issued only to persons who have resided in the County of Kings for at least one year immediately preceding the issuance of such work permit. Subject to Subsection (b) hereinbelow, the Chief Law Enforcement Officer shall issue a work permit unless he/she finds that: (1) The applicant has previously been convicted of a felony and a period of ten (10) years has not expired from date of termination of confinement, parole and/or probation; or (2) The applicant has previously been convicted of one of the following misdemeanor violations, and a period of ten (10) years has not elapsed from the date of termination of confinement, parole and/or probation: (i) Any theft from a person; (ii) Any theft involving cheating; (iii) Any series of petty thefts; (iv) Any crime involving pimping, pandering or prostitution; (v) Any crime involving bookmaking or gaming; (vi) Any crime involving narcotics or dangerous drugs; or (3) The applicant is not, in the opinion of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, a fit and proper person to engage in such work. Each application for a work permit shall be accompanied by a fee, such fees shall be established by the City Council, by resolution, and shall be valid for a period of one year. The fee shall not be refunded if a work permit is refused, revoked or suspended as hereinafter provided. Only one such work permit shall be required each year, even though the holder of a work permit may change his place of employment within the City; or (4) The applicant is disqualified from holding a state gambling license, for any of the reasons specified in California Business and Professions Code §19850. (b) Any application for a work permit shall be subject to objection by the state division. If the division objects to the issuance of a work permit, it shall be denied. Such denial may be reviewed in accordance with the Gambling Control Act (California Business & Professions Code § 19801, et seq.) (c) The action of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in denying such a work permit on the basis of the applicant not being a fit and proper person shall be subject to appeal to the Council. Notice of such appeal shall be filed with the City Clerk within ten (10) days after the denial of said work permit. Upon

Title 5 PUBLIC WELFARE Avenal, California, Code of Ordinances Page 6 failure to file such notice within the ten (10) day period, the action of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in denying such work permit shall be final and conclusive. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.05 Suspension and revocation. The Chief Law Enforcement Officer shall have the right for cause to revoke or suspend any card room license or card room work permit issued hereunder and to take possession of such permits. Any of the grounds upon which the Chief Law Enforcement Officer shall be required to refuse to issue an initial card room license or card room work permit shall also constitute grounds for such revocation or suspension. In addition, the failure of the holder of a card room license or card room work permit to comply with the provisions of this article shall also constitute grounds for revocation or suspension of such license or work permit. The action of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in this respect shall be subject to an appeal to the City Council. Notice of such appeal shall be filed in writing with the City Clerk within ten (10) days after the revocation or suspension. Upon failure to file such notice within the ten-day period, the action of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in revoking or suspending the license or work permit shall be final and conclusive. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.06 Nontransferable. No person shall be granted a license to conduct more than one card room. No card room license shall be assignable or transferable. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.07 Card room regulations. (a) Hours of Operation. (1) Before it shall be allowed to operate, each gambling establishment shall adopt a schedule of hours of operation, after the schedule has been approved by the Chief Law EnforcementOfficer. Such approved schedule of hours shall be clearly posted at the gambling establishment so as to give law enforcement and patrons adequate notice of the hours of operation. (2) Unless otherwise restricted, it is unlawful to operate any card room or card game between the hours of 2:00 a.m. of any day and 9:00 a.m. of the same day within the corporate limits of the City, excepting Saturdays and Sundays. (b) Location of Gambling Establishment. (1) No gambling establishment may be located in any zone which has not been specifically approved for such a business and none may be located near any of the unsuitable areas, as specified in California Business and Professions Code § 19852(a)(3); (2) Not more than one card room shall be located at any one address; and (3) All card rooms shall be located on the ground floor. (c) Type of Games Played. No person shall deal, play, or carry on, open, or cause to be opened, or conduct, either as owner or employee, whether for hire or not, any game of faro, monte, roulette, landsquenet, rouge-et-noir, rondo, tan, fan-tan, poker in any of its various forms, seven-and-a-half, twenty-one, hokey-pokey, or any banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, dominoes, or any device, for money, chips, checks, credit, or other representative of value, or bet at or against any of said prohibited games in any card room.

Title 5 PUBLIC WELFARE Avenal, California, Code of Ordinances Page 7 (d) Wagering Limits. Before it shall be allowed to operate, each card room shall adopt rules for wagering limits in each game, after the rules have been approved by the Chief Law Enforcement Officer. During hours of operation, such rules shall be clearly posted at the gambling tables where games are offered, to provide patrons with adequate notice of those rules. (e) Number of Tables. No more than one hundred (100) tables shall be allowed to operate in this jurisdiction and no more than seven (7) tables shall be permitted in any card room. (f) Patron Security and Safety. Each card room licensee shall be responsible and liable for its patrons' safety and security in and around the gambling establishment. Before it shall be allowed to operate, each card room shall adopt a plan to provide for the safety and security of patrons, after the plan has been approved by the Chief Law Enforcement Officer. (g) Miscellaneous. In addition to those regulations set forth hereinabove in Section 5-2.07, subsections (a) through (f), except as hereinafter provided, no personnel shall operate a card room in violation of any of the following regulations: (1) No person under twenty-one (21) years of age shall be permitted at any card table, or participate in any game played thereat; (2) Not more than seven (7) players shall be permitted at any one table; (3) All card rooms shall be open to law enforcement inspection during all hours of operation; (4) The cashing of bank checks for players shall not be permitted in any card room; (5) Each card table shall have assigned to it a person whose duty shall be to supervise the game and see to it that it is played strictly in accordance with the terms of this article and the provisions of the Penal Code of the State of California. This person may have more than one table under his/her supervision. This person may participate in a game under his/her supervision, but only if no other game under his/her supervision is being played at the time he/she plays; (6) No signs or other insignia advertising or relative to card rooms shall be displayed in any manner on or in the premises occupied as a card room; and (7) No person who is in a state of intoxication shall be permitted in any card room. (h) Exemptions. The provisions of Subsections 5-2.07(a)(2), 5-2.07(b)(3), 5-2.07(e), 5-2.07(g)(2), (4), and (5), shall not apply to a nonprofit society, club, fraternal labor or other organization which has qualified for a license without fee under Section 5-2.09. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.08 License fee for card rooms. There shall be collected for each card table licenses hereunder a fee per table per month, payable quarterly in advance. The fee shall be established by resolution of the City Council. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.09 Club licenses. (a) A nonprofit society, club, fraternal, labor or other organization having adopted by-laws and duly elected officers or directors and members and having been in actual existence and operation for more than one year, may be granted a license without fee by the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, if he/she determines, from affidavits and evidence submitted to him/her that: (1) The card tables are for the exclusive use of the members of the society, club, fraternal, labor or other organization; (2) No charge is made for use of the card tables;

Title 5 PUBLIC WELFARE Avenal, California, Code of Ordinances Page 8 (3) Dues of the society, club or organization are payable not more often than once each month; and (4) The playing cards or the furnishing of card tables for use by members is, in fact, only an incidental reason for the existence of the club. (b) It shall be the responsibility of an applicant seeking a license without fee to furnish to the Chief Law Enforcement Officer such evidence as he/she may require in order to determine whether the applicant qualifies for such a license. (c) The action of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in denying a license without fee shall be subject to an appeal to the City Council. Notice of such appeal shall be filed with the City clerk within ten (10) days after the denial of such license without fee. Upon failure to file such a notice within the ten (10) day period, the action of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in denying such license without fee shall be final and conclusive. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.10 Exemptions. Constituent lodges of fraternal organizations which have had lodges in California for twenty-five (25) years or more, and whose general laws or ordinances prohibit gambling or card playing for money on the premises occupied by such lodges, shall not be required to apply for or obtain a license: (a) When the card tables are for the exclusive use of members of the fraternal organizations, or non-paying guests; and (b) No charge is made for use of the card tables. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.11 State law violations. The City Council of the City hereby declares that it is not the intention of this article to permit the licensing of any card room for the playing of any game prohibited by the laws of the State of California, including, but not limited to those games enumerated in California Penal Code § 330, which section includes banking and percentage games. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) 5-2.12 Effective date. (a) This ordinance shall go into effect and be in full force and effect at 12:01 a.m. on the 31st day after its passage. (b) If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, word, or phrase of this chapter is held to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this chapter. The City Council of the City hereby declares that it would have passed this chapter, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, word, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, words, or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. (Ord. 99-01 (part), 1999) FOOTNOTE(S):

Title 5 PUBLIC WELFARE Avenal, California, Code of Ordinances Page 9 --- (1) --- Editor's note— Prior Ord. history: 88-05, 91-06, 91-09. (Back)