Cathedral City Municipal Code Ch. 3.28 Business Licenses

For the purposes of this chapter, unless it is plainly evident from the context that a different meaning is intended, certain terms used in this chapter are defined as follows:

"Business"

means professions, trades, occupations, gainful activities, and all and every kind of calling whether or not carried on for profit.

"City"

means the city of Cathedral City, a municipal corporation of the state of California, in its present incorporated form or in any later reorganized, consolidated, enlarged or reincorporated form.

"Collector"

means the director of finance, or other city officer or employee charged with the administration of this chapter.

"Gross receipts"

means the total amount of the sale price of all sales and the total amount charged or received for the performance of any act or service of whatever nature it may be, for which a charge is made or credit allowed, whether or not the act or service is done as a part or in connection with the sale of materials, goods, wares, or merchandise. Gross receipts, as used in this chapter, means the gross receipts of the year preceding the beginning of the annual license period. Included in gross receipts shall be all receipts, cash, credits, and property of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of the property sold, the cost of the materials used, labor or service, costs, interest paid or payable, or losses or other expenses whatsoever. Excluded from gross receipts shall be the following:

Cash discounts allowed and taken on sales;

Credit allowed on property accepted as part of the purchase price and which property may later be sold;

Any tax required by law to be included in or added to the purchase price and collected from the consumer or purchaser;

Such part of the sale price returned by purchasers upon rescission of the contract of sale as is refunded either in cash or by credit;

Amounts collected for others where the business is acting as an agent or trustee, to the extent that such amounts are paid to those for whom collected and provided the agent or trustee has furnished the collector with the names and addresses of the others and the amounts paid to them;

That portion of the receipts of a general contractor which represents payments to subcontractors; provided, that such subcontractors are licensed under this chapter and provided the general contractor furnishes the collector with the names and addresses of the subcontractors and the amounts paid each subcontractor;

That portion of gross receipts which has been the measure of a license tax paid to any other city for sales transacted outside the city.

"Peddler"

means any person traveling by foot, motor vehicle, mobile unit or any other type of conveyance from place to place selling or taking orders for or offering to sell or take orders for goods, wares, merchandise and foods for present or future delivery or for services to be performed immediately or in the future whether or not such person possesses, carries or exposes a sample of such goods, wares, merchandise and foods and whether or not such person is collecting advance payments on such sales. "Peddler" shall also include any person who, without traveling from place to place, sells or offers to sell or takes or attempts to take orders for such items for sale from a motor vehicle or mobile unit.

"Person"

means all domestic and foreign corporations, associations, syndicates, joint stock corporations, partnerships of every kind, clubs, Massachusetts, business, or common law trusts, societies and individuals transacting and carrying on any business in the city other than as an employee.

"Retail trade"

means every business conducted for the purpose of selling or offering to sell any goods, wares, or merchandise, other than as a part of a "wholesale business" as defined in subsection J of this section.

"Sworn statement"

means an affidavit sworn to before a person authorized to take oaths or a declaration or certification made under penalty of perjury.

"Wholesale and manufacturing trade"

means every business conducted solely for the purpose of selling or manufacturing goods, wares or merchandise in wholesale lots for resale.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982; Ord. 100 § 1, 1985; Ord. 611 § 2, 2005)

Subject to the provisions of this chapter, all businesses engaged in or carried on in the city shall pay annual business license fees in the amounts as provided in this chapter. It is unlawful for any person to commence, transact, engage in, or carry on any business in the city without first having obtained a valid license and paid the license fee therefor, or without complying with any and all applicable provisions of this chapter. Compliance with such requirements shall not be construed to be a condition precedent to engaging in any business or corporation within the city where the imposition of such a condition precedent would be contrary to law. When any person by use of signs, circulars, cards, telephone book, or newspapers, advertises, holds out, or represents that he is in business in the city, or when any person holds an active license or permit issued by a governmental agency indicating that he is in business in the city, and the person fails to deny by a sworn statement given to the collector that he is not conducting a business in the city, after being requested to do so by the collector, then these facts shall be considered prima facie evidence that he is conducting a business in the city.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

Persons required to pay a license fee for transacting and carrying on any business under this chapter shall not be relieved from the payment of any fees for the privilege of carrying on any similar or related activity required under any other ordinance of the city and shall remain subject to the regulatory provisions of other ordinances. No person shall be entitled to a business license and the collector shall not issue a business license to any person commencing business unless and until the person has complied with all applicable city ordinances. No license shall be issued covering any food or drink dispensing establishment, restaurant, pet hospital, pet shop, veterinarian, or kennel services until the applicant has obtained clearance from the county department of health.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

The amount of any license fee and penalty imposed by the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a debt to the city. An action may be commenced in the name of the city in any court of competent jurisdiction, for the amount of any delinquent license fee and penalties.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

Every person required to have a license under the provisions of this chapter shall make application for the same to the collector providing such information and in such manner as may be required by the collector. The collector may refer to any governmental agency any statement and all other information submitted by persons subject to the provisions of this chapter in connection with the conduct of a business regulated or supervised or otherwise the concern of any such agency, including agencies concerned with health regulations, zoning conformance, fire safety, police considerations, or any other safeguard of the public interest.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

In all cases where the amount of the license fee to be paid is measured by gross receipts, the applicant for license shall furnish to the collector a sworn statement setting forth such information as is required and as may be necessary to determine the amount of the license fee to be paid by the applicant. Upon making application for the first license to be issued under this chapter, or for a newly established business, a person shall estimate the gross receipts for the period to be covered by the license to be issued. The estimate, if accepted by the collector as reasonable, shall be used in determining the amount of license fee to be paid by the applicant. The applicant for the renewal of a license shall submit to the collector a sworn statement setting forth such information concerning the applicant's business during the preceding year as may be required by the collector to enable him to ascertain the amount of the license fee to be paid by the applicant.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

A separate license must be obtained for each branch establishment or location of the business transacted and carried on and for each separate type of business at the same location, and each license shall authorize the licensee to transact and carry on only the business licensed thereby at the location or in the manner designated in the license; provided, that warehouses and distributing plants used in connection with and incidental to a business licensed under the provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to be separate places of business or branch establishments; and provided further, that any person conducting two or more types of businesses at the same location and under the same management, or at different locations, but which businesses use a single set or integrated set of books and records may, at his option, pay only one fee calculated on all gross receipts of the businesses under the schedule that applies to the type of business of the person which requires the highest payment on the gross receipts except that a license fee of three dollars for each additional branch, location, or type of business shall be paid upon issuance.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

The collector or any of his authorized representatives shall not make known in any manner whatever the business affairs, operations, or information obtained by an investigation of records and equipment of any person required to obtain a license or pay a license fee under the provisions of this chapter or to divulge the amount or source of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particular thereof set forth in any statement or application, or to permit any statement or application, or copy of either, or any other document relating thereto which contains specific information as to the amount or source of income or expenditures of any person obtaining a license to be seen or examined by any person; provided, that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the disclosure to or examination of records by another city agent for the sole purpose of administering or enforcing any of the provisions of this chapter or auditing of accounts of the collector, federal or state officials, or a grand jury or court of law upon subpoena or in a proceeding to determine the existence or amount of any license fee liability of the particular licensee to the city; nor shall the disclosure of the names and addresses of persons to whom licenses have been issued and the general type of their business be prohibited under this section, together with general statistics regarding business fees collected or business done in the city.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

If any person subject to the fees imposed by this chapter fails to submit information required by the collector necessary to determine the license fee due and payable, or if the collector is not satisfied with the information supplied and statement filed, the collector may determine the amount of license fee due from the person by means of such information as he may be able to obtain. If the determination is made, the collector shall give a notice of the amount so assessed by serving it personally or by depositing it in the United States Post Office at Cathedral City, California, postage prepaid, addressed to the person so assessed at his last known address.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

Every person who engages in business at a fixed place of business within the city shall pay a license fee based upon gross receipts at the following rates and in the following classifications:

Classifications

—

Class A

Automobile repair and service

Laundry, dry cleaning, and garment services Manufacturing

Retail trade

Wholesale trade

Class B

Amusement and recreation services, including motion pictures

Architectural services

Beauty shops

Engineering services

Landscape and horticultural services

Operators, renters, and lessors of commercial property

Services to buildings

All other persons engaged in business not specifically listed elsewhere in this chapter

Class C

Accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping services

Barbers and hairstylists

Financial services

Insurance brokers and services

Legal services

Management and public relations services

Medical and health services

Real estate agents, brokers, managers, and services

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

Every person not having a fixed place of business within the city and not being otherwise licensed or classified in this chapter, who delivers any service by the use of vehicles in the city, except general and special construction contractors, shall pay a license fee as follows:

Every person not having a fixed place of business within the city who engages in business within the city and is not subject to the provisions of this section shall pay a license fee at the same rate prescribed in this chapter for persons engaged in the same type of business from and having a fixed place of business within the city.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

Every person transacting and carrying on the businesses enumerated in this section shall pay a license fee as follows:

Auctioneers. Auctioneers not having a fixed place of business in the city, two hundred fifty dollars per year or, at the option of the licensee, twenty-five dollars per day;

Carnivals, Fairs. Two hundred dollars for the first day and one hundred fifty dollars for each additional day, for the first ten or fewer concessions; plus thirty dollars for the first day and twenty dollars for each additional day for each concession in excess of ten. For the purpose of this subsection, "concession" is any amusement, ride, booth, exhibit, stall, tent, trailer, or stand which charges any fee for the ride, service, or product offered;

Christmas Tree Lots. Every person engaged in the business of selling or offering for sale Christmas trees at retail shall pay a business license fee of twenty-two dollars and fifty cents per year;

Circuses. Five hundred dollars for the first day and three hundred seventy-five dollars per day for each additional day;

Contractors. Every person engaged in the business of contracting which requires a state contractors' license shall pay a business license fee per year as specified in this subsection; provided, that at the option of the licensee there may be paid a fee of twenty-five dollars per quarter in which work is performed. The fees on an annual basis shall be: Sixty dollars for contractors in the following state classes, C-2, C-9, C-13, C-15, C-23, C-26, C-35, C-43, C-44, C-50, C-51, C-54, C-55, C-60 and C-61; for contractors in all other classes the fees shall be eighty dollars;

Klieg Lights. One hundred fifty dollars per year for each light or, at the option of the licensee, fifteen dollars per day;

Living Accommodations. Every person engaged in the operation of a hotel, motel, apartment, roominghouse, auto court, house for rent, or other living accommodations shall pay an annual fee of twenty dollars for the first dwelling unit plus two dollars for each additional such dwelling unit;

Peddlers or Solicitors. Two hundred fifty dollars per year;

Real Estate Brokers and Sales Agents. Every person not having a fixed place of business within the city engaged in business as a real estate broker shall pay a business license fee of eighty dollars per year plus fifteen dollars for each sales person;

Sales Representatives. Every person engaged in the business of solicitor of orders for sales or services by a nationally franchised business (such as Avon) wherein solicitation only occurs by previous appointment, shall pay a business license fee of fifteen dollars per year;

Taxicabs. Two hundred dollars per year;

Vehicular Street Advertising. Three hundred dollars per year per vehicle or, at the option of the licensee, thirty dollars per day.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a maximum license fee of one hundred dollars per day shall be paid for any carnival, fair, or circus which is conducted at a location approved by the city council and is sponsored by any institution or organization conducted, managed, or carried on wholly for the benefit of charitable purposes.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982; Ord. 46 § 1, 1982; Ord. 49 § 1, 1983; Ord. 426 § 2, 1996)

A. Any person, firm or entity conducting, managing, or carrying on the business of, or providing the facilities for, the conduct of any swap meet, seller's meet, flea market or similar activity shall pay a license fee based upon gross receipts in the Class A classification.

B. In addition, any such person, firm or entity shall collect one dollar per seller per stall per day should the seller not be in possession of a valid business license in and from the city. These fees of one dollar per seller per stall per day shall be remitted to the collector on a weekly basis. The operator is responsible for the collection of these fees and subsequent remittance of such fees, in total, to the collector.

C. Any person, firm, or entity conducting, managing, or carrying on the business of selling goods or services at a swap meet, flea market, sellers' meet, or any other such activity, shall be required to pay one dollar per day per stall to the operator of the meet upon rental of stall or a forty dollar annual business license may be obtained from the city in lieu of the one dollar per day, per stall charge.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

The license fee applicable to a business not expressly set forth in this chapter shall be that license fee applicable to the business expressly set forth in this chapter which is most nearly comparable in the opinion of the collector. The collector may, in addition, require compliance with any other provision of this code regulating the licensing of the particular business determined to be most nearly comparable.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

Unless otherwise specifically provided, the following shall apply:

A. An annual license fee under the provisions of this chapter shall be due and payable in advance on the first day of the licensing year applicable to the business. Licensing years applicable to various businesses according to geographical location or other factors shall be as established by resolution of the city council or in the absence thereof the licensing year shall be on a calendar year basis.

B. A licensee paying a fee covering a new operation commencing in the first quarter of a licensing year shall pay the entire license fee; in the second quarter of a licensing year shall pay seventy-five percent of the license fee and in the fourth quarter of the licensing year shall pay twenty-five percent of the license fee.

C. A flat-rate license fee shall be payable in advance of the business activity.

D. The collector is not required to sent a renewal, delinquency, or other notice or bill to any person subject to the provisions of this chapter; and failure to send such notice or bill shall not affect the validity of any license fee or penalty due under the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

A. For failure to pay an annual license fee when due, the collector shall add a penalty of ten percent of the license fee on the first day of the month following the due date thereof and ten percent on the first day of each month thereafter while the fee remains unpaid; provided, that the amount of the penalty to be added shall in no event exceed fifty percent of the amount of the license fee due.

B. Any flat-rate license fee which has not been paid by five p.m. on the day due shall have added to the amount thereof a penalty of twenty-five percent.

C. If any person has failed to apply for and secure a valid license to operate a business, the business license fee due shall be that amount due and payable from the first date on which the person was engaged in business in the city together with applicable penalties.

D. Where an audit or inspection of the books or records of a business reveals that the amount of license fee paid for any license fee period is less than the amount which was actually due pursuant to this chapter, it shall be deemed for the purposes of this section that, to the extent of such deficiency, there was a failure to pay a license fee when due. Penalties as provided in this section shall be assessed from the date when the deficiency was required to be paid pursuant to this chapter.

E. Should court action be required to collect any license fee or penalties, an additional penalty shall be charged equal to costs of suit, including attorneys' fees. The penalties shall be added to the license fee and they shall become due and payable and collected along with the delinquent license fee.

F. Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter or knowingly or intentionally misrepresenting to any officer or employee of the city any material fact in procuring a license provided for in this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed or construed to apply to any person transacting and carrying on any business exempt by virtue of the Constitution or applicable statutes of the United States or of the state. Any person claiming an exemption pursuant to this chapter shall file a sworn statement with the collector stating the facts upon which exemption is claimed and shall furnish such information and verification as may be required. In the absence of the statement substantiating the claim, the person shall be liable for the payment of the license fee imposed by this chapter. The collector, after giving notice and a reasonable opportunity for hearing to a licensee, may revoke any license granted pursuant to the provisions of this section upon information that the licensee is not entitled to the exemption as provided in this chapter.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

No business license under this chapter shall be required of any nonprofit institution, corporation, organization, or association organized or conducted for nonprofit purposes only, when the receipts derived are to be wholly for the benefit of the organization and not in whole or part for the private gain of any person. This exemption shall not apply to promoters employed by the nonprofit institutions, corporations, organizations, or associations.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

None of the license fees provided for in this chapter shall be so applied as to occasion an undue burden upon interstate commerce or be violative of the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution of the United States and the state. In any case where a license fee is believed by a licensee or applicant for a license to place an undue burden upon interstate commerce or be violative of such constitutional clauses, he may apply to the collector for an adjustment of the fee. The application may be made before, at, or within six months after payment of the prescribed license fee. The applicant shall, by sworn statement and supporting testimony, show his method of business and the gross volume or estimated gross volume of business and such other information as the collector may deem necessary in order to determine the extent, if any, of the undue burden or violation. The collector shall then conduct an investigation, and after having first obtained the written approval of the city attorney, shall fix as the license fee for the applicant, an amount that is reasonable and nondiscriminatory; or if the license fee has already been paid, shall order a refund of the amount over and above the license fee so fixed. In fixing the license fee to be charged, the collector shall have the power to base the license fee upon any measure which will assure that the license fee assessed shall be uniform with that assessed on businesses of like nature, so long as the amount assessed does not exceed the license fee as prescribed by this chapter. The collector may require the applicant to submit, either at the time of termination of applicant's business in the city, or at the end of each three-month period, a sworn statement of the gross incomes from local sources upon which a license fee adjustment may be based; provided, that no additional license fee during any one calendar year shall be required after the licensee has paid an amount equal to the annual license tax as prescribed in this chapter.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

No business license shall be required of any public utility or other service organization which pays to the city a fee or tax under a franchise or similar agreement.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

No business license shall be required of a person doing business and drawing social security benefits whose gross receipts do not exceed the maximum income allowed by Title 42, U.S. Code, Section 403(f)(3), as presently written or as amended.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

No license issued pursuant to this chapter is transferable; provided, that where a license is issued authorizing a person to carry on a business at a particular place, the licensee may, upon application therefor and paying a fee of five dollars, have the license amended to authorize the carrying on of the business at some other location to which the business is or is to be moved. Change of ownership must be recorded by filing of application and payment of a five-dollar fee. Change in the name of the business must be recorded by filing of application and payment of a five-dollar fee.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

A duplicate license may be issued by the collector to replace any license previously issued under this chapter which has been lost or destroyed upon the licensee filing a statement of such fact and, at the time of filing the statement, paying to the collector a fee of five dollars for the duplicate license.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

No license fee collected under the provisions of this chapter shall be refundable in any manner, except that if the licensee establishes to the satisfaction of the collector that he has overpaid his license fee and, within a period of one year from the day on which the overpayment was made, files with the collector a claim for refund of the overpayment, the collector may refund the amount so overpaid.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

Any licensee transacting and carrying on a business at a fixed place of business in the city shall keep a license posted in a conspicuous place upon the premises where the business is carried on. Any licensee transacting and carrying on business but not operating in a fixed place of business in the city shall keep the license upon his person at all times while on such business in the city.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

A. It shall be within the authority of the collector to enforce each and all of the provisions of this chapter. The chief of police shall render such assistance in the enforcement of this chapter as may from time to time be required by the collector.

B. The collector and each and all of his assistants and any police officer shall have the power and authority to enter, free of charge, and at any reasonable time, any place of business required to be licensed under this chapter, and demand an exhibition of its license certificate. Any person having the license certificate theretofore issued in his possession or under his control who wilfully fails to exhibit it on demand is guilty of an infraction and subject to the penalties provided for by the provisions of this code. It shall be within the authority of the collector and each of his assistants to cause a complaint to be filed against any and all persons found to be violating any of the provisions of this chapter.

C. All persons subject to the provisions of this chapter shall keep complete records of business transactions, including sales receipts, purchases and other expenditures, state and federal income tax returns, including schedules and records included in such returns. Such persons shall retain such records for examination by the collector and maintain them for a period of at least three years. No person required under this section to keep records shall refuse to allow authorized representatives of the collector to examine the records at reasonable times and places.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

Any person aggrieved by any decision of the collector with respect to the issuance or refusal to issue such license may appeal to the city council pursuant to the provisions of Sections 2.04.100 et seq. of this code.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

The city council, for good and satisfactory cause shown, may order the issuance of a license for less than the fees provided in this chapter or without the payment of any fee whatsoever.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

The collector may make such rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter as may be necessary or desirable to supplement or clarify such provisions or aid in their enforcement. Such rules and regulations shall be known as "Business License Rules and Regulations," shall be placed in written form and numbered consecutively, and shall be approved by the city attorney before becoming effective. A copy of each such "Business License Rules and Regulations" shall be filed with the city manager and with the city clerk.

(Ord. 31 § 1, 1982)

A violation of Section 3.28.020, 3.28.100, 3.28.120, 3.28.140, 3.28.180, 3.28.200, 3.28.300, 3.28.400, 3.28.450, 3.28.500 or 3.28.860 of this chapter by any person responsible for committing, causing or maintaining such violation shall constitute an infraction violation and the violator shall be subject to the provisions set forth in Chapter 13.65, including, but not limited to, the imposition of any and all criminal penalties set forth therein.

(Ord. 506 § 3, 1999)

Any person convicted of an infraction shall, for each separate violation of this chapter, be subject to: (a) a fine in an amount not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars for a first conviction of an offense; (b) a fine in an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars for a second conviction of the same offense within a twelve month period of the date of the first offense; and (c) a fine in an amount not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars for the third conviction of the same offense within twelve-month period of the date of the first offense. The fine for a fourth and subsequent convictions of the same offense within a twelve-month period of the date of the first offense shall be one thousand dollars.

(Ord. 506 § 3, 1999)

In lieu of issuing an infraction citation, the city may issue an administrative citation, pursuant to Chapter 13.58, to any person responsible for committing, causing or maintaining a violation of Section 3.28.020, 3.28.100, 3.28.120, 3.28.140, 3.28.180, 3.28.200, 3.28.300, 3.28.400, 3.28.450, 3.28.500 or 3.28.860 of this chapter. Nothing in this section shall preclude the city from also issuing an infraction citation upon the occurrence of the same offense on a separate day.

(Ord. 506 § 3, 1999)

Note: Former § 3.28.990, Administrative fine, adopted by Ord. 506 was repealed by Ord. 892, 10/22/2025.

A violation of Section 3.28.020, 3.28.100, 3.28.120, 3.28.140, 3.28.180, 3.28.200, 3.28.300, 3.28.400, 3.28.450, 3.28.500 or 3.28.860 of this chapter by the holder of any city permit and/or city license validly issued pursuant to this or any other chapter shall constitute grounds for modification, suspension and/or revocation of said permit and/or license pursuant to the provisions set forth in Chapter 13.150.

(Ord. 506 § 3, 1999)

Nothing in this chapter shall preclude the city from pursuing the remedies provided by Chapter 13.140, including, but not limited to, as applicable, denial or revocation of certificates of occupancy, issuance of a stop work orders and injunctive relief.

(Ord. 506 § 3, 1999)