Fountain Valley Municipal Code Ch. 5.08 License Fees

(a) The various rates for license fees charged by the city to persons commencing or conducting any business that requires a license as described in Chapters 5.04 and 5.08 shall be designated in Chapter 5.08 and by resolution implementing the same. All business license fees described in Chapter 5.04 and Chapter 5.08 are designated, fixed and established for businesses to which they relate.

(b) The determination of starting a business, engaging in, or undertaking a business venture shall be as determined by the city, through the license collector. Such determinations shall be made in accordance with policy standards duly published and made available to all interested and affected persons. Any determination made by the license collector shall be appealable to the city council by the affected person.

(c) The intention and purpose of the city is to require a license from, and the payment of a license fee by, each and every person commencing or conducting any business within the city unless such business be expressly exempted from such requirements by the provisions of Chapters 5.04 and 5.08 or by law.

(d) The city council finds and determines that the categories for licensing as set forth herein are reasonable, are based upon the particular experience in Fountain Valley of various business practices, and that each such category relates specifically to the types of businesses included therein.

(Ord. 1181 § 2, 1992)

(a) There is established a business license fee, known as the "base fee" which is determined according to category and based upon the average number of employees and number of vehicles operated in excess of one. The "base fee" shall be applicable to all categories of businesses in Chapters 5.04 and 5.08. The total fee shall consist of the base fee which includes the company, owner or one employee and one vehicle, plus a separate fee for each additional employee and a separate fee for each additional vehicle and, where applicable, additional fees as outlined in Section 5.08.050.

(b) All businesses shall pay a license fee as set forth by city council resolution. The duration of the license shall be as indicated by letter after the fee amount. The letter "A" following the fee shall indicate an annual fee is required; the letter "S" following the fee shall indicate a semiannual fee is required; the letter "Q" following the fee shall indicate a quarterly fee is required; the letter "M" indicates a monthly fee is required; and the letter "D" following the fee shall indicate a daily fee is required. Any business indicated with a "CM" after the title requires the city manager's approval.

(Ord. 1181 § 2, 1992)

The following categories of businesses are hereby established:

Category "A" Retail Sales and Service. Any person conducting, managing, or carrying on a business consisting mainly of selling at retail any goods, wares or merchandise, or conducting, managing or carrying on of any trade, occupation, calling or business designed to render accommodations or services of individual skills and not otherwise specifically licensed by other section of this chapter, shall be licensed as Category "A."

Category "B" Wholesaling and Manufacturing Businesses. Any person conducting, managing or carrying on a business consisting mainly of manufacturing, packing, warehousing, processing, carrying or selling at wholesale any goods, wares, merchandise or produce, and not otherwise specifically licensed by other sections of this chapter, shall be licensed as Category "B."

Category "C" Professions. Any person engaged in the business activity of rendering professional services and not otherwise specifically licensed by other sections of this chapter shall be licensed as Category "C."

Category "D" Contractors, Developers, Subdividers and Owner/Builders. Any person engaged in the business activity of a general engineering contractor (Class A), general building contractor (Class B) and swimming pool contractor (Class C53), as defined by the state of California Contractors License Law; and any person engaged in the business activity of subdividing land or developing land; and any person engaged in the business activity of building construction as the owner thereof, and not otherwise specifically licensed by other sections of this chapter, shall be licensed as Category "D."

Category "E" Subcontractors. Any person engaged in the business activity of a specialty contractor (Class C except C53), shall be deemed a subcontractor, and if not otherwise specifically licensed by other sections of this chapter, shall be licensed as Category "E."

Category "F" Real Estate Rentals. Any person engaged in the business activity of renting, leasing or managing apartments, motels, hotels, bungalows, auto courts, roominghouses, trailer parks and any similar residential units or the renting, leasing or managing or industrial or commercial property or improvements consisting of three or more units, offices, rooms or spaces, and not otherwise specifically licensed by other sections of this chapter, shall be licensed as Category "F."

Category "U" Public Utilities.

(A) Telephone Companies. Every person engaged in the business of providing telephone services shall be licensed as Category "A."

(B) Other Utility Companies. Every public utility company selling parts or appliances at retail within the city shall pay a business license fee for said activity in accordance with the schedule for Category "A."

(Ord. 1181 § 2, 1992)

(a) The license collector, at his or her discretion, is empowered to issue a license to a contractor, specialty contractor or subcontractor for a period of three or six months. If the license is issued on or before the fifteenth day of a month, it will be dates and be effective as of the first day of said month. If the license is issued after the fifteenth day of the month, it will be effective immediately, but will expire either three months or six months from the first day of the succeeding month. The fee payable hereunder cannot be applied as a credit toward a full year business license fee in the event such license is required and applied for at a subsequent date. The fees applicable to applicants under the provisions of this subsection are set forth in a schedule to be adopted by city council resolution.

(b) The license collector, at his or her discretion, is authorized to issue a license to a part-time, selfemployed person engaged in a home occupation which has received approval by the planning department for a residential business, or is engaged in the sale of the products of the individual's arts or handicrafts, or similarly related hobby activity; or to a part-time, self-employed person engaged in providing recreational or craft instructions exclusively for governmental agencies, all in accordance with the fee schedule set forth by separate resolution.

(Ord. 1181 § 2, 1992)

License fees for all categories of businesses shall be set forth in a schedule to be adopted by separate resolution.

(Ord. 1181 § 2, 1992)

The following businesses are determined to be of a special nature and not otherwise capable of definition according to the categories established in Section 5.08.030. All businesses classified in this section shall pay a license fee set forth in a schedule to be adopted by separate resolution. All businesses classified in this section shall also pay those fees stated in Section 5.08.020 pertaining to the number of employees in excess of one involved in the business, the number of vehicles in excess of one involved in the business, and the number of vending or amusement machines involved in the business as described under Category "V-2" of Section 5.08.030. The following commercial entities that cannot be defined by Section 5.08.030 are stated below:

(1) Amusement and Recreation Centers (CM). These include, but are not limited to, the following: boxing or wrestling exhibitions; carnival tent shows; open air shows; or in hall or building constructed for theatrical purposes; automotive racing or recreation; skating rinks; athletic/sport facilities; stadium facilities; amusement centers; rooms, businesses or parlors containing recreational devices and devices for entertainment, including, but not limited to, pool tables, billiard tables, bowling alleys, batting cages, trampolines, games of skill, games of non-skill and amusement games;

(2) Baths (CM);

(3) Circuses (CM);

(4) Dance Halls or Dancing Establishments (CM). For the purposes of this section, the following shall be defined: "Public dance hall" is a place open to the public upon the payment of an admittance fee wherein music is provided and people are allowed to dance, which is open at regular intervals or regular days of the week. "Public dance" is a dance open to the public for an admittance fee or charge, which is held on one day only. "Dinner-dancing place" is a place which is operated in the ordinary course of business as a restaurant and where music is provided and the public is permitted to dance without payment of a fee;

(5) Geophysicists core and test drilling (CM);

(6) Junk collector or junk dealer (CM);

(7) Oil well driller and drilling (CM);

(8) Pawnbroker (CM). Includes every person conducting, managing or carrying on the business of loaning money either for him or herself, or for any other person, upon any personal property, personal security, or purchasing personal property and reselling or agreeing to resell such property to the vendor or other assignee at prices previously agreed upon. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to apply to the loaning of money or personal property or personal security by any bank or savings and loan association authorized to do so under the laws of this state or the United States;

(9) Rentals;

(10) Solicitors, Transient Merchants, Sidewalk Vendors, and Peddlers. Includes, but is not limited to, the following: peddlers of dry goods and hardware; peddlers of food; solicitors or canvassers; and soliciting by telephone (CM). All persons described in this subsection must comply with all the provisions of Chapter 4.20;

(11) Stereopticon, biograph, moving pictures (CM);

(12) Theaters and Theatricals (CM). Includes drive-in/outdoor theaters and indoor or walk-in theaters. For purposes of this section, every indoor or walk-in theater building which is separated into independent programming areas for which separate admission fees are charged to patrons shall be considered as housing separate theaters, for each of which a separate license is to be obtained. For drive-in/outdoor theaters, a separate license shall be obtained for snack bars, food stands and other concessions, in accordance with Sections 5.04.300 and 5.08.030.

Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed or construed to require the holder of a theater license issued pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph to procure an additional license to conduct, manage or carry on any theatrical or vaudeville performance, or to exhibit any moving or motion pictures at any theater so licensed; and

(13) Vehicular Advertising (CM).

(Ord. 1181 § 2, 1992; Ord. 1547 § 6, 2019)

All applications for a business license for the following described businesses must be submitted to and be approved by the city manager in accordance with the provisions of Chapters 5.04 and 5.08.

(Ord. 1181 § 2, 1992; Ord. 1547 § 7, 2019)