Huntington Park Municipal Code Ch. 2 Hotel and Motel Regulations

Note: Prior history: The Title of Chapter 2, formerly entitled "Hotel and Motel Registers", amended by Section 1, Ordinance No. 267-NS, eff. October 15, 1980.

For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:

"Hotel" and "motel"

shall include a lodging house, rooming house, or other building or structure having six or more units, rooms, or rentals maintained, advertised, or held out to the public as a place where sleeping or rooming accommodations are furnished to the public, with or without meals.

"Peace officer"

shall mean a peace officer as defined in Section 830 of the Penal Code of the State.

"Person"

shall mean any person, firm, partnership, or corporation.

"Register"

shall mean a hardback book with permanent pages or permanent, consecutively numbered card file, with the pages or cards marked and lined indicating in each lined portion of the page or card the place for the name and address of the guest, the vehicle description, the license number of the vehicle, the date and time the person registered, and the room occupied by such guest.

(§ 1, Ord. 45-NS, eff. October 8, 1970, as amended by § 2 (80), Ord. 624-NS, eff. Dec. 15, 1999)

Every person who owns or operates a hotel or motel in the City shall keep an up-to-date register in which shall be entered the name and address of each guest, the vehicle description, the license number of the vehicle of the person signing the register, the date and time such person registered, and the room occupied by such guest. Such register shall be kept in the hotel or motel. Such register shall be available for inspection and in good condition for a period of not less than three years after the entry of each name and address of each guest.

(§ 1, Ord. 45-NS, eff. October 8, 1970)

Every peace officer shall have access to and the right to inspect at any time any register kept by any hotel or motel pursuant to the provisions of Section 5-2.02 of this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 45-NS, eff. October 8, 1970)

Before furnishing any accommodations to any guest at any hotel or motel, the proprietor, manager, or owner thereof shall require the person to whom such accommodations are furnished to inscribe his or her name in such register kept for that purpose as provided in Section 5-2.02 of this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 45-NS, eff. October 8, 1970)

No person shall enter upon the premises of or remain in any public room of a hotel or motel after being notified by the owner, manager, or other person in charge to leave or remove himself or herself or herself therefrom. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the following instances:

(a) Where its application results in or is coupled with an act prohibited by the Unruh Civil Rights Act or any other provision of law relating to prohibited discrimination against any person on account of color, race, religion, creed, ancestry, or national origin;

(b) Where its application results in or is coupled with an act prohibited by Section 365 of the Penal Code of the State or any other provision of law relating to duties of innkeepers and common carriers; or

(c) Where its application would result in an interference with or inhibition of any other exercise of a constitutionally protected right of freedom of speech, such as (but not limited to) peaceful expressions of political or religious opinions, not involving offensive personal conduct.

(§ 2, Ord. 267-NS, eff. October 15, 1980)

Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(§ 1, Ord. 45-NS, eff. October 8, 1970)