Long Beach Municipal Code Ch. 5.65 Swap Meets and Display Selling Events

A. "Selling space", "stall" or "booth" shall be defined as an area not exceeding twenty feet (20') by twenty feet (20') assigned to swap meet vendors for displaying property and conducting business.

B. "Swap meet" means and includes any event, except for a display/selling event as defined in this Chapter, at which two or more persons offer new or secondhand personal property for sale or exchange and where a fee is charged for the privilege either of offering or displaying such property for sale or exchange and for admission of prospective buyers to the area where the property is offered or displayed for sale or exchange.

C. "Swap meet operator" means every person engaged in the business of conducting, managing or maintaining a swap meet. The swap meet operator shall be responsible for the coordination of all aspects of the swap meeting including solicitation of vendors, assignment of vendor selling spaces, crowd control on the premises, controlling parking on the grounds and reporting to the Police Department as provided by this Code. The term swap meet operator does not include a person who owns the land on which such event occurs if he/she has no control over the event and has no personal knowledge of any facts arising from the event which constitute a violation of any provisions of this Chapter.

D. "Swap meet vendor" means and includes any person who in this City engages in or conducts the business of selling or exchanging as owner or consignee, new or secondhand goods or any other goods at a swap meet.

E. "Display/selling event" means and includes any event open to the public at which two or more persons sell, offer for sale, exchange, display, or provide personal services and where a fee may or may not be charged for privileges and where a fee may or may not be charged to prospective buyers. Display/selling events shall include the following:

1. New personal property, plants, flowers, art and craft items, food or food products except a farmer's market;

2. New vehicles, boats, aircraft, trailers, accessories or parts;

3. Business equipment and computers;

4. Animals, pets or reptiles;

5. Antiques, collectibles, coins and stamps;

6. Used vehicles, boats, aircraft, trailers, accessories or parts.

F. "Display/selling event promoter" means any person, partnership, organization or corporation who controls, manages, conducts or otherwise administers a display/selling event.

G. "Display/selling event vendor" means any person, partnership, organization, or corporation who exchanges, displays, sells or offers for sale any items described in the definition of a display/selling event or who provides a personal service.

H. "Display/selling booth/space" means an area for displaying, selling, offering for sale or exchanging any item described in Subsection 5.65.010.E or for providing a personal service.

(Ord. C-7423, § 32, 1996)

No person shall engage in, carry on, or conduct the business of a swap meet operator or display/selling event promoter for an event described under Subsections 5 and 6 under Subsection 5.65.010.E without first having obtained a permit in accordance with this Title, and complying with any and all requirements and regulations as contained and set forth in this Chapter.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)

A. Each person, before obtaining a permit to carry on the business of a swap meet operator or display/selling event promoter, who conducts events as set forth in Subsections 5 and 6 under Subsection 5.65.010.E, shall make a written application to, and upon forms furnished by the Director of Financial Management, which shall be signed by the applicant. In addition to any other information which may reasonably be required by the Director of Financial Management, the application shall show the true name of the applicant, his/her fictitious name or names, if any, his/her age, his/her present address in the City or elsewhere, the name under which the applicant conducted any similar business, if any, and the place of his/her residence at such time within twelve (12) months preceding the date of the application. At the time the application is filed with the Director of Financial Management, the applicant shall be photographed and fingerprinted by the Police Department.

In the event the applicant is a corporation, an officer of the corporation shall furnish the information required above, and, in addition, shall furnish the names of all other corporation officers.

B. The Director of Financial Management shall issue the permit to the applicant or deny the application within sixty (60) days from the date thereof. Grounds for denial of the application shall be:

1. The applicant has had a previous license or permit to engage in the business of a swap meet operator or display/selling event promoter revoked or suspended by any jurisdiction.

2. The applicant, based upon his/her past penal record, would be a poor risk in the business of swap meet operator or display/selling event promoter.

C. Each swap meet vendor shall register with the swap meet operator prior to the vendor's doing business on the operator's premises. The registration form must be approved by the Director of Financial Management and shall provide at least the following information: name and address of vendor; vehicle license number; date, positive identification such as driver's license number, or bona fide governmental identification. The form shall consist of four (4) parts with the original retained by the Department of Financial Management, a copy sent to the Police Department, one (1) copy retained by the swap meet operator and one (1) copy retained by the swap meet vendor. The swap meet operator shall retain his/her copy of the registration form for a period of three (3) years.

D. Each display/selling event vendor for an event described in Subsections 5 and 6 under Subsection 5.65.010.E shall register with the event promoter. The registration form shall provide the following information: name and address of vendor, business name, business address if different from residence, phone number, date and driver's license number and the vendor's California seller's permit number (State Board of Equalization sales tax number), if any. This registration form shall be submitted to the Department of Financial Management not more than ten (10) days after the event.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)

A. Every person maintaining, carrying on or conducting any business for which a permit is required by the provisions of this Chapter shall pay a permit fee in an amount established by the City Council by resolution adopted pursuant to Section 5.04.040.

B. Any person desiring to carry on the business of a swap meet operator shall file with the City a faithful performance bond in the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), said bond to be in full force and effect during the life of the permit under which the person is carrying on the business, executed by a surety company authorized to do business as such in the State. The bond shall be approved by the City Attorney as to form and the City Manager as to sufficiency. The bond requirement provided in this Section for a swap meet operator may be waived for bona fide nonprofit organizations under this Code with approval of the City Manager.

C. No permit issued under the provisions of this Chapter shall be transferable and no person shall conduct either the business of a swap meet operator or display/selling event promoter under the permit of another person, except as provided in this Chapter.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)

No swap meet vendor shall sell or exchange any goods within the City between the hours of six p.m. and seven a.m. of the following day.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)

All daily reports to be filed with the Chief of Police as required in this Chapter shall be kept on file by the Chief of Police, which reports shall be open to inspection only by members of the Police Department or upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction made for that specific purpose.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)

The Chief of Police shall file all reports received pursuant to the terms of this Chapter, and the same shall be open to inspection only by members of the Police Department or upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction made for that purpose, and every report and record required by the terms of this Chapter to be filed or kept shall be written or printed entirely in the English language in a clear and legible manner.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)

The premises of all display/selling events and swap meets shall, at all times when open or being prepared for public sale, be subject to police inspection by members of the Police Department in the pursuit of their official duties, and no person shall hinder or obstruct any such authorized Police Officer in making such inspection. Premises, as used in this Section, means that area which is used to display or store the goods or personal property offered for sale to the public.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)

A. Each swap meet operator and display/selling event promoter for an event described in Subsections 5 and 6 under Subsection 5.65.010.E, as a condition to being granted a permit to carry on the business of a swap meet or display/selling event, will be required to provide a reasonable number of private security personnel as approved by the Chief of Police.

B. It shall be the duty of each swap meet or display/selling event vendor selling or offering goods for sale or exchange to have adequate evidence of authority to sell such goods.

C. As used in this Chapter, "adequate evidence of authority to sell" is evidence from which a reasonable person would conclude that the person presenting the evidence is the owner of the item he/she is attempting to sell or is the agent of the owner and is authorized by the owner to sell the item.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)

A. Each swap meet operator and display/selling event promoter for an event described in Subsections 5 and 6 of Subsection 5.65.010.E shall require swap meet and display/selling event vendors who propose to sell or exchange identifiable personal property to file a list of all such property, including all identifying information, on forms approved by the Chief of Police. The operator shall produce the list upon demand of any Peace Officer and shall further submit all such lists to the Chief of Police prior to the close of the next business day.

B. Whenever the circumstances of possession of an item by the swap meet or display/selling event vendor would reasonably lead a prudent person to conclude that the swap meet or display/selling event vendor lacks adequate evidence of authority to sell, the Chief of Police, or his/her designated representative, shall mark such item with an identifying tag and the item shall thereafter be suspended from sale or exchange for a period of not to exceed thirty (30) days. The item shall be retained during the thirty (30) day period by the swap meet or display/selling event vendor.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)

A. No swap meet or display/selling event vendor for an event described in Subsections 5 and 6 under Subsection 5.65.010. E shall sell or otherwise dispose of any article, goods or other thing within thirty (30) days after the purchase or receipt thereof.

B. No swap meet or display/selling event vendor shall sell or otherwise dispose of any article, goods, or other thing within thirty (30) days of the date such articles are suspended from sale under the provisions of this Chapter unless sooner released by the Chief of Police.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)

No swap meet operator shall permit a person under the age of eighteen (18) years to register as a swap meet vendor. A swap meet vendor may, however, employ one (1) or more persons under the age of eighteen (18) years as salespersons.

(Ord. C-7423 § 32, 1996)