Los Alamitos Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

The ordinance codified in this chapter is enacted solely to raise revenue for municipal purposes and is not intended for regulation.

(Ord. 354 § 2, 1977)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them by this section.

"Apartments, motels, hotels, rooming houses, cottages and residential buildings having rental spaces"

means a place where three or more rooms, apartments, cottages or rental spaces are located upon one parcel of property, or upon adjoining parcels of property under one ownership, and are designed for the independent living of three or more families.

"Applicant"

means any person who applies for a license from the license collector under the provisions of this chapter.

"Automobile rental"

means every motor vehicle used for the transportation of passengers over the public highways and not over defined routes, irrespective of whether or not such passengers are transported beyond the limits of the city, and at rates per mile, per trip, per hour, per week or per month, and shall include the leasing, renting or hiring by the day, hour, trip or otherwise, whether with or without driver, of any vehicle, camper, sight-seeing car, omnibus, stage or taxicab used for carrying passengers over an undefined route, one terminus of which is inside the city; and also means and includes a motor vehicle designed, used or maintained primarily for the transportation of property, which motor vehicle is rented, leased or hired without driver or operator, at rates per mile, per trip, per hour, per day, per week, per month or otherwise.

"Auto wrecking"

means the maintenance of a place, building or lot where secondhand automobiles, trucks or any parts thereof, are traded for or bought, for the purpose of dismantling, wrecking or otherwise tearing down the same; and the parts or accessories from such automobiles or trucks are offered for sale or exchange as usable; and the storage of metals and materials as may accumulate only from such automobiles or trucks.

"Business"

means any business, profession, trade, calling, occupation, show, exhibition or game, and every kind of calling whether or not carried on for profit or livelihood.

"Business/building space"

means the number of square feet rented, leased or owned by the applicant and being used or proposed to be used in the conduct of the business, including space or land area used for storage of goods, products or materials used in the business, and excluding area devoted to parking and landscaping.

"Business license tax"

means the privilege tax imposed upon persons engaged in business as defined herein, for the privilege of engaging in such business within the city.

"Carnival company"

means a collection of shows, exhibitions, feats of strength, rides, merchandise booths, games of skill, fortune-telling, games of chance, wheels of fortune or any other amusement device presented or offered upon the streets or vacant property within the city, other than circuses, animal shows or side shows with circuses.

"City"

means the city of Los Alamitos, a municipal corporation of the state of California.

"Collector,"

as used in this chapter, means the city tax collector, finance officer or other city officer charged with the administration of this chapter.

"Contractor"

means a person who for either a fixed sum, price, fee, percentage, profit and other compensation, other than wages, undertakes or offers to undertake, or proposes to have the capacity to undertake, to construct, alter, repair, add to or improve any building, highway, road, excavation or other structural project, development or improvement or to do any part thereof. Such term shall, unless specifically distinguished, include "subcontractor" and "specialty contractor."

Such term does not apply to any work or operation in one undertaking or project by one or more contracts, the aggregate contract price for which labor, materials and all other items is less than $100, such work or operations being considered as of casual, minor or inconsequential nature; provided, that this exemption does not apply in any case wherein the work of construction is only a part of a larger or major operation, whether undertaking by the same or a different contractor, or in which a division of the operation is made in contracts of amounts less than $100 for the purpose of evasion of the provisions of this chapter.

Such term does not apply to owners of property, buildings or improving structures thereon for the occupancy of such owner and not intended for sale. If the structure is occupied and used by the owner, or a tenant of the owner, upon completion, and is not offered for sale prior to completion; provided, that not more than one of such buildings shall be so constructed in any one calendar year.

"Dry cleaning - laundry agency"

means a business separate and distinct from the business of a dry cleaner or a laundry whether or not such agency is owned or operated by a dry cleaner or a laundry, and for the purpose of this chapter, the term "dry cleaning - laundry agency" means and includes a place where goods of a textile nature may be left to be dry cleaned or laundered, for which dry cleaning or laundering a charge is made, and which service is not performed at the place of business of such agency.

"Employee"

means all persons engaged in operating or conducting any business, whether as owner, member of the owner's family, partner, agent, manager, solicitor and any other person employed or working in such business, whether full-time or part-time.

"Gross sales"

means the total amount of the sale price of all sales and the total amount charged or received for the performance of any act, service or employment of whatever nature it may be, for which a charge is made or credit allowed, whether the sale of materials, goods, wares or merchandise; and includes all receipts, cash, credits and property of every kind or nature for which credit is allowed by the seller to the purchaser without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of materials used, labor or service cost, interest paid or payable, losses or other expenses whatsoever. Excluded from "gross sales" shall be:

Cash discounts allowed and taken on sales;

Credit allowed on property accepted as part of the purchase price and collected from the consumer or purchaser;

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

Receipts of refundable deposits, except that refundable deposits forfeited and taken into income of the business shall not be excluded;

As to a retail gasoline dealer: (a) a portion of his receipts from the sale of motor vehicle fuels equal to the motor vehicle fuel license tax imposed by and previously paid under the provisions of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the state of California; and (b) the special motor fuel tax imposed by Section 4041 of Title 26 of the United States Code if paid by the dealer or collected by him from the consumer or purchaser.

"Itinerant vendor"

means any person or individual, whether as principle or agent, who engages in a temporary or transient business in the city, selling goods, wares or merchandise, with the intention of conducting such business in the city for a period of not more than 90 days, and who, for the purpose of carrying on such business, the exhibition or sale of goods, wares or merchandise, and the person so engaged shall not be relieved from the requirements of this chapter by reason of association temporarily with any local dealer, trader, merchant or auctioneer, or by conducting such temporary or transient business in connection with or as a part of or in the name of any local dealer, trader, merchant or auctioneer.

"Junk collector"

means any person not having a fixed place of business within the city, who goes about from place to place collecting, buying or selling articles commonly known as junk.

"Junk dealer"

means any person having a fixed place of business in the city, who buys or sells, either at wholesale or retail, for purposes of salvage, any rags, sacks, bottles, cans, papers, rubber, metal or other articles commonly known as junk.

"Lunch stand, street kitchen or refreshment stand"

means a stall or booth at which prepared food is sold, or food is cooked, for immediate sale, or where refreshments are served, which booth or stall is portable and so constructed that it can be moved from place to place.

"Manufacturing business"

means the business of producing or processing articles for use from raw or prepared materials by giving such materials new forms, qualities, properties or combinations.

"Mobilehome park"

means land or premises used or intended to be used, let or rented for occupancy by or of mobilehomes or movable dwellings.

"Operate"

means to manage, control or carry on.

"Owner-builder"

means any owner of property upon which he is building or improving structures thereon and not intended for sale. Proof of the sale or offering for sale of any such structure by the owner-builder within one year after completion of same is presumptive evidence that such structure was undertaken for purpose of sale.

"Parking lot"

means any parcel of land where motor vehicles, trailers and boats are parked or stand by the hour, day, week or month for a monetary consideration, whether direct or indirect, but shall not include any lot maintained exclusively for patrons of any business concern where no monetary consideration is charged.

"Part-time employee"

means any employee devoting less than 20 hours per week to the business.

"Person"

includes all domestic and foreign corporations, associations, syndicates, joint stock companies, partnerships of every kind, joint ventures, clubs, business or common law trusts, societies and individuals engaged in any business as business is defined herein, in the city.

"Private dance"

means a dance which is limited to those persons individually invited to which no admission charge is made or a dance conducted by a bona fide club, society or association, organized or incorporated for benevolent, charitable, dramatic, literary or dancing purposes, having an established membership and which holds meetings other than such dances at regular stated intervals and when the proceeds, if any, of such dances are used for the purpose of such club, society or association.

"Public dance"

means a dance open to the public for an admittance fee or charge and which is held on one day only.

"Public dance hall"

means a place open to the public upon the payment of an admittance fee wherein music is provided and people are allowed to dance, which place is so open at regular intervals or on regular days of the week.

"Public dancing place"

means a place where music is provided and the public is permitted to dance without payment of a fee.

"Retail business"

means the business of selling, leasing or renting goods, wares, merchandise, products and all other forms and kinds of personal property to any consumer for any purpose other than resale.

"Sale"

includes the transfer, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, of title to property for a consideration; the serving, supplying or furnishing for consideration of any property; and a transaction whereby the possession of property is transferred and the seller retains the title as security for the payment of the price shall likewise be deemed a sale. The foregoing definitions shall not be deemed to exclude any transaction which is or which, in effect, results in a sale within the contemplation of law.

"Service business"

means the business of furnishing, providing or performing labor, expertise or assistance for the purpose of maintenance, preservation or repair of goods, wares, merchandise, buildings and structures, and all other forms of personal and real property, or the furnishing, providing or performing of labor, expertise or assistance to or on the person of another, exclusive of professional or semiprofessional services.

"Solicitors, canvassers, demonstrators or salesmen"

means any person, whether principle or agent, who goes from place to place selling or taking orders or offering to sell or take orders for goods, wares or merchandise, or any articles for future delivery, or repairing of any article for future delivery.

"Street"

includes all streets, avenues, highways, alleys, courts, lanes, places, squares, drives, curbing, sidewalks or other public ways in this city which have been, or may hereafter be, dedicated as such as open to public use.

"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 business"

means the business of selling goods, wares, merchandise, products or any other form or kind of personal property to a retail business or other outlet for the purpose of resale.

(Ord. 354 § 1, 1977)

Persons required to pay a license tax for transacting and carrying on any business under this chapter shall not be relieved from the payment of any license tax for the privilege of doing such business required under any other ordinance of the city and shall remain subject to the regulatory provisions of other ordinances.

(Ord. 354 § 3, 1977)

A. There are imposed upon the businesses, trades, professions, callings and occupations specified under this chapter license taxes in the amounts hereinafter prescribed. It is unlawful for any person to transact and carry on any business, trade, profession or calling or occupation in the city without first having procured a license from the city to do so and paying the tax hereinafter prescribed or without complying with any and all applicable provisions of this chapter.

B. This section shall not be construed to require any person to obtain a license prior to doing business within the city if such requirement conflicts with applicable statutes of the United States or of the state of California. Persons not so required to obtain a license prior to doing business within the city, nevertheless, shall be liable for payment of the tax imposed by this chapter.

C. A business license issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter constitutes a receipt for the license tax paid and shall have no other legal effect; a business license is a requirement, not a permit to conduct, manage or carry on any business activity in the city.

D. The license required by this chapter for persons to engage in professions, vocations or businesses which are also licensed by the state are for revenue purposes only and the regulatory provision of this code, including the power to deny, suspend or revoke the license of such person, shall not apply.

E. No license issued or payment of business tax under the provisions of this chapter shall be construed as authorizing the conduct or continuance of any illegal business or of a legal business in an illegal manner. Notwithstanding any provision in this code to the contrary, any business, operation or use that cannot be, or is not, conducted or carried out without being in violation of state or federal law shall be prohibited in all planning areas, districts, or zones within the city.

(Ord. 354 § 4, 1977; Ord. 07-04 § 1)