Manhattan Beach Municipal Code Ch. 6.16 Fortune-Telling

No person shall conduct, engage in, carry on, participate in, or practice fortune-telling or cause the same to be done for pay without having first obtained a permit therefore and without having posted and maintained in full force and effect a surety bond as required by this Section.

(§ 1, Ord. 1715, eff. October 3, 1985)

"Fortune-telling" shall mean telling of fortunes, forecasting of futures, or furnishing of any information not otherwise obtainable by the ordinary process of knowledge, by means of any occult, psychic power, faculty, force, clairvoyance, clairaudience, cartomancy, psychology, psychometry, phrenology, spirits, tea leaves or other such reading, mediumship, seership, prophecy, augury, astrology, palmistry, necromancy, mind-reading, telepathy, or other craft, art, science, cards, talisman, charm, potion, magnetism, magnetized article or substance, crystal gazing, oriental mysteries or magic, of any kind or nature. "For Pay" shall mean for a fee, reward, donation, loan or receipt of anything of value. ;hn0; (§ 1, Ord. 1715, eff. October 3, 1985)

Every natural person who, for pay, actively conducts, engages in, carries on, or practices fortune-telling shall file a separate verified application for a permit with the Licensing Authority (City Manager). The application shall contain:

A. The name, home and business address, and home and business phone number of the applicant.

B. The record of conviction for violations of the law, excluding minor traffic violations.

C. The fingerprints of the applicant on a form provided by the Law Enforcement Agency.

D. The address, city and state, and the approximate dates where and when the applicant practiced a similar business, either alone or in conjunction with others.

(§ 1, Ord. 1715, eff. October 3, 1985)

Upon the filing of the application, it shall be referred to the Police Department for investigation, report and recommendation. The investigation shall be conducted to verify the facts contained in the application and any supporting data. The investigation shall be completed and a report and recommendation made in writing to the City Manager within fourteen (14) days after the filing of the application, unless the applicant requests or consents to an extension of the time period. If the report recommends denial of the permit to the applicant, the grounds for the recommended denial shall be set forth. At the time of the filing of the report and recommendation with the City Manager, a copy thereof shall be served personally or by certified mail on the applicant, accompanied by a notice to the applicant that he or she may request to be heard when the City Manager considers the application and report.

(§ 1, Ord. 1715, eff. October 3, 1985)

The City Manager shall consider the application and the report and recommendation. City shall have the burden of proof to show the permit should be denied. The decision of the City Manager to grant or deny the permit shall be in writing, and if adverse to the applicant, shall contain findings of fact and a determination of the issues presented. Unless the applicant agrees in writing to an extension of time, the City Manager shall make his order denying or granting the application within ten (10) days after completion of the Police Department report and shall notify the applicant of his action by personal service or certified mail.

(§ 1, Ord. 1715, eff. October 3, 1985)

The City Manager shall approve issuance of the permit if he finds all the information contained in the application and supporting data is true; the applicant has not, within the previous six (6) months, been convicted of any violation of this Chapter or any law relating to fraud or moral turpitude; the applicant appeared in person at the hearing; and the applicant agrees to abide by and comply with all conditions of the permit and this Chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 1715, eff. October 3, 1985)

If the City Manager approves the permit, the License Collector shall thereafter issue it when the applicant has paid the license fee required by Section 6.01.020 and has posted with the City Clerk a surety bond in the principal amount of $10,000.00 executed as surety by a good and sufficient corporate surety business in the State of California and as a principal by the applicant. The form of the bond shall have been approved by the City Attorney and shall have been given to insure good faith and fair dealing on the part of the applicant and as a guarantee of indemnity for any and all loss, damage, theft, or other unfair dealings suffered by any patron of the applicant within the City during the term of the permit. Fortune telling shall not be provided to persons under 18 years of age.

(§ 1, Ord. 1715, eff. October 3, 1985)

The term of the permit shall be for no more than the term of a regular business tax certificate or January 31, 1986, whichever is earlier. A renewal application shall be filed no later than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the permit and shall be processed in the same manner as a new application.

(§ 1, Ord. 1715, eff. October 3, 1985)

The provisions of this Section shall not apply to any person solely by reason of the fact that he or she is engaged in the business of entertaining the public by demonstrations of mind-reading, mental telepathy, thought conveyance, or the giving of horoscopic readings, at public places and in the presence of and within the hearing of other persons and at which no questions are answered, as part of such entertainment, except in a manner to permit all persons present at such public place to hear such answers.

(§ 1, Ord. 1715, eff. October 3, 1985)

No person shall be required to pay any fee or take out any permit for conducting or participating in any religious ceremony or service when such person holds a certificate or ordination as a minister, missionary, medium, healer, or clairvoyant (hereinafter collectively referred to as minister) from any bona fide church or religious association maintaining a church and holding regular services and having a creed or set of religious principles that is recognized by all churches of like faith; provided that:

A. Except as provided in (C) hereof, the fees, gratuities, emoluments, and profits thereof shall be regularly accounted for and paid solely to or for the benefit of the bona fide church or religious association, as defined in this Section.

B. The minister holding a certificate of ordination from such bona fide church or religious association, as defined in this Section, shall file with the City Manager a certified copy of the minister's name, age, street address, and phone number in this city where the activity set forth in this Section is to be conducted.

C. Such bona fide church or religious association, as defined in this Section, may pay to its ministers a salary or compensation based upon a percentage basis, pursuant to an agreement between the church and the minister which is embodied in a resolution and transcribed the minutes of such church or religious association.

(§ 1, Ord. 1715, October 3, 1985)

The application fee shall be established as set forth in the City's Fee Resolution.

(§ 1, Ord. 1715, eff. October 3, 1985)