Montclair Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

This chapter is enacted for the purpose of raising revenue for municipal purposes.

(Prior code § 3-1.102)

A. License and Fee Required. No person shall engage in any business in the City without first having obtained a business license, paid the appropriate license fee, and complied with any and all applicable provisions of this Code. In any business where a State license is required, such license shall be exhibited to the collector before a City business license is issued. Failure of the applicant for a business license to exhibit or be in actual possession of a State license or failure of the collector to verify the legitimacy or applicant's possession of such license shall not constitute negligence on the part of the City.

B. Exception. This section shall not be construed to require any person to obtain a business license where such requirement conflicts with applicable statutes of the United States or of the State of California.

(Ord. 99-791 Exh. A (part); prior code § 3-1.103)

Every person engaging in business in the City shall pay a business license fee as prescribed by resolution. The City Council shall review the resolution fixing business license fees and shall retain, revoke, modify, adjust, add or determine any amount or rate of such business license fees. Such resolution shall have the force of law and shall be binding on all persons engaging in business in the City.

(Ord. 99-791 Exh. A (part); prior code § 3-1.104)

The amount of any license fee and penalty imposed by this chapter shall be deemed a debt to the City. An action may be commenced in the name of the City in any court of competent jurisdiction for the amount of any delinquent license fee and penalties.

(Ord. 99-791 Exh. A (part); prior code § 3-1.105)

The payment of a fee required by this chapter, and the issuance of a license to any person, shall not entitle the licensee to engage in any business unless the licensee has complied with all other applicable federal, state or local laws; nor shall the licensee be excused from the payment of any license, certificate, registration, insurance, bond, cash deposit, permit fee or tax required under any other provision of this Code or any ordinance of the City; nor shall the licensee be authorized to conduct any business or activity in violation of any federal, state or local law.

(Ord. 99-791 Exh. A (part); prior code § 3-1.106)

When any person engages or represents to be engaged in business in the City, and when the collector requests a person believed to be conducting business in the City to file a sworn statement denying such activity, and such person fails to file such statement, then these facts shall be considered evidence that such person is engaging in business in the City until disproved by evidence to the contrary.

(Ord. 99-791 Exh. A (part); prior code § 3-1.107)

A separate license shall be obtained for each branch or location of a business carried on in the City; provided, that warehouses and distributing plants used in connection with and incidental to a business licensed under this chapter shall not be deemed to be separate places of business or branch establishments. Any person conducting two or more types of business at the same location and under the same management, where the license fee for each type of business is based on gross receipts, gross payroll or average number of employees, may combine each business as a single business and pay only one license fee calculated on the total gross receipts, gross payroll or average number of employees of the business(es).

(Ord. 99-791 Exh. A (part); prior code § 3-1.108)

The collector shall maintain in confidence the business affairs, operations or other information contained in any statement or business license application and any information obtained from any investigation of records of a business; provided, that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the examination of records by Federal or State officials, a grand jury or court of law upon subpoena, or another agent of the City for the purpose of auditing the accounts of the collector or administering or enforcing this chapter; nor shall this section prohibit the disclosure of the names and business addresses of licensees, the general type of their business, and general statistics regarding business license fees collected in the City.

(Prior code § 3-1.109)