San Fernando Municipal Code Art. III Permits

It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct, manage or deal in any business mentioned in section 22-215 of this article without first obtaining a permit.

(Code 1957, § 18.1)

A person desiring to obtain a permit to conduct, manage or deal in any business mentioned in section 22-215 of this article shall file an application in writing with the city council specifying by street and number the place where such business is proposed to be conducted or carried on. A junk collector having no fixed place of business shall specify in such application his residence by street number. The application shall be signed by the applicant and shall contain the address of his residence.

(Code 1957, § 18.2)

Upon receipt of an application for a permit required under this article, the city council shall cause to be investigated the business of the applicant and the location at which the applicant proposes to engage in business as specified in the application.

(Code 1957, § 18.3)

No person shall make any false, misleading or fraudulent statement or misrepresent any fact in any application for a permit required under this article or in any notice or record required to be filed with the city council or other authorized person of this city.

(Code 1957, § 18.4)

(a) Schedule. The city council shall not accept any application for any permit required to be obtained by this article or by any other ordinance or law or for the renewal of such permit, unless the application is accompanied by the fee prescribed in the following schedule:

(b) Closeout sales, fire sales. The permit fee requirements and the submission requirements for the inventory of merchandise for closeout sales and fire sales shall be as follows:

(1) The permit fee requirements specified for closeout sales and fire sales are not applicable to bona fide merchants licensed as such who are closing their business and selling out merchandise then on hand or who have had fires and are selling only the merchandise damaged in such fire.

(2) Any person, before conducting any close-out or fire sale, shall file with the police department and the city a complete inventory of merchandise on hand to be sold at any such sale and such supplementary inventories as may be required and shall comply with such other rules and regulations governing such sales as may be prescribed by resolution of the city council.

(c) Applicability. This section shall not be deemed to modify the requirements of any other section of this article and any other ordinance prescribing any change of location fees, any change of ownership fees, any special fee for additional places of business operated by one permittee, or any special fee for the posting of notices or the like, nor shall the schedule of fees appearing in this section be deemed exclusive.

(Code 1957, § 18.5; Ord. No. U-1723, § 4, 2-20-2024)

Editor's note— The amendments made by Ord. No. U-1723, § 4, adopted Feb. 20, 2024, shall terminate 18 months after the date of adoption, unless the city council takes further action.

After the investigation provided for in section 22-213 of this article or any other section of this Code where specific provision is made for investigation, the city council may issue a permit to the applicant upon such conditions as the council may determine and impose in the permit. The permit shall be for the remaining portion of the then-current year or such shorter period of time as may be prescribed by any resolution of the council or in the permit.

(Code 1957, § 18.6)

The city council shall not grant any permit provided for in this article to any person who fails, refuses or neglects to comply with the laws, ordinances and sections of this Code relating to and regulating the business for which such permit is sought.

(Code 1957, § 18.7)

(a) Whenever a permit is required to be obtained from the city council under any section of this article or of any other section of this Code, any ordinance or any law, it shall be deemed an annual permit, except when it is expressly provided in the particular section, ordinance or law by which such permit is required that the life or term of the permit shall be one day, one week, one month or some other period less than one year in duration, and the following rules shall govern the expiration and renewal thereof:

(1) Each annual permit shall automatically expire on December 31 following the date of issuance.

(2) Subject to any other section of this article expressly dealing with the renewal of any particular kind of permit, each annual permit may be renewed in the manner prescribed in this section, subject to the power of the city council to deny any application for renewal, upon notice and hearing as required by section 22-221 of this article, for any ground which would have justified a denial of the original application for a permit.

(3) The renewal of any such annual permit may be granted upon written application therefor accompanied by the renewal fee prescribed in section 22-215 of this article, provided such application is filed not later than January 15 next following the expiration date.

(4) If the application for renewal is not filed within the time allowed in subsection (a)(3) of this section but the application is thereafter filed between January 16 and May 15 next following the expiration date, a penalty of 25 percent of the fee for each month or portion of a month elapsing between the expiration date and the date of filing shall be added to the fee prescribed.

(b) The city council may grant any such renewal application after January 15 and not later than May 15 following the expiration date, only where such application is accompanied by the fees prescribed and the penalties provided for in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) If the application for renewal is not filed on or before May 15 following the expiration date, it shall be treated as an original application for a new permit, and the fee shall be that prescribed for the issuance of an original permit.

(d) A person operating under this article shall be required to secure, within the time limits specified in this section, an annual renewal of the permit issued commencing January 1 of the succeeding year in which such permit was granted.

(Code 1957, § 18.8)

(a) Every honorably discharged or honorably released member of the military, naval or air service of the United States who is unable to obtain his livelihood by manual labor shall have the right to hawk, peddle and vend any goods, wares or merchandise, except spirituous, malt, vinous, mixed or other intoxicating liquors, without payment of any fee required by this article. A certificate of disability by a surgeon of the United States military, naval or air service or any physician regularly employed in the city health department shall be sufficient proof of such disability. A certificate of honorable discharge from the United States military, naval or air service or an exemplified copy thereof shall be sufficient proof of such service and honorable discharge, and, upon presentation of the certificate, it shall be the duty of the clerk to issue a permit without cost to such member of the military, naval or air service.

(b) Each and every permit issued under this section shall not be transferable and shall be for the exclusive use of the person whose name is inserted therein. Such person shall be required to write his name on the margin of such permit and on the stub retained by the clerk at the time such permit is issued. Such person shall be required to furnish to the clerk, at the time of application for such permit, two copies of a photograph of himself. It shall be the duty of the clerk to satisfy himself by proper examination and investigation that the same photograph is a true likeness of the person who makes the application and whose name appears in the discharge and in the physician's certificate. One copy of such photograph shall be attached to the permit, and the other shall be attached to the stub written by the clerk. The photograph shall at all times be kept attached to the permit, and any permit found without such photograph attached thereto shall be taken up and forfeited, and the person to whom it is issued and the holder thereof shall forthwith surrender all rights under the permit and shall not again be entitled to any permit.

Such person shall identify himself by his signature whenever required to do so by any police officer, license inspector, license collector or other city officer. If any such permit is found in the possession of any person other than the person named therein, it shall be taken up, surrendered to the clerk and cancelled, and the holder thereof shall not again be entitled to a permit under this section.

Whenever the holder of any permit issued under this section uses any wagon, cart, tray, basket or other vehicle or receptacle in vending any goods, wares or merchandise, such permit shall be inserted, held and carried in a permit holder and in the manner prescribed by law.

Every permit issued under this section shall be issued for a period of one year from the date of issuance. Upon the expiration of any permit, as provided in this article, a new permit shall be issued under this section. Not more than one permit shall be issued to any discharged member of the military, naval or air service during any one calendar year from the date of the original permit.

(c) No person, except the person named in such permit, shall use or have in his possession any permit issued under this section.

(d) No person shall sell, purchase or transfer any permit issued under this section or transfer or convey the discharge or certificate mentioned in this section to any other person for the purpose of securing the permit.

(Code 1957, § 18.9)

Except where more specific provisions are made for revocation or suspension of any permit by any other ordinance or section of this Code, which shall govern, any permit issued under this article may be revoked or suspended if the holder thereof violates any of the sections of this article or any provision of any other section of this Code or any ordinance or any law relating to or regulating the business covered by the permit or if he conducts or carries on such business in an unlawful manner. Also, the failure to pay any license fee imposed on a permittee by article II of this chapter or by any other section of this Code or city ordinance shall be a ground for the suspension of the permit.

(Code 1957, § 18.10)

(a) Any permit granted pursuant this article to any person to conduct, carry on or engage in any business, profession, trade or occupation, unless provision is otherwise specifically made, shall not be revoked or suspended except as provided in this section.

(b) No such permit or certificate shall be revoked or suspended until a hearing upon written notice to the permittee shall have been had by the city council or other person having authority to do so. Such notice shall state the following:

(1) The grounds for complaint or reasons for the revocation or suspension in clear and concise language.

(2) The time when and the place where such hearing is to be held.

(c) If a verified complaint is required to be filed with the city council or other person having authority to revoke or suspend such permit, a true and correct copy of such complaint shall be served on the permittee in lieu of stating the grounds of complaint. However, notice of the time when and the place where such hearing is to be held shall be served with such complaint.

(d) Such notice or copy of the complaint shall be served or given to the permittee at least five and not more than ten days prior to the date set for the hearing.

(e) At any such hearing the permittee shall be given an opportunity to be heard and defend himself, and he may call witnesses in his behalf.

(f) The city council or other person conducting such hearing may continue such hearing from time to time upon good cause being shown therefor.

(g) After conducting such hearing, the city council or other person having authority may suspend or revoke any such permit upon such terms and conditions as, in the exercise of a reasonable and sound discretion, shall be determined.

(Code 1957, § 18.11)

The city council or any other person having authority to revoke or suspend any permit issued under this article or under any other ordinance or section of this Code shall, orally or in writing, notify the permittee of any finding, suspension, or revocation made by the council or other person or any conditions attached thereto.

(Code 1957, § 18.12)

The city council or other person having authority to do so, after revoking or suspending any permit as provided in this article or any other ordinance or section of this Code, shall notify the city clerk of such fact, and thereafter no license shall be issued by the clerk to any permittee to conduct, carry on, or engage in any business or do any act for which such permit was granted until a new permit shall have been granted.

(Code 1957, § 18.13)

No person whose permit has been revoked or suspended pursuant to this article or pursuant to any other section of this Code or city ordinance shall engage in or carry on any business or do any act permitted to be done pursuant to such permit during the period of suspension or after revocation thereof, until a new permit shall have been granted.

(Code 1957, § 18.14)

Where a person's permit has been revoked by the city council as provided in this article, no permit shall be granted to such person to conduct, manage, carry on or deal in any business mentioned in section 22-215 of this article until six months have elapsed after such revocation.

(Code 1957, § 18.15)

(a) Definition. For the purposes of this section, the term "rummage sale" is defined as a sale of new or secondhand articles for charitable purposes with a duration of not more than 14 days.

(b) Permit required. No person shall operate or maintain a rummage sale in the city without first obtaining a permit from the city. Such permits shall be issued by the city administrative officer or his authorized representative and shall be in accordance with the requirements set forth in this section.

(c) Application for permit. An application for a rummage sale permit shall be submitted to the city administrative officer, on a form supplied by the city, not less than seven days prior to the first date of sales.

(d) Permit fee. A fee in the amount of $10.00 is fixed and established as the sum to be paid for filing an application for a rummage sale permit.

(e) Limitations on permit. A rummage sale permit shall be valid only for the specific days listed upon such permit and shall be subject to any limitations imposed by such permit.

(f) Grounds for revocation or suspension of permit. No person shall make any false, misleading or fraudulent statement or represent any fact in the application for such permit, and the permit may be revoked or suspended by the city administrative officer, upon notice and hearing as required by section 22-221 of this article, for any ground which would have justified a denial of the original application for a permit.

(Code 1957, § 18.16)