Chapter 8.36 — PERMITS FOR APARTMENTS AND HOTELS

For the purpose of this chapter the words Hotel and Apartment House, unless otherwise specified, shall have the following meaning:

Hotel means any structure, or any portion of a structure, including any lodging house, rooming house, dormitory, Turkish bath, bachelor hotel, studio hotel, public club, or private club, containing six or more guest rooms and which is occupied, or is intended or designed for occupancy, by six or more guests, whether rent is paid in money, goods, labor or otherwise. It does not include any jail, hospital, asylum, sanitarium, orphanage, prison, detention, or other building in which human beings are housed and detained under legal restraint.

Apartment House means any structure more than one story in height, or any portion of any such structure occupied, or designed, built or rented for occupancy, as a home by three or more families, each living in a separate apartment and cooking within the structure.

It shall be unlawful to occupy, or to permit to be occupied, any apartment house or hotel now or hereafter erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, converted or moved, as the case may be, or any portion thereof, for human habitation without an annual permit therefor issued by the Health Officer.

The permit required by this chapter shall be applied for and issued as prescribed in Section 8.16.010 of this Code. Every person applying for a permit shall pay the annual inspection fee set forth in this Code.

(a)

Except as provided in subsection (b), any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of an infraction.

(b)

A person convicted of a third or subsequent violation of this chapter within two years from the date of the first conviction shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.

(c)

Each day on which a violation occurs or continues shall constitute a separate offense.