Santa Ana Municipal Code § 26-31 Application for operator's permit; contents; required fee

(a) Any owner may apply for the permit required under this section on behalf of any and all operators employed or otherwise retained by such owner. If the operator is also the pushcart owner, such person shall be exempt from the provisions of this article and be only subject to the provisions of Article II of this chapter.

(b) To obtain an operator's permit, application shall be made to the chief of police or his designated representative. Prior to submitting such application, a nonrefundable fee, as established by resolution of the city council, shall be paid to the department of finance to defray, in part, the cost of the investigation and report required by this article. The department of finance shall issue a receipt showing that such application fee has been paid. The receipt, or a copy thereof, shall be supplied to the chief of police at the time such application is filed. Permit issuance fees required under this article shall be in addition to any license, permit or fee required under any other chapter of this Code.

(c) Neither the filing of an application for a permit nor the payment of an application fee shall authorize the vending from or operation of a pushcart until such permit has been granted or renewed.

(d) Each applicant for an operator's permit shall furnish the following information:

(1) The operator's full true name, present residence, telephone number and social security number;

(2) Any other names used by the applicant;

(3) Acceptable written proof of identification attesting to the truth of the information provided in subsection (1);

(4) Two (2) photographs of the applicant, at least two (2) inches by two (2) inches in size, taken within the six-month period immediately preceding the date of the application;

(5) The business, occupation or employment history of the applicant for the one-year period immediately preceding the date of application;

(6) The permit history of the applicant for the one-year period immediately preceding the date of the filing of the application, including whether such applicant, in previously operating in this or any other city, county, state or territory, has ever had any similar license, permit or franchise revoked or suspended and, if so, the circumstances of such suspension or revocation;

(7) All criminal convictions suffered by the applicant, including ordinance violations and traffic offenses;

(8) Such other identification and/or information as the chief of police or his designated representative may require in order to discover the truth of the matters required to be set forth in the application.

(e) The applicant shall personally appear at the police department of the City of Santa Ana and produce proof that the required application fee has been paid and shall present the application containing the information and supporting documentation required by subsection (b) of this section.

(f) When any change occurs regarding the written information required by subsection (b) of this section prior to or after issuance of a permit, the applicant shall give written notification of such change to the chief of police within two (2) weeks after such change.

(Ord. No. NS-2133, § 1, 7-15-91)

The chief of police shall have a reasonable period of time in which to investigate the application and background of the applicant for an operator permit. The chief of police or his representative shall, within thirty (30) days after the date of the filing of the application, approve or deny the application for the permit or renewal thereof. If an application is deemed pending under subsection 26-33(f) the chief of police or his designated representative shall, within thirty (30) days after the adjudication of the pending criminal matter approve or deny the application for the certificate or renewal thereof.

(Ord. No. NS-2133, § 1, 7-15-91; Ord. No. NS-2453, § 6, 11-20-00)

The chief of police or his designated representative, after receiving the application, shall grant the permit only if he finds that all of the following requirements have been met:

(a) The required fees have been paid;

(b) The application conforms in all respects to the provisions of this chapter;

(c) The applicant has not knowingly made a material misrepresentation of fact in the application;

(d) The applicant has fully cooperated in the investigation of the application;

(e) The applicant has not been convicted or pled nolo contendere or guilty within five (5) years prior to his application for a permit to a misdemeanor or felony crime of moral turpitude or drug-related misdemeanor or felony crime, including but not limited to: the sale of a controlled substance specified in California Health and Safety Code Sections 11054 through 11058; the sale, distribution or display of harmful or obscene matter; indecent exposure; selling or disposing of lottery tickets; permitting gambling, pool selling or book-making; or in the case of applications for an operator's permit, alcohol or drug-related traffic offenses.

(f) The investigating city employee is specifically authorized to obtain state summary criminal history record information as provided for in Section 11105 of the California Penal Code. Any complaint for the above-listed charges pending before a court of law shall cause the application to be considered pending until adjudication of the complaint.

(g) The applicant has completed a minimum of two (2) hours of class room training in the area of sanitation, handling and preparation of food, and hygiene. Such training may be provided by the city, or by the owner if approved by the chief of police.

(Ord. No. NS-2133, § 1, 7-15-91; Ord. No. NS-2453, § 6, 11-20-00; Ord. No. NS-2481, § 10, 11-19-01)

The term of operator permits, unless sooner suspended or revoked, shall be for a period of one (1) year. Upon the expiration of such term, the permittee may renew the permit for additional one-year terms by submitting new applications in conformance with section 26-31 together with such permit renewal fee as may be established by resolution of the city council. No operator's permit may be sold, leased, transferred, conveyed or granted to any other person.

(Ord. No. NS-2133, § 1, 7-15-91; Ord. No. NS-2453, § 6, 11-20-00)

If the chief of police or his designated representative does not find that all of the requirements set forth in section 26-33 have been met, he shall deny the application for the permit. In the event the application for the permit is denied by the chief of police or his designated representative, written notice of such denial shall be given to the applicant specifying the ground or grounds of such denial. Notice of denial of the application for the permit shall be deemed to have been served if it, in fact, is personally served on the applicant or when deposited in the United States mail with postage prepaid and addressed to the applicant at his or her residence address as set forth in the application for the permit.

(Ord. No. NS-2133, § 1, 7-15-91)

(a) Any permit issued under this article may be suspended or revoked by the chief of police or his designated representative for any of the following reasons:

(1) Falsehood of any information supplied by the permittee upon which issuance of the permit was based;

(2) Failure of the permittee to promptly notify the chief of police of any change occurring subsequent to the issuance of the permit in the information supplied by the permittee upon which the issuance of the permit was based;

(3) Failure of the permittee to comply with the regulations set forth in this chapter;

(4) Violation by the permittee of any state law or municipal ordinance while in the course of conducting vending operations from pushcarts pursuant to the permit;

(5) Conviction of, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere by the permittee of any offense set forth in section 26-33(e).

(b) An operator's permit holder shall be notified in writing when a permit has been suspended or revoked. Such notice shall contain the grounds upon which suspension or revocation is based and the right to seek an appeal of the suspension or revocation under Chapter 3 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code. If no appeal is filed under Chapter 3 suspension or revocation of the permit shall become effective ten (10) days after notice is served. If a Chapter 3 appeal is filed the suspension or revocation shall become effective upon final determination by council of the appeal. Notification shall be deemed to have been served when it is personally served upon the permit holder or when deposited in the United States mail with postage prepaid and addressed to the permit holder at the last known address of the permit holder.

(c) Any person whose operator's permit is revoked shall not be eligible to apply for a new permit for a period of one (1) year following such revocation.

(Ord. No. NS-2133, § 1, 7-15-91; Ord. No. NS-2453, § 7, 11-20-00)

Any person whose application for an operator's permit is denied or whose operator's permit is suspended or revoked may appeal such decision to the city council pursuant to Chapter 3 of this Code.

(Ord. No. NS-2133, § 1, 7-15-91; Ord. No. NS-2453, § 7, 11-20-00)