Santa Fe Springs Municipal Code Ch. 113 Fortune-Telling

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

Agent. Every person who acts as an agent for any other person, assists or procures customers for another person for the purpose of engaging in anything which is defined herein as "fortune-telling," or who receives any fee, reward or donation for such procuring.

For Pay. For a fee, reward, donation, loan or receipt of anything of value.

Fortune-Telling. Every person who engages in, practices or professes to practice, or acts as an agent for, the business or art of astrology, phrenology, life reading, mesmerism, fortune-telling, cartomancy, clairvoyance, clairaudience, crystal gazing, spirit photography, spirit writing, spirit voices, spirit psychometry, seership, prophecy, augury, palmistry, materialization, etherealization, numerology, physiognomy, necromancy, clairsen-tience, dreams, apportism, ectoplasm, levitation, mediumship, seance, sooth-saying, psychic healing, divination by magic, radiesthesia, or any other similar art or business, or craft. Fortune-Telling shall further mean, in the alternative, every person who, by means of occult or psychic powers, facilities or forces, spirits, cards, talismans, charms, potions, magnetism or magnetized articles or substances, animal sacrifice or by using parts of animals or human beings, effigies, or any craft or art described in this chapter, or similar art or craft which may be known by another name or title in any language, which purports to or does tell fortunes, life readings, find or restore lost or stolen property, locate oil wells, gold or silver, or other ore or metal, restore lost love or affection, unite loved ones, wives, husbands, children, lost relatives or friends, procure lovers, wives or husbands, diagnose disease or injury, cast spells, cause sickness or injury, advise of the past, present or future, or by such means give counseling or advice whatsoever, and who demands, solicits or receives directly or indirectly a fee or reward or who accepts any donation therefor.

('64 Code, § 15C-1; Ord. 699, passed 7-24-86)

(A) No person shall conduct, engage in, carry-on, participate in, or practice (or act as an agent for) fortune-telling or cause the same to be done for pay without having first obtained a permit from the City Council.

(B) No person shall violate any of the terms and conditions of a permit issued pursuant to this chapter, nor any of the regulations and provisions within this chapter. Each day such violation or violations occur shall constitute a separate offense.

(C) No permit hereunder shall be issued until the applicant has posted with the City Clerk a surety bond, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney, the principal amount to be determined from time to time by resolution of the City Council, executed as surety by a good and sufficient corporate surety doing business in the state, and as a principal by the applicant. The bond shall be given to ensure 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.

(D) The permittee shall operate the permitted fortune-telling business only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

('64 Code, § 15C-2; Ord. 699, passed 7-24-86; Am. Ord. 979, passed 12-14-06; Am. Ord. 978, passed 1-11-07)

Cross reference— Penalty, see § 10.97

(A) Every person desiring to obtain a permit, or renew an existing permit, to conduct or engage in the business of fortune-telling, shall make application to the Director of Police Services upon a form issued by the Department of Police Services. The application shall be verified or sworn under penalty of perjury by the applicant. A nonrefundable application fee in an amount as set by City Council resolution shall be due once the application is considered complete by the Director of Police Services.

(B) Neither the filing of an application for a permit or renewal thereof, nor payment of an application for renewal fee, shall authorize the conducting of fortune-telling until such permit has been granted or renewed.

(C) Each applicant for a permit as provided herein, or renewal thereof, shall furnish, at minimum, the following information:

(1) The present or proposed address where the business is to be conducted;

(2) The full true name under which the business will be conducted;

(3) The full name of the applicant, including aliases, nicknames, and any other names used;

(4) The present residence and business addresses and telephone numbers of the applicant;

(5) Each residence and business address of the applicant for the five-year period immediately preceding the date of filing of the application and the inclusive dates of each such address;

(6) The driver's license or identification number and Social Security number of the applicant;

(7) The fingerprints of the applicant on a form provided by the Police Department;

(8) The names and present residence addresses of at least five bona fide residents of the state who will attest that the applicant is of good moral character;

(9) The applicant's height, weight, color of eyes and hair, and date of birth;

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

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

(12) The permit history of the applicant for the 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 to conduct fortune-telling; and if said permit issued by an authorized agency has been revoked or suspended, or has had any professional or vocational license or permit revoked or suspended;

(13) All criminal convictions suffered by the applicant, including ordinance violations but excepting minor traffic offenses (any traffic offenses designated as a felony shall not be construed as a minor offense), stating the date, place, nature, and sentence of each such conviction;

(14) A detailed description of the services to be provided;

(15) Proposed hours of operation;

(16) Such other identification and/or information as the Director of Police Services may require in order to discover the truth of the matters required to be set forth in the application.

(D) When any change occurs regarding the written information required by division (C) of this section to be included in the application, the applicant or permit holder, as the case may be, shall give written notification of such change to the Director of Police Services within five business days after such change.

('64 Code, § 15C-3; Ord. 699, passed 7-24-86; Am. Ord. 750, passed 6-22-89; Am. Ord. 852, passed 7-13-95; Am. Ord. 875, passed 6-12-97)

Upon the filing of the application, the Director of Police Services shall forward copies of the application, and any attachments, to every city department which would or could be affected by such a business, for investigation, report and recommendation. The investigation shall be conducted to verify the facts contained in the application and any supporting data. A letter of zoning compliance from the Director of Planning and Development shall be submitted to the Director of Police Services. The investigation shall be complete and a report and recommendation made in writing to the City Council. If the report recommends denial of the permit to the applicant, the grounds for the recommended denial shall be set forth.

('64 Code, § 15C-4; Ord. 699, passed 7-24-86; Am. Ord. 852, passed 7-13-95)

(A) The City Council shall consider the application and the report and recommendation at a hearing held at a Council meeting on or before the 21st day after filing of the report and recommendation referred to in § 113.04.

(B) Notice of time and place of the hearing shall be given to all parties by the City Clerk at least three days prior to the hearing.

(C) Any interested party shall be heard upon a reasonable request.

(D) City shall have the burden of proof to show why the permit should be denied; otherwise, it shall be granted.

(E) The decision of the City Council 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.

(F) Unless the applicant agrees in writing to an extension of time, the City Council shall make its order denying or granting the application within 15 days after completion of the hearing on the application for a permit and shall notify the applicant of its action by personal service or certified mail.

(G) Any member of the City Council who is absent from the hearing and who has not read or heard the record of the proceedings shall not vote on the decision.

('64 Code, § 15C-5; Ord. 699, passed 7-24-86)

(A) The City Council shall approve the issuance of the permit if it shall find:

(1) All the information contained in the application and supporting data is true.

(2) The applicant has not, within the previous six months, been convicted of any violation of this chapter or any law relating to fraud or moral turpitude.

(3) The applicant appeared in person at the hearing.

(4) The applicant agrees to abide by and comply with all conditions of the permit and this chapter.

(B) The City Council shall deny the permit only if it cannot make each of the findings set forth above.

(C) If the City Council approves the permit, the City Clerk shall thereafter issue the permit without further fee being required.

(D) The term of the initial permit shall not exceed one year. A renewal application shall be filed no later than 30 days prior to the expiration of the permit and shall be processed in the same manner as a new application. The City Council, at its discretion, may grant a permit for a period of less than one year, and may impose such reasonable conditions upon the granting of such permit as, in the discretion of the City Council, based upon the evidence presented in connection with the application for the permit, are necessary for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare. The fee for a renewal permit for a principal and for an agent shall be in amounts as determined from time to time by resolution of the City Council.

('64 Code, § 15C-6; Ord. 699, passed 7-24-86)

(A) The provisions of this chapter 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 readings, mental telepathy, thought conveyance, or the giving of horoscopic readings, at public places in the presence of and within the hearing of an audience.

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

(1) Except as provided in subdivision (3) of this division, 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.

(2) The minister holding the certificate of ordination from such bona fide church or religious association as defined in this section, shall file with the Finance Director of the city a copy of the minister's certificate of ordination with 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.

(3) 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 in the minutes of such church or religious association.

(C) This chapter does not apply to any activity or profession duly certified or licensed by the state or other competent governmental licensing authority.

('64 Code, § 15C-7; Ord. 699, passed 7-24-86)

(A) Any permit granted or issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may be revoked after an administrative hearing before the City Manager. A permit may be revoked under the following circumstances:

(1) Where the City Manager finds and determines that the preservation of the public health, safety, and welfare demand revocation of the permit;

(2) Where the permittee has violated any provisions of this code;

(3) Where the permit has been granted pursuant to false or fraudulent information contained in the application; and

(4) Where the permittee has violated any of the terms or conditions of the permit.

(B) Notice of revocation shall be mailed to the permittee stating grounds for the revocation, and providing a date within 30 days of the mailing of such notice for an administrative hearing before the City Manager.

(C) Written notice of the decision of the hearing shall be mailed to the applicant within ten days of the conclusion of the hearing.

('64 Code, § 15C-8; Am. Ord. 852, passed 7-13-95)

Pending a revocation hearing pursuant to the terms of this chapter, a permit may be subject to immediate suspension if it is found necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, or welfare. In the event of such a suspension, the City Manager shall, within 48 hours after the suspension, cause to be served upon the permit holder a written statement containing the grounds for suspension and a notice of hearing to show cause before the City Manager as to why the license should not be suspended pending revocation hearings. Such hearing before the City Manager shall not be held later than five days following the service of the notice.

('64 Code, § 15C-9; Am. Ord. 852, passed 7-13-95)

No permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be transferable except by the prior written consent of the City Manager.

('64 Code, § 15C-10; Am. Ord. 852, passed 7-13-95)

Cross reference— Penalty, see § 10.97

An action at law or in equity may be commenced in the name of the city in any court of competent jurisdiction against a permit holder to insure compliance with the terms and provisions of this chapter. All remedies prescribed hereunder shall be cumulative, and the use of any one or more remedies by the city shall not bar the use of any other remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter.

('64 Code, § 15C-12; Am. Ord. 852, passed 7-13-95)

An appeal may be made to the City Council for any permit revocation or suspension under this chapter. The appeal shall be in writing and shall be filed with the City Clerk within ten days from the mailing to the applicant or licensee of the revocation or suspension from which the appeal is taken. Any such appeal shall specify the decision from which the appeal is taken and the grounds of the appeal. If the City Manager, or designee, has therefor conducted a hearing with respect to the decision, the City Council may determine the appeal on the basis of the transcript of said hearing, or may hold a public hearing de novo before the City Council itself, in its sound discretion. If there has been no prior hearing before the City Manager, or designee, with respect to the decision appealed from, the City Council shall hold a public hearing on the appeal. At any such hearing, the applicant shall be entitled to be present, to be represented by an attorney, and to present witnesses and testimony in support of the appeal. The decision of the City Council with respect to any appeal shall be final.