South Pasadena Municipal Code § 18.2 Definitions (CA)

For the purpose of Articles I through IV of this chapter, certain words and phrases are defined and certain provisions shall be construed as herein set forth, unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended.

“Advertising structure” means and includes any structure, sign, display or billboard used for advertising displays. Signs that advertise the particular business or businesses conducted on the premises on which such signs are situated, or signs less than six square feet in area, advertising for rental or sale of the property upon which it stands or referring to any person having the rental or sale of such property in charge shall not be considered to be advertising structures.
“Advertising vehicle” means the business of operating upon the street any wheeled vehicle equipped with music or a musical device, loudspeaker or other device for attracting attention, or of operating any wheeled vehicle for advertising purposes and to which wheeled vehicle signs, placards, billboards or other advertising matter are attached.
“Apartment” means any building or portion thereof that is designed, built, rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied, or that is occupied as the home or residence of three or more families living independently of each other and doing their own cooking in the building, and includes flats and apartments.
“Auction” means the conducting of an auction sale of goods, wares, merchandise for sale at public auction. This definition does not mean the sale of any goods at public sale belonging to the United States or the state, or the county of Los Angeles, or for the sale of property by virtue of any process issued by any state or federal court, or for the bona fide sale of household goods at the domicile of the owner.
“Boardinghouse” means any building or portion thereof that is used for the accommodation for compensation of three or more boarders in addition to members of the occupant’s immediate family occupying such building. The word “compensation” includes compensation in money, services, or other things of value. “Boardinghouse” does not include a boardinghouse for the aged or a boardinghouse for children as defined in other city ordinances.
“Business” includes professions, trades and occupations and all and every kind of calling, whether or not carried on for profit or livelihood.
“Business by vehicle” is the business of running, driving, or operating any automobile, automobile truck, automobile tank wagon, or any vehicle used for transportation, selling, collection or delivery of goods or other personal property of any kind from a vehicle, either as a principal business or in connection with any other business; or performing work, labor or services in or from a vehicle.

The provisions of this chapter are not to be construed as imposing a tax upon vehicles, but as a method of classification of businesses and distinguishing between those maintaining a fixed place of business in the city in the conduct of which vehicles are used and those maintaining a business in the conduct of which vehicles are used but who do not have a fixed place of business in the city.

“Business by vehicle” does not include the intercity transportation business of any express corporation, freight forwarder, motor transportation broker, or person or corporation owning or operating motor vehicles in the transportation of property for hire upon the public highways under the jurisdiction of the State Public Utilities Commission. “Intercity transportation business” means every service performed in connection with transportation of property by such transportation companies where both the origin point and the destination point of such transported property are not within the exterior boundaries of the city of South Pasadena.

“City” means the city of South Pasadena.
“City clerk” means the city clerk of the city of South Pasadena, or designee.
“City manager” means the city manager of the city of South Pasadena or designee.
“Conduct” includes conducting, managing or carrying on of a business, either as owner, officer, agent, manager, employee, servant or lessee.
“Contractor” means any person (except an owner who contracts for a project with another person who is licensed by the state of California as a contractor, or architect, registered civil engineer acting solely in his or her professional capacity), who in any capacity other than as an employee of another with wages as the sole compensation and with the normal withholding taxes deducted, undertakes to or offers to undertake to, or purports to have the capacity to undertake to, or submits a bid to, or does him or herself or by or through others construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building, highway, road, railroad, excavation, or other structure, project, development, or improvement, or to do any part thereof, including the erection of scaffolding, or other structures or works in connection therewith, and in addition, the work of pest control.
“Dwelling units” mean at least three dwelling units for rent or rented in the city, whether on the same lot or not.
The terms “individuals engaged, employed or used in the conduct of business,” or “employee,” include all individuals actively participating in the conduct of such business, whether as owners, partners, managers or employees, but exclude any employee or employee position requiring the payment of wages for, or work hours of, less than twenty hours per week or less than four weeks per year. “Employee” for the purpose of determining rates is further defined in Section 18.28.
“Exhibiting trained animals” means the exhibiting of trained animals other than at a circus, carnival or menagerie or as a regular feature of a theatrical or vaudeville performance.
“Firearms sale” means the business of selling at retail, pistols, revolvers, or other firearms capable of being concealed upon the person. The license issued hereunder shall be issued in a form prescribed by the Attorney General of the state, and shall be issued in the manner and upon the conditions required by the statutes of California.
“Foster home” means a family home, non-institutional in character that provides care, with or without compensation, for not more than six children under sixteen years of age, including children of the foster family under sixteen years of age, which home holds a license or certificate from the State Department of Social Welfare.
“Gross receipts” include the total cost of the job or project covered by the contract to which the contractor is a party, without deduction for subcontracts, and irrespective of whether the contract is one on a fixed price or on a cost-plus basis, or one under the

terms of which the contractor acts as agent for the owner. The term “gross receipts,” however, include only receipts from jobs or projects located within the city limits of the city of South Pasadena.

“Hearing” means a proceeding authorized by this chapter before a hearing officer selected by the city manager. All hearings shall be conducted informally, and the hearing officer shall not be bound by any statutory rules of evidence or procedure, but shall make inquiry in such manner as he or she deems advisable to protect the rights of the parties and to carry out the purpose of this chapter.
“Hearing officer” refers to an independent appointee of the city manager, designated to preside over a hearing authorized by this chapter. The hearing officer shall not be an employee of the city, and his or her compensation shall not be contingent on the particular outcome of any hearing.
“Hospital” means any building or portion thereof used for the accommodation of sick, injured, demented or infirm persons and includes sanitariums, sanatoriums, convalescent and rest homes, and boarding homes for children and aged persons. It also includes orphanages, asylums, detention and similar buildings where human beings are housed and detained under legal restraint, except public jails.
“Hotel” means any building containing three or more rooms intended or designed to be used, or which are used, rented or hired out to be occupied, or which are occupied for sleeping purposes by guests.
“Itinerant vendor” means any person who engages in a temporary or transient business in the city, selling goods, wares, merchandise or any other thing of value, with the intention of conducting such business in the city for a period of not more than ninety days, and who, for the purpose of carrying on such business, hires, leases or occupies any room, doorway, vacant lot, building or other place for the exhibition or sale of goods, wares, merchandise or other things of value. If the place in which a business is conducted is rented or leased for a period of ninety days or less, such fact shall be conclusive evidence that the business carried on therein is a transient business.
“License collector” means the finance director of the city of South Pasadena, and shall include his or her designee.
A “lodginghouse” is any building or portion thereof, which is used for the accommodation, for compensation, of three or more lodgers in addition to the members of the occupant’s immediate family occupying such building. The word “compensation” includes compensation in money, services or other things of value. Lodginghouse does not include a lodginghouse for the aged or lodginghouse for children as defined in other city ordinances.
“Maintain” means and includes, construct, erect, install, place and permit to be.
“Manufacturer” means and includes the process of making, preparing, altering, repairing, or finishing, in whole or in part, or to assemble, inspect, wrap or package any articles or materials; the making or fashioning by working on or combining materials; the assembling of component parts.
“Peddlers and canvassers” include every person who travels from place to place or house to house and makes demonstrations of, or solicits, takes orders or canvasses for the sale of, or who sells any goods, wares or merchandise, services, or labor, or things or articles of value of any nature, kind or description, or who conducts surveys, whether he or she does one or more of the things described in this section; provided, however, that this definition does not include persons who sell to or solicit orders for merchandise from merchants buying for purposes of resale, nor persons selling or soliciting for the sale of tickets or admission to entertainments to be held for religious, educational, civic or charitable purposes; provided further, that the owner of a business licensed to do business in, and maintaining an office in, the city under any classification mentioned in this chapter, and two regular employees of such owner, shall not be deemed to be peddlers and canvassers. If more than two such employees engage in canvassing, such additional employees shall be deemed canvassers for purposes of Articles III and IV of this chapter.
“Peddler using wheeled vehicle” means every peddler of goods, wares or merchandise not otherwise specifically provided for and using a wheeled vehicle in the conduct of his or her business.
“Person” means any individual, domestic and foreign corporation, association, syndicate, joint stock corporation, partnership of any kind, club, business or common law trust and society.
“Premises” means and includes every house, dwelling, building, structure, enclosure, business establishment, lot, yard, location, place, alley, parkway, sidewalk, street, public way and every vehicle.
“Profession” means and includes every accountant, auditor, architect, attorney, chiropractor, dentist, engineer, income tax service, insurance broker, investment service, notary public, optician, optometrist, physician, real estate broker and veterinarian, etc., engaging in business in the city.
“Public dance hall” means a place where dancing is conducted, whether for profit or not for profit, and to which the public is admitted either with or without charge, or at which the public is allowed to participate in the dancing either with or without charge.
“Retailer” includes every seller who makes any retail sale or sales of tangible personal property. A retail sale is any sale defined as such by the sales and use tax laws of the state.
“Searchlights” means the business of advertising by means of portable searchlights or arc lights or light-producing apparatus or equipment.
“Service” includes all business activities involving the providing of labor, together with the furnishing of incidental materials in connection therewith, i.e., labor performed in the interest and under the direction of others, except as such business activity may be more specifically included in some other category. This classification includes local businesses only.
“Sheriff’s sales” means the selling or offering for sale any goods, wares or merchandise, advertised or designated as sheriff’s, assignee’s, creditor’s, consignee’s, bankrupt’s, trustee’s, receiver’s, or special sales or special bargain sales of goods damaged by fire, water or otherwise; provided, however, that this definition shall not apply to sales of goods, wares or merchandise that are actually in good faith under the control of the sheriff, or of the assignee, trustee in bankruptcy or receiver of any court of the United States or of the state, nor to goods, wares or merchandise that have been damaged within the city and which are being disposed of in good faith to close out the same.
“Taxicab” means an automobile that carries passengers for a fare, usually determined by the distance travelled.
“Wholesaler” means and includes every seller who makes any sale or sales of tangible personal property for resale. (Ord. No. 2258, § 2, 2013.)

18.2-1 Telephone number.¶

No business shall be licensed hereunder, and no business license issued shall be renewed, unless the licensee provides the license collector with a written statement containing all current and operational business telephone numbers of the licensed business, and current and operational emergency telephone numbers that will allow the public safety agency immediate contact with each owner and manager of the licensed business in the event of an emergency situation. A licensee who conducts a licensed business at his or her residence shall not be required to provide a current and operational emergency number. (Ord. No. 1857, § 1; Ord. No. 2258, § 3, 2013.)

Exceptions & meaning →