Chapter 5.02
GENERAL BUSINESS LICENSE PROVISIONS
Effective until January 1, 2012

Sections:

5.02.010    Definitions.

5.02.020    Compliance required.

5.02.030    Applicability/application.

5.02.040    Transferability.

5.02.050    City license officer.

5.02.060    Fees.

5.02.070    Suspension, revocation or denial of license.

5.02.075    Central computerized enforcement service system.

5.02.080    Violation – Penalty.

5.02.010 Definitions.

For the purpose of this title, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given in this section. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. The word “shall” is always mandatory and not merely directory.

A. “Business” includes all kinds of vocations, occupations, professions, enterprises, establishments and all other kinds of activities and matters, conducted for profit or benefit, either directly or indirectly, from any premises in the city or anywhere else within its jurisdiction. Each business location shall be deemed a separate business. This definition shall include hotels, motels, mobile home parks, and living units designed, rented, built, leased, let or hired out to be occupied or which are occupied as the home or residence of three or more families living independently of each other.

B. “City” is the city of Enumclaw, Washington.

C. “City council” is the city council of the city of Enumclaw, Washington.

D. “City license officer” is the city clerk of the city of Enumclaw, Washington.

E. “Day” means one full day and not two half days nor any fractional part of one day.

F. “Employee” means all full-time and permanent part-time employees and includes the owner or owners of the business if they work on the premises.

G. “General business license” means a license issued under this chapter (General Provisions).

H. “License” or “licensee,” as used generally in this title, includes, respectively, the words “permit,” or “permittee,” or the “holder” for any use or period of time or any similar privilege, wherever relevant to any provision of this title or other law or ordinance.

I. “Nonprofit group” includes individual person(s), partnerships, joint ventures, societies, associations, clubs, trustees, trusts or corporations; or any officers, agents, employees, factors or any kind of personal representatives of any thereof, in any capacity, acting either for himself or any other person under either personal appointment or pursuant to law who qualifies under definition of and certification by the Internal Revenue Service as nonprofit.

J. “Person” includes individual natural persons, partnerships, joint ventures, societies, associations, clubs, trustees, trusts or corporations; or any officers, agents, employees, factors or any kind of personal representatives of any thereof, in any capacity, acting either for himself or any other person, under either personal appointment or pursuant to law.

K. “Premises” includes all lands, structures and places, and also any personal property which is either affixed to, or is otherwise used in connection with any such business conducted on such premises.

L. “Special license” means any license required by this title in any chapter other than this chapter (General Provisions).

M. “Surety bond” means a surety company bond with the licensee as principal and some surety company authorized to do business in the state as surety. Such bond must be approved by the city attorney, as to form, and by the mayor and clerk as to sufficiency of the surety.

N. “Year” means the period from July 1st through June 30th. (Ord. 1798 § 3, 1993).

5.02.020 Compliance required.

A. It is unlawful for any person, either directly or indirectly, to conduct any business for which a license or permit is required by any law or ordinance of the city, without a license or permit therefor being first procured and kept in effect at all such times as required by this title or other law or ordinance of the city.

B. All licenses issued pursuant to the provisions of this title shall be posted in a prominent location at the premises where the licensed business, profession, trade or occupation is carried out or on the person of anyone issued a solicitor’s or mobile vendor’s license. (Ord. 1798 § 3, 1993).

5.02.030 Applicability/application.

A. Every person, firm or corporation engaged in any business, profession, trade, occupation or other principal place of business or headquarters thereof located within the corporate limits of the city shall be licensed by the city under provisions of this title. Each branch establishment, warehouse, distributing plant or separate location shall be licensed separately and individually.

B. Every person, firm or corporation engaged in any temporary business, profession, trade or occupation where the principal place of business or headquarters thereof is not located within the corporate limits of the city shall not be licensed by the city except as specifically provided under the provisions of this title.

C. Persons or organizations doing business within the city limits of the city and required to be licensed by the state of Washington (whether or not they are required by this title to be licensed by the city) shall carry the state license on his or her person at all times when doing business within the city, and shall exhibit such state license whenever he or she is requested to do so by any police officer or any person who asks to see the same. Holders of state licenses shall be required to provide copies of state licenses to the city license officer upon request.

D. A person engaged in two or more businesses at the same location shall not be required to obtain separate licenses for conducting each of such businesses but, when eligible, shall be issued one license which shall specify on its face all such businesses, except that where a special license is required by another chapter of this title, that license shall also be required.

E. Every person required to procure a license under the provisions of any ordinance or law of the city shall submit an application for such license to the city license officer. The application shall be a written statement upon a form provided by the city license officer. (Ord. 1798 § 3, 1993).

5.02.040 Transferability.

A. Licenses shall be issued to business owners, unless otherwise specifically provided, and no license issued shall be transferable to subsequent owners of the business.

B. Neither shall the transfer of a business license to another location within the city must be permitted without prior notification to the city license officer. Changes of location of a business within the city must be reported immediately to the city license officer. Failure to do so may result in revocation of the license.

C. When a licensed business terminates its operation within the city for any reason, the license shall be surrendered to the city license officer.

D. No license issued by the city license officer shall be duplicated except as provided in EMC 5.02.060(D) (except that the city license officer may hold duplicate copies on file). (Ord. 1798 § 3, 1993).

5.02.050 City license officer.

A. The city license officer shall collect all license fees and issue licenses in the name of the city to all persons qualified under the provisions of this chapter and shall:

1. Adopt all forms and prescribe the information required to implement this title;

2. Submit all applications as appropriate to interested city officials for their endorsements thereon as to compliance by the applicant with all city regulations which they have the duty of enforcing;

3. Any notice required by this title to be mailed to any licensee or applicant shall be sent by ordinary mail, addressed to the address of the licensee or applicant as shown by the records of the city license officer, or if no such address is shown, to such address as the city license officer is able to ascertain by reasonable effort. Failure of the licensee or applicant to receive such mailed notice shall not release the licensee or applicant from any fee or penalties thereon, nor shall such failure serve to extend any time limit set by the provisions of this title. Notice to the city license officer may be made to: City of Enumclaw, 1339 Griffin Avenue, Enumclaw, WA 98022. (Ord. 1798 § 3, 1993).

5.02.060 Fees.

A. The application for license shall be accompanied by the full amount of the fee chargeable for such license.

B. Whenever a license cannot be issued at the time the application for the same is made, the city license officer shall issue a receipt to the applicant for the money paid, subject to the following conditions: such receipt shall not be construed as the approval of the city license officer for the issuance of a license; nor shall it entitle or authorize the applicant to open or maintain business contrary to the provisions of this chapter.

C. License fees levied in this title shall be additional to any other ordinance of the city except as herein otherwise expressly provided, and shall be as contained in the fee resolution adopted by the city council, as it now reads or is hereinafter amended.

D. A duplicate license or a special permit shall be issued by the license officer to replace any license previously issued, which has been lost, stolen, defaced or destroyed, without any willful conduct on the part of the licensee, upon the filing by the licensee of an affidavit attesting to such fact and the paying to the license officer of the fee as designated in the city’s fee resolution as it now reads or is hereinafter amended.

E. Businesses making application to the city for a license in the months of July, August, September, October, November and December shall be charged the annual license fee. Businesses making application to the city for a license in the months of January, February, March, April, May and June shall be charged one-half the annual fee, except there shall be no prorating of special license fees.

F. All annual licenses shall be renewable on the first day of July of each year. The city license officer shall send notice of renewal to each license holder by the first day of June of each year. The fee for renewal of a general business license is as designated in the city’s fee resolution as it now reads or is hereinafter amended. The fee for renewal of any special license is the same as the annual, daily or “per event/dance” fee for that license.

G. There shall be no refund of license fees.

H. In the event that any licensee fails to renew its license by August 1st, the license shall be considered delinquent. A penalty, as designated by the city’s fee resolution as it now reads or is hereinafter amended, and which shall not be prorated, shall be assessed on any delinquent license renewal which has not been paid on or before August 1st of any year. Licenses not renewed by November 1st of any year shall be considered nonrenewable and new application must be made.

I. This section grants an exemption from paying a fee for any licenses required under the provisions of this title to bona fide nonprofit, charitable, religious or philanthropic persons or organizations.

1. Any person or organization claiming the exemptions of this section shall file with the city license officer an affidavit setting forth facts sufficient to show the application of this section and the right to such exemption, including filing a copy of the Federal Internal Revenue Service form granting nonprofit status.

2. Any person or organization claiming exemptions of this section is not exempt from this title, but is exempt only from paying the fees. (Ord. 1798 § 3, 1993).

5.02.070 Suspension, revocation or denial of license.

A. The city license officer, with the approval of the mayor or the city administrator, shall have the right to revoke, suspend or deny any license or license application at any time on the following grounds:

1. That the license was procured by fraud or false representation of facts or that the application was fraudulent or included false representation of facts;

2. That the applicant or licensee or any of his servants, agents or employees while acting within the scope of their employment has violated or failed to comply with any of the provisions of the license code;

3. That the applicant or licensee or any of his servants, agents or employees has been convicted of either a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, or involving fraud or an attempt to defraud while acting within the scope of their employment;

4. That the fire marshal and/or building official has determined that the premises in which the business operates or intends to operate endangers the safety of the public;

5. That the police chief has determined that the operation or continued operation of the business will be detrimental to the public peace, morals and safety.

B. Conviction of a violation of any provision of this title shall be prima facie evidence to warrant revocation or suspension of the license.

C. The license officer shall, upon disapproval of any application or upon suspension or revocation of any license, notify the applicant/licensee in writing.

D. Within 10 days after revocation or suspension of any license issued and suspended or any application denied pursuant to this title, the licensee so revoked or suspended or applicant so denied may file an appeal with the city council. Upon receipt of such notice, the licensee shall be afforded a hearing before the city council after reasonable notice has been given. The appeal shall be in writing and addressed to the city council, attention: city clerk. Notice of such appeal shall be given by delivering a copy of the notice to the holder of the license or the applicant by mailing a copy thereof to the holder or applicant at his last address as shown by the city license officer’s license records, which notice shall be mailed or delivered at least five days before the date fixed for the hearing. The city council shall, within 30 days after the conclusion of such hearings, issue a written decision as to the revocation, suspension or denial of such license or its retention or such application or its approval. Such decision of the city council shall be final; if the city council decides that the license shall be revoked, the revocation shall be effective as of the date of city council’s decision unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. Proceedings to review such matters must be instituted within 15 days of final action of the city council.

E. It is unlawful for any person whose license has been revoked or suspended, to keep the license issued to him in his possession or under his control, and the same shall immediately be surrendered to the city license officer. When revoked, the license shall be canceled, and when suspended the city license officer shall retain the same during the period of suspension. (Ord. 1798 § 3, 1993).

5.02.075 Central computerized enforcement service system.

A central computerized enforcement service system (ACCESS) may be utilized for noncriminal justice purposes, specifically background checks for business licenses. (Ord. 2179 § 1, 2003).

5.02.080 Violation – Penalty.

Any person willfully violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this title or any lawful rule or regulations adopted by the council pursuant hereto, is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in Chapter 1.08 EMC. In addition, the person’s business license shall be revoked without right to refund. (Ord. 1798 § 3, 1993).