HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 11-20 Approving Amendments to the Dublin Municipal Code Amending Chapter 4.04 (BusinessOrd. No. 11-20, Item 4.8, Adopted 08/18/2020 Page 1 of 4
ORDINANCE NO. 11 - 20
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN
* * * * * * * * *
APPROVING AMENDMENTS TO THE DUBLIN MUNICIPAL CODE
AMENDING CHAPTER 4.04 (BUSINESS REGISTRATION) RELATING TO SWORN
STATEMENT REQUIREMENTS
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Dublin (“City”) finds that businesses are an
integral part of the Dublin community via the jobs they provide for residents and the essential
services and amenities supported by the revenues they generate; and
WHEREAS, Dublin Municipal Code (“DMC”) Chapter 4.04 entitled “Business Registration”
requires all persons conducting business within the City to register the business with the City; and
WHEREAS, DMC 4.04.050 prohibits the transaction, carrying on, and/or engagement of
any business, trade, profession, calling or occupation in the City without, among other things,
procuring a license from the City and paying the prescribed business registration fee; and
WHEREAS, as currently written, DMC Chapter 4.04 further requires applications for an
initial business license or business license renewal include an applicant’s “sworn statement ,”
which may be facilitated only through a physical signature or through an California Secretary of
State approved electronic signature software ; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to remove the requirement of a sworn statement from the
City’s business registration procedures to achieve parity with the procedures f or building and/or
planning applications, which do not require a sworn statement; and
WHEREAS, eliminating such sworn statement requirement will allow greater flexibility to
transition the business registration and license application process to an paperless format where
businesses can submit applications electronically for processing and staff can review and process
without the need to manually upload or enter in applicant data ; and
WHEREAS, the proposed amendments to DMC Chapter 4.04 described herein support
the City Council’s Two-Year Strategic Plan, which directs staff to transition the City to a 24/7 City
Hall to enhance resident and business engagement, by reducing or eliminating the need for paper
transactions where feasible and p roviding more opportunities for residents to complete
transactions with the City online with appropriate security measures ; and
WHEREAS, the California Constitution, Article XI, Section 7 provides cities with the
authority to enact ordinances to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of their citizens,
and business regulations are a permissible exercise of this authority; and
WHEREAS, a Staff Report was submitted to the City Council recommending approval of
the proposed Dublin Municipal Code Amendment; and
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WHEREAS, the City Council did hear and consider all said reports, recommendations and
testimony herein above set forth and used its independent judgment to evaluate t he proposed
Dublin Municipal Code Amendment.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Dublin does hereby ordain as follows:
Section 1. Recitals. The recitals above are true and correct and incorporated herein by
reference.
Section 2. Section 4.04.020 entitled “Definitions” is hereby amended as follows (deletions in
strikethrough):
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
“Business” means and includes professions, trades and occupations, and all and every
kind of calling, whether or not carried on for profit.
“City” means the city of Dublin, a municipal corporation of the state of California.
“Collector” means the Finance Director or any other person the City Manager may
designate to administer the business registration program.
“Engaging in business” means commencing, conducting or continuing in business, and
also the exercise of corporate or franchise powers, as well as liquidating a business when
the liquidators thereof hold themselves out to the pu blic as conducting such business.
“Person” and “persons” means and includes all domestic and foreign corporations,
associations, syndicates, joint stock corporations, partnerships of every kind, clubs, trusts,
societies and individuals acting and carrying on any business in the city, other than as an
employee. “Person” and “persons” shall also include the operator of a festival, fair, farmers’
market or similar event for which one person (the “organizer”) obtains required permits and
licenses and which includes other persons who sell or offer to sell goods and/or food at the
event (“purveyors”) through contract with the organizer or otherwise.
“Sworn statement” means an affidavit sworn to before a person authorized to take oaths,
or a declaration or certificate under penalty of perjury.
Section 3. Section 4.04.060 entitled “Exemptions” is hereby amended as follows (additions in
underlined italics, deletions in strikethrough ):
Any person claiming an exemption to Sections 4.04.070 through 4.04.180 shal l file a sworn
statement with submit to the Collector, upon a form provided by the Collector, a request for
such exemption and statement of the facts upon which exemption is claimed, and in the
absence of such request and statement substantiating the claim, such person shall be
liable for the payment of the fees imposed by this chapter.
Section 4. Section 4.04.190 entitled “Evidence of doing business” is hereby amended as
follows (additions in underlined italics, deletions in strikethrough):
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When any person makes use of signs, circular, cards, telephone books or newspapers,
and advertises, holds out or represents t hat he or she is in business in the city, or when
any person holds an active license or permit issued by a governmental agency indicating
that he or she is in business in the city, and such person fails to deny by an affidavit sworn
to before a person authorized to take oaths or a declaration or certificate under penalty of
perjury a sworn statement given to the Collector that he or she is conducting a business in
the city, after being requested to do so by the Collector, then these facts shall be
considered prima facie evidence that he or she is conducting a business in the city.
Section 5. Section 4.04.220 entitled “Application—First License” is hereby amended as follows
(additions in underlined italics, deletions in strikethrough):
A. Upon a person making application for the first license to be issued under this chapter,
or for a newly established business, such person shall furnish to the Collector a sworn
statement, upon a form provided by the Collector, the following information:
1. The exact nature or kind of business for which a license is requested;
2. The place where such business is to be carried on, and if the same is not to be carried
on at any permanent place of business, the places of residence of the owners of same;
3. In the event that application is made for issuance of a license to a person doing
business under a fictitious name, the application shall set forth the names and places of
business of those owning the business;
4. In the event that the application is made for the issuance of a license to a corporation
or a partnership, the application shall set forth the names and places of business of the
officers or partners thereof;
5. For established and operating business: the daily average number of employees
employed in furtherance of the business being licensed during the ninety (90) day period
preceding the date of application. For new businesses: the daily average number of
employees anticipated to be employed to conduct the business during the ninety (90) day
period following the date of the application;
6. In the event the application is made for issuance of a master license to a festival
organizer, the application shall set forth the names and addresses of all purveyors, and the
goods and/or food to be pur veyed.
7. Any further information which the Collector may require to enable him or her to issue
the license.
B. The Collector shall not issue to any such person another license for the same or any
other business until such person has furnished to him or her the sworn statement
information required by subdivision (A) of this section and paid the business registration
fee as herein required.
Section 6. Section 4.04.230 entitled “Application—Renewal License” is hereby amended as
follows (additions in underlined italics, deletions in strikethrough):
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The applicant for the renewal of a license shall submit to the Collector, on or before October
1st of each year the correct amount of fee and a sworn statement, upon a form provided
by the Collector, setting forth the information described in Section 4.04.220 of this chapter.
Section 7. Section 4.04.310 entitled “Collector’s powers—Filing deadline” is hereby amended
as follows (additions in underlined italics, deletions in strikethrough):
A. In addition to all other power conferred upon him, the Collector shall have the power,
for good cause shown, to extend the time for filing any required sworn statement or
application for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days, and in such case to waive any
penalty that would otherwise have accrued.
B. For the purposes of regulation under this chapter, the Collector shall also have the
power to determine whether or not a person is engaged in business in the city when such
question arises as a result of an occasional or a single isolated transaction during the
course of one (1) or more calendar years.
Section 8. Severability. The provisions of this Ordinance are severable and if any provision,
clause, sentence, word or part thereof is held illegal, invalid, unconstitutional, or inapplicable to
any person or circumstances, such illegality, invalidity, unconst itutionality, or inapplicability shall
not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, clauses, sentences, sections, words or parts
thereof of the ordinance or their applicability to other persons or circumstances.
Section 9. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days
from and after the date of its final adoption.
Section 10. Posting. The City Clerk of the City of Dublin shall cause this Ordinance to be
published or posted in the manner required by law.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 18th day of August, 2020, by the following
vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Goel, Hernandez, Josey, Kumagai and Mayor Haubert
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
_____________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________________
City Clerk
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