(a) The city administrator, or his designee, shall determine whether the application for an adult or sexually oriented business permit contains all of the information required by the provisions of this article. If it is determined that the application is not complete, the applicant shall be sent a notice in writing within ten (10) business days after the date of receipt of the application that the application is not complete and the reasons therefor. The applicant shall have thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the notice to submit additional information to render the application complete. The applicant's failure to submit the additional information within the time period renders the application null and void. Within five (5) business days following the receipt of a supplemental or amended application, the city administrator, or his designee, shall again determine whether the application is complete. Evaluation and notification shall occur as provided above until such time as the application is found to be complete. Once the application is found to be complete, the applicant shall be notified within five (5) business days of that fact. If an applicant submits two (2) consecutive incomplete applications, the applicant shall be notified in writing that a new application must be filed with the city administrator as set forth herein.
(b) Upon receipt of a completed application and payment of the filing fee, the city administrator, or his designee, shall immediately stamp the application as received, and issue a temporary permit to the applicant, which shall be valid for thirty (30) business days after the date of issuance, unless earlier terminated by the denial of the adult or sexually oriented business permit. The issuance of a temporary permit does not relieve the applicant of the need to obtain any other city license or permit, such as a certificate of occupancy or conditional use permit, if required.
(c) The city administrator, or his designee, shall promptly investigate the information contained in the application to determine whether the applicant shall be issued an adult or sexually oriented business permit. As part of this investigation, the city administrator, or his designee, shall promptly send photocopies of the completed application to the police chief of the City of Vernon, and any other city departments or other agencies responsible for enforcement of health, fire and building codes and laws within the city. Each department or agency shall promptly investigate the applicant, application and proposed adult or sexually oriented business in accordance with its responsibilities under law and as set forth in this article, which investigation shall be completed prior to the expiration of the thirty (30) day time period set forth in subsection (d) below. At the conclusion of such investigation, each department or agency shall indicate on the photocopy of the application its approval or disapproval of the application, date it, sign it, and, in the event it disapproves, state the reasons therefor and return the photocopy immediately to the city administrator. A department or agency shall only disapprove an application if it finds the proposed adult or sexually oriented business will violate any provision of any statute, code, ordinance, regulation or other law in effect in the city. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's office shall only be asked by the Vernon Police Department to certify the records request check and shall not be required to approve or disapprove applications. In no event shall the temporary permit issued pursuant hereto constitute or grant a right to the applicant to operate an adult or sexually oriented business in violation of section
5.82 and Chapter 26 of the Code or in violation of any other zoning, building and safety, or business licensing provisions of the Code.
(d) Within thirty (30) days of receipt of the completed application, the city administrator, or his designee, shall complete the investigation, grant or deny the application in accordance with the provisions of this section, and so notify the applicant as follows:
(1) The city administrator, or his designee, shall write or stamp "Granted" or "Denied" on the application and date and sign such notation.
(2) If the application is denied, the city administrator, or his designee, shall attach to the application a statement of the reasons for denial.
(3) If the application is granted, the city administrator, or his designee, shall attach to the application an adult or sexually oriented business permit.
(4) The application as granted or denied and the permit, if any, shall be placed in the United States mail, first class postage prepaid, addressed to the applicant at the address stated in the application. All notices given hereunder shall be deemed given upon the date they are deposited in the U.S. mail or the date upon which personal service is provided.
(e) The city administrator, or his designee, shall grant the application and issue the adult or sexually oriented business permit upon findings that the proposed business meets the location criteria of section
26.6.3 and the applicant has met all of the development and performance standards and requirements of section
5.92 unless the application is denied for one or more of the reasons set forth in section
5.86. The permittee shall post the permit conspicuously in the adult or sexually oriented business premises so that it may be easily read at any time by persons entering the adult or sexually oriented business.
(f) If the city administrator, or his designee, grants the application or if the city administrator, or his designee, neither grants nor denies the application within thirty (30) days after it is stamped as received (except as provided in section
5.85(a)), the applicant may begin operating the adult or sexually oriented business for which the permit was sought, subject to strict compliance with the development and performance standards in section
5.92 and other applicable requirements of this Code. The applicant's ability to begin operating under this subsection does not relieve the applicant of the need to obtain any other city license or permit, such as a certificate of occupancy or conditional use permit, if required.
(g) Permittees shall have a continuing duty to promptly supplement the adult or sexually oriented business permit application information required by this article in the event that said information changes in any way from what is stated on the "Application for Adult or Sexually Oriented Business Permit". The failure to comply with said continuing duty within thirty (30) days from the date of such change, by supplementing the "Application for Adult or Sexually Oriented Business Permit" on file with the city administrator, under the penalty of perjury, shall be grounds for revocation of the permit.
(Ord. No. 1094, Exh. B; Ord. No. 1126, § 3, Exh. B.)
