Sec. 415.05. - Licensing requirements.
(a) Application. An initial application for a license shall be made at the department of safety and inspections by filing the annual license fee and by completing an application form. The application form, which shall be prepared by the inspector and approved by the city council, shall contain the following information:
(1) A description and location of the premises to be licensed. The detailed plans of the premises and furnishings shall be attached to the application.
(2) Names and addresses of the property owner, the business owner, the lessee, the manager or operator and, if a corporation, all the names and addresses of the officers of such corporation, and any other person or corporation which may have a financial interest in the premises to be licensed.
(3) A description of any crime or other offense, including the time, place, date and disposition, for which any of the persons named in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph (a) have been arrested or convicted.
(4) The business, occupation or employment of each of the persons named in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph (a) for the three (3) years immediately preceding the date of application.
(5) The previous experience of the persons named in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph (a) in a movie theatre/theatre or similar business.
(6) A statement as to whether the persons named in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph (a) have had any license denied, revoked or suspended in the City of Saint Paul or the State of Minnesota, the reason therefor, and the business activity or occupation of the individual subsequent to such suspension, revocation or denial.
(7) A description of the predominant type of motion pictures or other performances to be shown or performed in the theatre.
(8) In the case of an adult motion picture theatre/theatre or an adult mini-motion picture theatre/theatre, written proof that each employee is at least eighteen (18) years of age.
The application will then be reviewed by the department of safety and inspections, police department, and such other departments as shall be deemed necessary. The departments will thereafter submit their reports and recommendations to the department of safety and inspections, who will submit all of the reports and recommendations of the other departments, together with the inspector's report and recommendation, to the city council. The city council, following a public hearing, shall either grant or deny the license in accordance with the procedures set forth in chapter 310 of this Code.
(b) Hearing; notification. At least thirty (30) days before a public hearing on an application for a license, the department of safety and inspections shall notify by mail all owners and occupants who own property or reside within three hundred (300) feet of the property line of the establishment to be licensed, and all community organizations that have previously registered with said department, of the time, place and purpose of such hearing, said three hundred (300) feet being calculated and computed as the distance measured in a straight line from the nearest point of the property line in which the business is to be operated to the nearest point of the property line owned, leased or under the control of the resident. Prior to the hearing date, the department of safety and inspections shall submit to the city council a list of the names and addresses of each person or organization to whom notice was sent, and certification of such list by the clerk shall be conclusive evidence of such notice. The failure to give mailed notice to owners or occupants residing within three hundred (300) feet, or defects in the notice, shall not invalidate the license, provided a bona fide attempt to comply with this paragraph (b) has been made. A bona fide attempt is evidenced by a notice addressed to "owner" and to "occupant" of the listed address. Only one (1) notice need be mailed to each house or each rental unit within a multiple-family dwelling regardless of the number of occupants.
The notification requirements of this paragraph (b) shall not be applicable where the license is to be held in a place located within the downtown business district. For purposes of this chapter, "downtown business district" shall include all that portion of the City of Saint Paul lying within and bounded by the following streets: Beginning at the intersection of Shepard Road with Chestnut Street; Chestnut Street to Pleasant Avenue; Pleasant Avenue to Kellogg Street; Kellogg Street to Summit Avenue; Summit Avenue to Tenth Street; Tenth Street to Interstate Freeway 94; Interstate Freeway 94 to Lafayette Bridge; Lafayette Bridge to where the bridge crosses over Warner Road; Warner Road to Shepard Road; Shepard Road to Chestnut Street.
(c) Hearing. The city council shall afford the applicant and all interested parties a public hearing, and shall have the discretion to consider in granting, denying or renewing the license any reasonable fact or circumstance relating to the public health, safety and welfare, including, but not limited to, the character and suitability of the area or neighborhood in which the licensed premises is to be located.
(d) Basis for denial. The council may deny an application for renewal or grant of a license on the basis of a determination that the public health, safety or welfare would be otherwise adversely affected, taking into account one (1) or more of the facts or circumstances in this section; provided, however, that the council shall not consider as grounds for denial any activity on the part of the applicant, which activity is protected by the provisions of the Constitutions of the United States or of the State of Minnesota.
(e) Restrictions may be imposed. Where a reasonable basis is found by the council to impose reasonable restrictions upon the license, taking into consideration one (1) or more of the above facts or circumstances, the council may, upon issuance or renewal of a license, impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions on the manner and circumstances under which the licensed activities shall be conducted to preserve the public peace and protect and promote good order and security. It is the intention of the council not to place any restrictions or conditions upon any license which would unlawfully restrict or interfere with any rights protected by the Constitutions of the United States or of the State of Minnesota.
(Ord. No. 17630, § 1, 2-2-89; C.F. No. 04-192, § 1, 3-3-04; C.F. No. 07-149, § 178, 3-28-07)
