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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD NO 491 EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO.~ NEW SERIES AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE REGULATING THE BUSINESS OF DEALING' IN MOTOR VEHICLES AND PROVIDING PEN- ALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION HEREOF. WHEREAS, the City Council hereby declares that an emergency exists for the immediate preservation of the public safety, peace and property, in that there has now commenced and is threatening an influx of irresponsible automobile dealers. into this city, who will set up temporary places of doing business and after defrauding the public, will immediately leave the City of Bakersfield, and the persons who have been defrauded will have no means of recovery for the fraud per- petrated upon them, BE IT 0RDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF TEE CITY OF BAKERSFIELD, as follows: SECTION 1. For the purpose of this ordinance an automobile dealer is defined to be any person, firm or corporation engaged in, conducting, managing, or carrying on the business of buying, selling, or offering for sale, consigning to be sold, or otherwise dealing in motor vehicles as the term "motor vehicle" is defined in the Vehicle Code of the State of California. SECTION 2. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business of an automobile dealer, as the same is defined in this ordinance, without first having received a permit in writing so to do under the authority of the City Council of the City of Bakersfield. Any such permit shall be effective for a period of one year from its date unless sooner revoked. Any person or firm or corporation desiring to obtain such a permit, shall make application therefor in writing to the City Council of the City of Bakersfield. Such application shall be filed with the City Manager and the applicant shall at the time of filing such application, pay the sum of Fifty ($50.00) Dollars to defray the -1- expense of publication and investigation and action upon such applica- tion, and such fee shall be in addition to any license fee which is now or may hereafter be required to be paid. 'The City Manager of the City of Bakersfield shall, upon receipt of an application and the fee hereinabove provided, cause a notice to be published in the newspaper having the official contract for the publication of legal notices for the City of Bakersfield at the once a week for three consecutive weeks time of the first publication,/giving notice that such an application has been made and setting a date on which said application shall be heard by the Council of the City of Bakersfield, and which said notice shall be substantially in words and figures as follows, and shall con- tain the information indicated as follows, to-wit: "NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR PERMIT AS AUTOMOBILE DEALER. "Notice is hereby given that has made application to the Council of the City of Bakersfield for a permit to do business as an auto- mobile dealer in the City of Bakersfield. Any and all persons having any knowledge or information as to why such a permit should not be granted to the applicant are hereby notified to present such reasons in writing to the City Clerk on or before the day of , 19 , the date on which said application shall be heard by the Coun- cil of the City of Bakersfield. Further particulars concerning said applicant may be obtained from the application on file in the office of the City Manager. "Dated this__ day of , 19 City Manager of the City of Bakersfield, California. The date specified in said notice shall be not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (80) days after the completion of said publication of said notice. It is provided, however, that any person, firm or corpora- tion having a license in this City at the present time as an automo- bile dealer, may be issued a permit under this section immediately upon filing the application herein specified and paying the fee provided for a renewal of any permit, and thereafter such permittee must cause said permit to be renewed in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance, provided, however, that in the event that any such person holding a license at the present time shall fail for a period of thirty (30) days after the effective date of this ordinance to file with the City Manager an application as required by this ordinance, and to pay the fee for such renewal, then the right to such permit shall be deemed to be forfeited and thereafter an application must be made and fee paid to the City Manager as in the case of an original applica- tion. Such application shall be accompanied by an affidavit of the applicant which shall set forth the following information, to-wit: The name, age and residence address of the applicant, if a natural person, or if a corporation, its name, date and place of incorporation, address of its principal place of business, and the names of all its officers, together with their respective addresses; or if a partner- ship, association or unincorporated company, the names of the partners comprising the association or company, together with their respective addresses, and a statement as to whether or not an application for a similar permit has been refused or cancelled by this or any other municipality in the State of California, and if so, a l~ll statement of the reasons therefor. All applications for a permit must be filed by the applicant, and if the applicant is a corporation or partnership, the same must be signed by a.duly authorized officer on behalf of the corporation or any member of the partnership. SECTION 3. Upon the receipt of any application fQr an original permit, as provided in the preceding section, the City Manager shall investigate the applicant and report his findings to the City Council on or before the date of hearing. Such report shall set forth all facts ascertained in connection with the application, but shall not con- tain any recommendation pertaining to said application. Upon the hearing the Council of said City may grant or deny the application, or may, in its discretion, require a further investigation by said City Manager by other means. The City Council shall have the power to deny any application if it be deemed by them that the applicant is not a suitable or proper person to carry on.the business for which a license is required. SECTION 4. A fee of Five ($5.00) Dollars shall be charged for any application for a yearly renewal of any permit issued under the pro- visions of this ordinance. Such permit issued by the authority of said City Council shall not be transferable. No person, firm or corporation, to whom a permit has been issued under the provisions of this ordinance, who fails for more than thirty (30) days after the expiration of the time specified in said peEnit to apply for a renewal thereof, shall be entitled to such a renewal, but the permit theretofore issued shall be deemed to be forfeited, and the application must be made to the City Manager as in the case of an original application. Whoever shall fail for more than fifteen (15) days after the expiration of any permit issued under the provisions of this ordinance to apply for a renewal thereof, shall be required to pay a penalty of ten per cent (10%) of the amount of the peEnit fee. Such penalty shall be collected by the City Manager at the time of renewal of said permit. SECTION 5. If the City Council grant the application for a permit, the City Manager shall issue the permit upon the filing by said applicant of a bond executed to the City of Bakersfield by applicant and a surety -4- corporation duly authorized so to do, to be approved by the City Manager, and no license or permit shall be granted to any person until a bond has been given in form as provided. for in this section. Said bond must be joint and several and the penalty thereof must be Twenty-five Hundred Dollars ($B800.00), and must be conditioned to be paid to the said City of Bakersfield, and any person, firm or corporation, insuring them against any loss, or damage that may result to any person, firm or corporation from any transaction involving a motor vehicle by the dealer through failure to deliver a clear title to any person, firm or corporation legally entitled thereto within ninety (90) days after final payment has been made. Said bond shall not be void upon the first recovery but may be sued and recovered upon from time to time by any person aggrieved, until the whole penalty is exhausted. In lieu of a bond executed by a surety corporation as afore- said,. the applicant may file a similar bond in the amount of Five Thousand and No/100 Dollars ($S000.0~), executed by the applicant and two personal sureties. Such sureties must be residents of the County of Kern, State of California, and must own real property in said County of an assessed valuation of not less than the penalty of the bond, and must be worth at least the penalty of the bond over and above their just debts and liabilities, exclusive of property exempt from execution. The affidavit of each surety, setting out facts showing the qualification of the sureties as aforesaid, must accompany the bond. Such bond is subject to the approval of the City Manager. SECTION 8. Anyone who now holds or may hereafter hold a permit as an automobile dealer, and who discontinues business for a period exceed- ing ninety (90) days, will automatically relinquish all right or interest in said permit, and the same shall ipso facto be revoked without any f~rther action on the part of the City Council. SECTION V. Every dealer in motor vehicles must display a sign in letters of not less than six (8) inches in height, said sign to be placed in a conspicuous place on the premises where his business is being transacted, and the same must be legible for fifty (50) feet, and said sign must give the name of the person, firm or cor- poration authorized by the State law and the City ordinance to conduct the business of an automobile dealer, as such name appears on the permit issued by the City Nanager. The aforesaid sign must have painted on it in figures and letters, not less than two inches in height, the permit number issued by the City Nanager to engage in the automobile business. SECTION 8. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to engage in, conduct, manage or carry on the business of automobile dealer within .the City of Bakers field, who, or which, does not first receive therefor a permit as herein provided, from the City Council. SECTION 9. In the event that any person, firm or corporation holding a permit as an automobile dealer, as herein defined, shall violate, or cause, or permit to be violated, any of the provisions of this ordinance, or any provisions of any other ordinance, or of any law ~elating to or regulating such automobile business, or shall conduct or carry on such business in an unlawful manner, or shall cause permit such business so to be conducted or carried on, it shall be the duty of the City Council to, and the said City Council may, in addition to the other penalties provided by this ordinance, suspend or revoke the permit issued for conducting or carrying on such business. .In the event any person, firm or corporation is issued a permit under the provisions of this ordinance and the same shall be revoked by said City Council, n~ permit shall be granted to such person, firm or corporation to conduct or carry on such business within six (6) months after such revocation. No permit shall be revoked until a hearing shall have been had by the City Council relating to such revocation, notice of which hearing shall be given in writing to the permittee and served at least five (5) days prior to the date of the hearing thereon, such service to be upo~ the holder of such permit, or his manager or agent, which notice shall state the ground of complaint against the holder of such permit, or against the business carried on by him, or it, and also shall state the time when, and the place where such hearing will be had. Said notice shall be served upon the holder of such permit by delivering same to such person, his manager or agent, or to any person in charge of, or employed in the place of business of such holder, if such person has no place of business, then at his place of residence, or by leaving such notice at the place of business, or residence of such person, with some person of suitable age and discretion. In the event the holder of such peruit cannot be found, and the service of such notice cannot be made upon him, in the manner herein provided, then a copy of such notice shall be mailed, postage fully prepaid, addressed to such holder, or such permittee, at his place of business, or residence, at least five (5) days prior to the date of such hearing. SECTION 10. Every automobile dealer, person, firm or corporation, who, or which, engages in, conducts, manages, or carries on the business of automobile dealer within the City of Bakersfield, who or which does not first receive therefor a permit, as herein provided, or who violates any other provision of this ordinance, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punish- able by a fine of not more than Three Hundred ($300.00) Dollars or by imprisonment for a period of not more than ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and imprisonme~-t. -7- Every person, firm or corporation shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this ordinance is committed, continued or permitted by such person, firm or corporation, and shall be punishable therefor as provided by this ordinance. SECTION ll. The permit fees provided for herein shall be in addition to any and all business license fees charged or collected by the City of Bakersfield. SECTION 12. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent Jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the ordin- ance. The Council of the City of Bakersfield hereby declares that it would have passed this ordnance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 13. This ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure within the meaning of Section 24 of the Charter of the City of Bakersfield, State of California and necessary for the immediate Preservation of the public safety, peace and property, and shall take effect immediately upon its passage by the City Council of the City of Bakersfield. ..... o0o ..... I NEEBY 'CERTIFY that the foregoing emergency ordinance was passed and adopted by the Council of the City of Bakersfield at a regular meeting thereof held on the by the following vote: /~day of January, 193V, Cit io Clerk of the Council of the City of Bakersfield. APPRO y m~ thi~s/~day of January, MAYOR bf the City of Bakersfield. 193V.