Chapter 5.01
BUSINESS LICENSES, REGULATORY LICENSES, AND PERMITS
Sections:
5.01.050 Business license or permit required.
Article I. Business Licenses and Regulatory Licenses
5.01.060 Business license application.
5.01.080 Application for regulatory licenses.
5.01.110 Expiration and renewal of business licenses and regulatory licenses.
Article II. Permits
5.01.130 Permit application and fees.
5.01.140 Expiration of permits.
Article III. Regulations for Business Licenses, Regulatory Licenses, and Permits
5.01.150 Limitation of issuance.
5.01.160 Business licenses, regulatory licenses, and permits cannot be transferred or shared.
5.01.170 Revocation of business license, regulatory license, or permit.
5.01.010 Purpose.
This chapter is intended to simplify and regularize procedures associated with the issuance, renewal and revocation of business licenses, regulatory licenses, and permits which are administered through the finance department. It is intended to apply to business licenses, regulatory licenses, and permits codified in this title as now in effect or hereafter amended, and other licenses and permit activities for business.
This chapter is not intended to apply to occupation permits, building permits, utility hookup permits, alarm ordinance permits, fire code permits and other code permits now administered directly through the building and fire departments. The provisions of this chapter shall be deemed an exercise of the police power of the city for the protection of the public, economic and social welfare, health and peace, and all of its provisions shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of that purpose. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.020 Definitions.
In construing the provisions of this chapter, except when otherwise declared or clearly apparent from the context, the following definitions shall be applied:
(1) “Business” includes all activities engaged in with the object of gain, benefit or advantage to the licensee or to another person or class, directly or indirectly.
(2) “Director” means the Oak Harbor finance director or designee.
(3) Engaging in Business.
(a) The term “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 up to the public as conducting such business.
(b) This section sets forth examples of activities that constitute engaging in business in the city, and establishes safe harbors for certain of those activities so that a person who meets the criteria may engage in de minimis business activities in the city without having to pay a business license fee. The activities listed in this section are illustrative only and are not intended to narrow the definition of “engaging in business” in subsection (3)(a) of this section. If an activity is not listed, whether it constitutes engaging in business in the city shall be determined by considering all the facts and circumstances and applicable law.
(c) Without being all-inclusive, any one of the following activities conducted within the city by a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor, broker or another acting on its behalf, constitutes engaging in business and requires a person to register and obtain a business license:
(i) Owning, renting, leasing, maintaining, or having the right to use, or using, tangible personal property, intangible personal property, or real property permanently or temporarily located in the city.
(ii) Owning, renting, leasing, using, or maintaining an office, place of business, or other establishment in the city.
(iii) Soliciting sales.
(iv) Making repairs or providing maintenance or service to real or tangible personal property, including warranty work and property maintenance.
(v) Providing technical assistance or service, including quality control, product inspections, warranty work, or similar services on or in connection with tangible personal property sold by the person or on its behalf.
(vi) Installing, constructing, or supervising installation or construction of real or tangible personal property.
(vii) Soliciting, negotiating, or approving franchise, license, or other similar agreements.
(viii) Collecting current or delinquent accounts.
(ix) Picking up and transporting tangible personal property, solid waste, construction debris, or excavated materials.
(x) Providing disinfecting and pest control services, employment and labor pool services, home nursing care, janitorial services, appraising, landscape architectural services, security system services, surveying, and real estate services including the listing of homes and managing real property.
(xi) Rendering professional services such as those provided by accountants, architects, attorneys, auctioneers, consultants, engineers, professional athletes, barbers, baseball clubs and other sports organizations, chemists, psychologists, court reporters, dentists, doctors, detectives, laboratory operators, teachers, and veterinarians.
(xii) Meeting with customers or potential customers, even when no sales or orders are solicited at the meetings.
(xiii) Training or recruiting agents, representatives, independent contractors, brokers or others, domiciled or operating on a job in the city, acting on its behalf, or for customers or potential customers.
(xiv) Investigating, resolving, or otherwise assisting in resolving customer complaints.
(xv) In-store stocking or manipulating products or goods sold to and owned by a customer, regardless of where sale and delivery of the goods took place.
(xvi) Delivering goods in vehicles owned, rented, leased, used, or maintained by the person or another acting on its behalf.
(d) If a person, or its employee, agent, representative, independent contractor, broker or another acting on the person’s behalf, engages in no other activities in or with the city but the following, it need not register and obtain a business license:
(i) Meeting with suppliers of goods and services as a customer.
(ii) Meeting with government representatives in their official capacity, other than those performing contracting or purchasing functions.
(iii) Attending meetings, such as board meetings, retreats, seminars, and conferences, or other meetings wherein the person does not provide training in connection with tangible personal property sold by the person or on its behalf. This provision does not apply to any board of director member or attendee engaging in business such as a member of a board of directors who attends a board meeting.
(iv) Renting tangible or intangible property as a customer when the property is not used in the city.
(v) Attending, but not participating in, a “trade show” or “multiple vendor events.” Persons participating at a trade show shall review the city’s trade show or multiple vendor event ordinances.
(vi) Conducting advertising through the mail.
(vii) Soliciting sales by phone from a location outside the city.
(e) A seller located outside the city merely delivering goods into the city by means of common carrier is not required to register and obtain a business license; provided, that it engages in no other business activities in the city. Such activities do not include those in subsection (3)(d) of this section. The city expressly intends that engaging in business include any activity sufficient to establish nexus for purposes of applying the license fee under the law and the Constitutions of the United States and the state of Washington. Nexus is presumed to continue as long as the taxpayer benefits from the activity that constituted the original nexus-generating contact or subsequent contacts.
(4) “Person” means any individual, receiver, assignee, trustee in bankruptcy, trust, estate, firm, co-partnership, joint venture, club, company, joint stock company, business trust, corporation, association, society or any group of individuals acting as a unit, whether mutual, cooperative, fraternal, non-profit or otherwise.
(5) “Business Licensing Service” or “BLS” means the office within the Washington State Department of Revenue providing business licensing services to the city. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.030 Exemptions.
The business license and/or business license fee provisions of this chapter do not apply as described in this section:
(1) For purposes of the license by this chapter, any person or business whose annual value of products, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income of the business in the city is equal to or less than $2,000 and who does not maintain a place of business within the city must obtain a city business license, but be exempt from the city license fee therefor. The threshold does not apply to regulatory license requirements or activities that require a specialized permit.
(2) Newspaper carriers under the age of 18 are exempt from the license requirement.
(3) Any nonprofit organization holding a current IRS 501(c) exemption certificate issued by the Internal Revenue Service must still obtain a business license from the city, but is exempt from the license fee. Such nonprofit organization must submit a copy of the certificate along with the application to be exempt from the city business license fees.
(4) The nonbusiness activities of religious organizations. These nonbusiness activities of religious organizations are exempt from the business licensing provisions of this chapter; provided, that any religious organization which engages in business for which it may be required by federal law to file a federal income tax return shall, to that extent only, be subject to the business license and city license fee requirements of this chapter. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.040 Administration.
The finance department shall administer the requirements of this title, with the exception of Chapter 5.55 OHMC entitled “Special Events Permits.” The finance department shall perform the following:
(1) The determination for issuing of business licenses, regulatory license, and the applicable OHMC Title 5 permits, is under the administrative control of the finance director who has all necessary administrative powers to carry out the work of issuing business licenses, regulatory licenses, and permits, including, but not limited to, those powers provided to a department head in the personnel policies of the city. In addition, the director may:
(a) Make interpretation of ordinances, resolutions involving the issuance of business licenses, regulatory licenses, and OHMC Title 5 permits;
(b) Promulgate rules and regulations for the operation of the processing and issuing of business licenses, regulatory licenses, and OHMC Title 5 permits and other matters related to this chapter;
(c) Develop plans, policies and reports regarding budget proposals to carry out the work of issuing business licenses, regulatory licenses, and permits;
(d) Control expenditures to remain within budget;
(e) Designate others to carry out duties of the director;
(f) Develop and provide applications for business licenses, regulatory licenses, and OHMC Title 5 permits, with the exception of Chapter 5.55 OHMC or when such operations are delegated to an external service; and
(g) Collect and process all fees related to business licenses, regulatory licenses, and OHMC Title 5 permits, including Chapter 5.55 OHMC.
(2) Prior to approving issuance of a license or permit, the finance director may require the development services department, and other departments as necessary, to assure that the business is located in a land use zone appropriate to the business to be carried on and that the building meets the applicable building and fire code standards.
(3) Upon change of location for a license, the director may require that the development services department assure the new location is in compliance with building and zoning codes.
(4) The director will keep full and accurate records of all funds received under the provisions of this chapter. Upon receipt of any city license fee and/or city-imposed penalties collected under the provisions of this chapter, the director will deposit the same to the current expense fund. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.050 Business license or permit required.
Any person or entity engaging in or carrying on business, trade, profession or calling, within the city of Oak Harbor, must obtain an annual business license or permit as provided herein. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
Article I. Business Licenses and Regulatory Licenses
5.01.060 Business license application.
Application for a city business license is made to the Business Licensing Service (BLS), and must include all information required for each license requested, the total fees due for all licenses, and the application handling fee required by RCW 19.02.075. BLS will make the application information available to the city for review to determine whether to approve issuance of the business license. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.080 Application for regulatory licenses.
(1) Any person or entity required to obtain a business license per OHMC 5.01.050 who operates the following activities must also apply to and obtain from the city directly the respective regulatory license provided by the city finance department:
(a) Entertainment establishment license per Chapter 5.05 OHMC.
(b) Adult entertainment license per Chapter 5.10 OHMC.
(c) Pawnbroker license per Chapter 5.15 OHMC.
(d) Taxicab and for hire vehicle license per Chapter 5.21 OHMC.
(e) Transportation network company license per Chapter 5.25 OHMC.
(f) Mobile food vendor license per Chapter 5.29 OHMC.
(g) Horse drawn carriage, cart or conveyance license per Chapter 5.35 OHMC.
(2) Regulatory License Application Process.
(a) Regulatory license application requirements are set forth in the applicable regulatory license chapters under this title.
(b) Regulatory license fees are in addition to city business license.
(c) Application fees for regulatory licenses are referenced in the applicable regulatory license chapters of this title, and contained in the master fee schedule, adopted by resolution of the city council.
(d) Regulatory license fees must be submitted at the time of regulatory license application and may not be prorated.
(e) Upon approval of the regulatory license application, the application fee serves as the first-year annual fee.
(f) Regulatory license fees must be paid in full with the application, and are nonrefundable. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.090 Display of license.
(1) When the activity or business is licensed and is carried out at specified premises, the license shall be conspicuously posted in a public area in the place of business for which it is issued.
(2) Business transacted with the public at two or more separate locations within the city limits must display a separate license for each location.
(3) When the business or activity is carried on by vehicle, the license shall be displayed in the vehicle. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.100 Business relocation.
(1) Unless otherwise provided, a business may relocate within the city provided notice is given to the finance department at least 10 days prior to the move of the business or activity and so long as the new location complies with building, fire and zoning codes in effect at the time of relocation. Notice of the change for the city business license is made through the Business Licensing Service (BLS) sufficiently prior to the intended move to allow timely notification to the city. In the case of the city business license, BLS will make the information of a request to relocate available to the city. In the case of regulatory licenses, notice of an intended relocation must be given directly to the city. In either case, business, including any regulated activity, may not commence at the new location until approved by the city.
(2) The relocating licensee must return any regulatory license to the finance department and, after approval of the relocation, a new regulatory license will be issued for the new place of business without charge. In the case of the general business license, a new business license will be issued through the Business Licensing Service. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.110 Expiration and renewal of business licenses and regulatory licenses.
(1) Business Licenses.
(a) The city business license expires on the date established by the Business Licensing Service (BLS) and must be renewed on or before that date to continue to engage in business in the city after that date.
(b) Application for renewal of the business license is made through the Business Licensing Service (BLS), and must include all information required to renew all licenses involved, the total fees due for all licenses, and the renewal application handling fee required by RCW 19.02.075.
(c) The business license term and respective city fee amount may be prorated as needed to synchronize the license expiration with the expiration of the business license account maintained by the BLS.
(d) Failure to complete the business license renewal by the expiration date will incur the late renewal penalty fee required by RCW 19.02.085, in addition to all other fees due.
(e) Failure to complete the business license renewal within 120 days after expiration will result in the cancellation of the business license, and will require applying for and obtaining a new city business license as provided in this chapter to continue to engage in business in the city. The city is authorized to require payment of all past due amounts prior to approving issuance of a new license.
(2) Regulatory Licenses.
(a) All regulatory licenses expire at the end of the calendar year for which they are issued and a new license will be required for each calendar year.
(b) The finance department will mail a notice for renewal of the regulatory license to the address of record at least three weeks before December 31st each year.
(i) The application for renewal of the regulatory license must be submitted directly to the city by January 31st of the year following the expiration to be considered a timely renewal filing.
(ii) The renewal application will require making changes to a copy of the original application as needed.
(iii) The regulatory license renewal fee is due in full with the renewal application.
(c) Failure to receive such notice will not excuse the licensee from the duty to renew a license, and will not be a defense to operate without a license.
(d) In addition to the required annual regulatory license fee, any renewal application received therefor after January 31st will be assessed a delinquency charge by the city of 18 percent of the annual regulatory license fee for each month or part of month accruing between the time such license is procured and the time when the same should have been procured under this chapter. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
Article II. Permits
5.01.130 Permit application and fees.
(1) Form. Applications for all permits shall be in writing on forms provided by the finance department. The required application contents shall be described in Chapter 5.40 OHMC entitled “Fireworks Sale Permit” and Chapter 5.45 OHMC entitled “Peddler, Solicitor, and Canvasser Permits.”
(2) Permit Fees. Application and permit fees are contained in the applicable OHMC Title 5 chapters and are nonrefundable.
(3) No Business License Required. Permit holders operating business activities under permits issued pursuant to Chapters 5.40 and 5.45 OHMC shall not be required to obtain a business license. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.140 Expiration of permits.
Permits are nonrenewable. Upon the expiration of a valid permit issued under this title, a new permit application must be submitted and approved in order to conduct the permitted business activities. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
Article III. Regulations for Business Licenses, Regulatory Licenses, and Permits
5.01.150 Limitation of issuance.
No license or permit shall be issued which will authorize a business or activity contrary to building, fire or zoning codes of the city of Oak Harbor in effect at the time of the application for the license or permit. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.160 Business licenses, regulatory licenses, and permits cannot be transferred or shared.
(1) Business licenses, endorsements and permits may not be transferred to another person or entity.
(2) Any person or entity licensed or permitted pursuant to this chapter shall not allow any other person, for whom a separate license is required, to operate under or display such license or permit, nor shall any other person operate under or display such license. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.170 Revocation of business license, regulatory license, or permit.
(1) Any business license, regulatory license, or permit may be revoked by the finance director at any time during the life of such license or permit for any violation of the licensing and permitting requirements or of the conditions or restrictions under which were imposed upon issuance, or the license, regulatory license, or permit was procured by fraud or misrepresentation, or of the pertinent ordinance provisions relating to the license or permit, or of the ordinances relating to the premises occupied. Such revocation may be in addition to any penalty imposed pursuant to OHMC 5.01.200. Upon revocation of a license or permit, the business or activity must cease operations immediately.
(2) Additional revocation regulations codified in Chapters 5.05 through 5.55 OHMC also apply. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.180 Appeals.
Appeal from the decision of the finance director shall be in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1.24 OHMC as now in effect or hereafter amended. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.190 Enforcement.
The building official or designee and the director or designee will have vested authority to check any person in conduct of business in the city for proper business license, regulatory license or permit, and in case of a violation will have authority to issue a citation for violation of this chapter. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).
5.01.200 Violations.
Violations of this chapter shall constitute a civil offense and shall be governed by the procedures of Chapter 1.28 OHMC. (Ord. 1936 § 1 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 1844 § 3, 2018).