Chapter 5.40 - Fortunetelling and Occult Arts#

5.40.010 - Purpose and intent.#

It is the purpose and intent of the city council that the operation of fortunetelling and/or occult arts establishments and persons operating as fortunetellers should be regulated so as to further the public interest, safety and welfare by providing minimum qualifications for such persons. It is the purpose of this chapter to prescribe means of licensing practitioners who engage in fortunetelling for profit so that information about those so engaged is available to the public and the city government.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.020 - Definitions.#

As used in this chapter:

"Fortuneteller" means any person who advertises by sign, circular, handbill, newspaper, periodical, magazine or other means whatsoever the practice of fortunetelling and/or occult arts, and shall include any person who advertises as a "psychic" or "spiritual reader" or "spiritual counselor" for the purpose of the practice of fortunetelling and/or occult arts.

"Fortunetelling and occult arts" mean engaging for profit, directly or indirectly, in the act of telling of fortune and forecasting of futures by means of an occult, psychic power, faculty, force, clairvoyance, cartomancy, psychology, psychometry, numerology, hypnosis, phrenology, spirits, tea leaves or other craft, art, science, cards, talisman, charm, potion, magnetism, magnetized article or substance, cunning or foresight, crystal gazing, mysteries or magic of any kind or nature.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.030 - Exemptions.#

This chapter shall not apply to:

1. Any person solely by reason of the fact that he or she is engaged in the business of entertaining the public by demonstrations or mind reading, mental telepathy, thought conveyance, or the giving or horoscopic readings, at public places and in the presence of and within the hearing of other persons and at which no questions are answered, as part of such entertainment, except in a manner to permit all persons present at such public place to hear such answers, when not conducted in connection with the business of fortunetelling;

2. Any person who conducts or participates in any religious ceremony or service when such person holds a certificate of ordination as a minister, missionary, medium, healer or clairvoyant from any bona fide church or religious association maintaining a church and holding regular services, and having a creed or set of religious principles that is recognized by all churches of like faith; provided, further, that the fees, gratuities, emoluments and profits thereof shall be regularly accounted for and paid solely to or for the benefit of the church or religious association;

3. Nothing in this section shall be construed as exempting any person from the payment of any applicable business license fee which may be required to be paid by the licensing provisions of this Code.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.040 - License required.#

(a) No person, association, partnership, or corporation shall conduct, operate or advertise for an establishment in which the practice of fortunetelling and occult arts is carried on for pay, compensation or gratuity without obtaining and maintaining in effect a license as required by this chapter.

(b) No licensee hereunder shall employ any person who practices fortunetelling and/or occult arts, and who offers to or solicits to perform fortunetelling and occult arts, or who holds himself/herself out to be a fortuneteller if the person does not hold a current, unrevoked license as required by this chapter.

(c) The license issued to a fortuneteller shall be prominently displayed at the licensed premises.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.050 - License application—Fees.#

(a) An application for a license to practice fortunetelling and occults arts shall be made to a duly authorized representative of the chief of police under penalty of perjury on forms provided by the chief of police. The application to practice fortunetelling and occults arts shall be accompanied by an investigation filing fee of $250.00, plus the fee charged by Department of Justice for fingerprint processing. This fee is not refundable in the event such application is denied.

(b) Licenses and fees required under this chapter shall be in addition to any license, permit or fee required under any other chapter of this Code.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.060 - Application contents.#

Any applicant for a license under this chapter shall submit the following information under penalty of perjury:

1. The full name and present residence and business address and telephone numbers of the applicant;

2. Any and all maiden, fictitious or other names ever used by the applicant;

3. Prior residence and business addresses used by the applicant during the ten-year period preceding the date of the application;

4. The birthdate and place of birth of the applicant;

5. The social security number and a California driver's license or California identification card number or other satisfactory government issued identification number of the applicant;

6. The applicant's height, weight, hair and eye color, and all distinguishing marks, scars or tattoos;

7. Business, occupation or employment history of the applicant for a period of ten years preceding the date of application;

8. The name or names under which the applicant proposes to conduct the activity or practice and the business address of the premises where such practice is to be carried on and if is it to be in connection with a similar or other kind of business;

9. The name or names, both true and fictitious, and addresses of any and all persons, associations, partnerships or corporations holding an interest or involvement in the activity;

10. A statement of any and all criminal convictions, except minor traffic offenses not designated as a felony, including the nature thereof, where they occurred and the sentence therefor;

11. A list of fortunetelling or similar licenses currently or previously held by the applicant and whether any such license had been revoked or suspended and the reason therefor;

12. A list of at least three character references unrelated to the applicant by blood or marriage, and known to the applicant for at least five years. The list shall include true and fictitious names and current addresses and telephone numbers of the character references;

13. Such other identification and information as is necessary to discover the validity of the matters hereinabove specified as required to be set forth in the application.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.070 - Required information and documents.#

Before the application is considered to be complete, the applicant must produce, provide and submit to the following:

1. California driver's license or California identification card, or other valid and satisfactory documentary evidence of the age and identity of the applicant. To be "satisfactory," the documentary evidence of age and identity must be of official issue of some governmental agency, be currently valid and furnish a photograph, weight, height, color of eyes and hair, sex, age and/or date of birth and signature of the applicant. Birth certificates are not satisfactory identification as they do not include evidence or identity by description of the person named;

2. A photograph of the applicant, to be taken by an authorized employee of the chief of police at the time of application;

3. Fingerprints of the applicant, to be taken by an authorized employee of the chief of police at the time of application;

4. Consent in writing, on a form determined by the chief of police, for the use of all information available in the investigation provided in this chapter to be made.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.080 - Investigation.#

The chief of police, or his authorized representative, shall conduct and complete an investigation of the moral character and business responsibility of the applicant and either grant or deny the license within a period of 45 days after the submission of the completed applications, except if good cause exists, the chief of police may extend the period of investigation for a period of time not to exceed 30 days, provided that applicant is notified in writing that the investigation has not been completed.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.090 - Right to refuse license.#

(a) If the chief of police finds that either the applicant's character or his or her business responsibility is unsatisfactory, or if the applicant fails to or refuses to furnish the information and documents required by this chapter, or who submits false or misleading information on the application, or that the applicant has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, the chief of police shall refuse to issue the license. The chief of police shall notify the applicant of his or her decision in writing not more than the number of days specified in Section 5.40.070 of this chapter.

(b) If the chief of police finds that both the applicant's character and his or her business responsibility are satisfactory, he or she shall notify the applicant of his or her intent to issue a license upon condition that the applicant obtains within 90 days a conditional use permit for a particular location as provided in Section 5.40.120 of this chapter.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.100 - Revocation.#

(a) The chief of police shall revoke any license upon any grounds for which he may have refused the issuance thereof or upon conviction or upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere for any violation of this chapter or the operation of the establishment does not comport with the peace, health, safety and general welfare of the public.

(b) To revoke a license, the chief of police, or his authorized representative, shall serve upon the holder thereof, a written notice either by personal service or by deposit in a United States Mail receptacle with appropriate postage affixed, to the address shown on the application or otherwise more recently of record, that the license shall be revoked effective upon personal service or five days after the date of mailing of the notice.

(c) A revoked license shall be immediately surrendered to the chief of police or his authorized representative.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.110 - Appeal.#

(a) A notice of appeal must be deposited with the city clerk within 30 days after denial of the application or revocation of the license has been served. Upon the filing of a notice of appeal, the revocation of a license shall remain in effect until such time a decision has been rendered.

(b) Upon the filing of the written notice of appeal, the city clerk shall set the matter for hearing before the city council, which hearing shall be within 30 days after the date of the notice. The city council shall receive a copy of the denial or revocation notice and shall conduct a hearing to determine whether or not the license should be granted or reinstated. The scope of evidence presented to the city council shall be limited to evidence regarding the reasons for denial or revocation. The burden of proof shall be upon the appellant/applicant.

(c) The decision of the city council shall be final with no right of further appeal.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.120 - Conditional use permit required.#

(a) If the chief of police decides that a license may properly be issued, the applicant shall then file an application with the planning commission for a conditional use permit for a particular location.

(b) The applicant shall comply with the provisions of law and the ordinances of the city governing the issuance of a conditional use permit, as specified in Chapters 18.54 and 18.56 of this Code. The planning commission may not issue a conditional use permit for the conduct of the business of fortunetelling in any district except the commercial district or the highway commercial district.

(c) In the proceedings for a conditional use permit for this purpose, the planning commission has the discretion to:

1. Fix and prescribe the signs, exterior appearance and exterior elevations of the premises where the business is proposed to be conducted;

2. Limit number of employees, hours of operation, and other businesses conducted on the premises; and

3. Impose other conditions customarily attached to conditional use permits.

(d) The planning commission may not issue a conditional use permit for the operation of the business of fortunetelling from a trailer, vehicle or temporary structure.

(e) The planning commission may not consider an application for a conditional use permit for the business of fortunetelling until the chief of police notifies the applicant of a favorable decision by the chief of police under Section 5.40.080 of this chapter.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.130 - Issuance of license.#

If the chief of police acts favorably upon the application as provided in Section 5.40.090 of this chapter and the planning commission approves a conditional use permit as provided in Section 5.40.120 of this chapter then, upon the issuance of a conditional use permit, the chief of police shall issue a license to the applicant.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.140 - Additional terms and conditions of license.#

The chief of police may impose additional terms and conditions upon the issuance of a license if the chief of police finds that it is necessary to do so in order to protect the general public from the threat of fraud or misrepresentation or public nuisance.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.150 - License fee.#

The fee for the issuance of a license is $250.00 a year.§ The fee is due when the license is issued. The first annual fee shall be prorated from the date of issuance to December 31.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.160 - License not transferable.#

A licensee may not assign or transfer a license.§

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.170 - Separate licenses for individuals.#

Each and every person engaged in or who proposes to engage in the practice of fortunetelling and occult arts shall file a separate and individual application as set forth in this chapter and shall pay separate and individual filing and renewal fees. This shall include persons who engage in the practice under one common establishment.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.180 - Duration and renewal of license.#

The fortunetelling license authorizes the holder to engage in the activity for a period of not more than one year. The licensee and permit holder may renew the privilege of engaging in the activity by filing an application for a renewal upon a form prescribed by the chief of police and paying the annual license fee. The renewal fee is not prorated and is not refundable.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.190 - Certain activity prohibited.#

No person may engage in the activity of fortunetelling:

1. Without a license to do so;

2. In violation of this chapter; or

3. In violation of a term or condition of the license;

4. Upon any premises for which a conditional use permit is not issued;

5. In violation of any condition of a conditional use permit.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)

5.40.200 - Penalty for violation.#

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter, or knowingly or intentionally misrepresenting to any officer or employee of this city, any material fact in procuring the license provided for in this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Ord. 762B §1(part), 2004)