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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-96MARCH 23, 2010 10 -96 ORDINANCE FIRST READING (CARRIED LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN ) PURPOSE: REPEAL FEES FOR PUBLIC DANCES, BILLIARDS, POOL AND BOWLING ALLEYS, MECHANICAL DEVICES, LIMITED SERVICE RESTAURANTS, AWNINGS, CANOPIES, MANSARDS AND TEMPORARY BANNERS INITIATED BY: COUNCIL MEMBER MCHUGH A GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OSHKOSH REPEALING FEES FOR PUBLIC DANCES; BILLIARDS, POOLAND BOWLINGALLEYS; MECHANICAL DEVICES; LIMITED SERVICE RESTAURANTS; AWNINGS, CANOPIES, AND MANSARDS; AND TEMPORARY BANNERS The Common Council of the City of Oshkosh does ordain as follows: SECTION 1. That Section 5 -3 of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to the Application and Fee for Public Dances is hereby repealed and recreated to read as follows: SECTION 5 -3 APPLICATION AND FEE The application for such licenses shall be issued by the City Manager as herein prescribed, and the license shall be signed by the City Manager and City Clerk. Each license granted hereunder shall expire on the 30th day of June of each year, and the licenses shall be posted in a conspicuous place within the hall in which the dance is held. The license fee shall be Zero Dollars ($0.00). Each license shall, by its terms, be made subject to revocation as hereinafter provided. SECTION 2. That Section 5 -16 of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to the License Fees for Billiards, Pool and Bowling Alleys is hereby repealed and recreated to read as follows: SECTION 5 -16 LICENSE FEES; TERM The annual license fee shall be Zero Dollars $0.00 for each individual bowling alley, or nine or ten pin alley in any bowling establishment, and Zero Dollars $0.00 for each billiard table and pool table. Every license shall expire on the MARCH 23, 2010 10 -96 ORDINANCE FIRST READING CONT'D 1st day of June next succeeding the granting thereof. No license issued pursuant hereto shall be assignable. SECTION 3. That Section 5 -37 of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to the Issuance of License for Mechanical Devices; Fee is hereby repealed and recreated to read as follows: SECTION 5 -37 ISSUANCE OF LICENSE; FEE The City Clerk shall issue licenses to persons applying therefor for the operation of a mechanical or electrical entertainment device, or any device or machine mentioned in Section 5 -36 above, upon payment of an annual license fee of Zero Dollars ($0.00). Said licenses shall be valid for a period of one (1) year from the 1st day of July, unless sooner revoked as herein provided. Radio and television sets placed in hospitals or other charitable institutions are exempt from the license fee provided herein. SECTION 4. That Section 14 -11 of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to Fees for Limited Service Restaurants is hereby amended to reduce the fee to read as follows: CITY FEE STATE FEE TOTAL PREINSPECTION FEE FOOD SERVICE: Limited Service Restaurant (01) $ 0.00 $ 10.00 $ 10.00 $0.00 SECTION 5. That Section 7- 42(A)(1) AND (2) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to the Fees for Awnings, Canopies, Mansards, License Requirements is hereby repealed and recreated to read as follows: SECTION 7 -42 AWNINGS, CANOPIES, MANSARDS, LICENSE REQUIREMENTS (1) Signs: $0 each sign. (2) Marquees, awnings, balconies, canopies, fire escapes or other structures: $0 each. MARCH 23, 2010 10 -96 ORDINANCE FIRST READING CONT'D SECTION 6. That Section 30 -13 (K) of the Oshkosh Municipal Code pertaining to Fees for Temporary Banners is hereby created to read as follows: (K) Temporary Banners ..... ............................... $0.00 SECTION 6. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication for licenses issued for license years beginning on orafterJune 1, 2010. SECTION 7. Publication Notice. Please take notice that the City of Oshkosh enacted ordinance #10 -XXX REPEAL FEES FOR PUBLIC DANCES; BILLIARDS, POOL AND BOWLING ALLEYS; MECHANICAL DEVICES; LIMITED SERVICE RESTAURANTS; AWNINGS, CANOPIES, AND MANSARDS; AND TEMPORARY BANNERS, on April 13, 2010. The ordinance would set the fees for those permits listed at zero dollars ($0). The full text of the ordinance may be obtained at the Office of the City Clerk, 215 Church Avenue and through the City's website at www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us Clerk's phone 920/236-5011. CITY HALL 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903 -1130 OIHKOIH Date: To: From: Subject: City of Oshkosh MEMORANDUM March 19, 2010 Mayor & City Council Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager _AK l� PROPOSED ORDINANCE TO REPEAL FEES FOR PUBLIC DANCES, BILLARDS, POOL & BOWLING ALLEYS; MECHANICAL DEVICES; LIMITED SERVICE RESTAURANTS; AWNINGS, CANOPIES & MANSARDS; AND TEMPORARY BANNERS BACKGROUND At the February 23, 2010 Council Meeting, a Workshop was held regarding city fees and charges. At that time, Finance Director Steeno presented a master list of fees and charges that are imposed by the city for various services. At that time, Council had questions about specific fees that staff did not have available at that time. The purpose of the Workshop was merely to present the Council with an overview of all the fees and charges that the city currently imposes. Staff indicated at that time that we would be conducting a more in -depth analysis, with specific attention paid to fees and charges for businesses. In subsequent discussions with Finance Director Steeno, I indicated that it may be beneficial to hire an intern to assist Finance staff and other departments in analyzing fees in greater detail for Council review. Staff is in the process of doing that right now. On March 16, 2010, Mayor Esslinger and Council Member McHugh met with me to discuss the next steps on this issue. Council Member McHugh requested that an ordinance be prepared to repeal certain fees as mentioned in the title of this memo. Subsequent to that meeting, I asked staff to provide an overview of the above mentioned fees to provide Council with as much information as possible in this short timeframe. The City Attorney has prepared a draft ordinance for the Council to review. Council Member McHugh may be able to provide more background as to the reasons for addressing these at this time. ANAT VCN I asked staff to provide some basic information or history regarding these fees. The following is a brief summary and history of each of these fees that staff was able to assemble in the short timeframe. I have also attached information from staff in this regard. The fees are as follows: Public Dances: The public dance permit has been incorporated into the process to review liquor licenses at establishments. While there is no documentation to support this, my knowledge from past experience is that the history of these permits goes back to regulating adult - themed dances. The purpose of the permit was to insure that local law enforcement would inspect to insure that adult- oriented dances were not taking place at these regulated establishments. 404 Mayor & City Council March 19, 2010 Page 2 Over the years, the concern and purpose of these types of dances have not been as significant as they were in the past. However, any establishment that had any type of music (i.e., jukebox, other live entertainment) remained required to have this permit. According to staff, it takes the Police Department approximately one to two hours to conduct a review of each liquor establishment for all of the fees related to each establishment. The fee for the dance and entertainment license is currently $100. This fee was established by ordinance in 2003. The dance and entertainment fee currently generates approximately $7,800 annually. Billards, Pools & Bowling Alleys: Similar to the dance and entertainment license, the regulation of these establishments likely goes back to an historical concern over these establishments as possible havens for gambling. Although this is not the case anymore, the city, as other cities throughout the state, has continued to regulate these establishments. The fees for bowling alleys are currently $10 per lane per year. This fee generates approximately $1,700 annually. The work associated with the inspection for bowling alleys is incorporated into the liquor license review as mentioned above. Amusement and Mechancial Devices: Staffs belief is that amusement devices also have historical ties to regulating gambling. There are state laws regarding devices that provide a payout. However, the enforcement of these at the state level has been minimal. It appears as though the purpose of continuing to regulate these devices is to review these machines to make sure they are not gambling machines. The amusement device fee is currently $20 and was increased to this amount from $10 back in 2003. Of the surrounding municipalities, Appleton currently charges $15 a machine, and Fond du Lac charges $35 per machine, so our fees are consistent with other surrounding communities. Amusement devices generated approximately $24,500 in fees in 2009. Limited Service Restaurants: All restaurants, regardless of the level of service they provide, are regulated by the Wisconsin Food Code, DHS 196 and Chapter 254. As a registered agent of the State of Wisconsin, the City of Oshkosh is mandated to require a permit and charge a fee, conduct a routine inspection on these establishments, and reimburse the state up to $10 for prepackaged restaurant licenses. For limited service restaurants /establishments, every establishment is inspected at least once per year. The city also responds to any citizen complaints on any of these establishments. The staff consults with the operator on any food safety questions and concerns that they have throughout the year. The fee also includes one reinspection if necessary to address violations of the Wisconsin Food Code, and in the event of a food -bourn outbreak. These inspections are conducted by city staff at no additional cost. In order for the city to qualify to do restaurant inspections, our sanitarians are required to undergo extensive training that is regulated by the State of Wisconsin. As a result, there is a great deal of overhead in training which is included in the fees that we charge. The current fee for limited restaurant inspection is $280, not including the $10 state fee. There is also a one time, preinpsection fee of $125 to review .plans and provide information for new businesses, or when businesses change hands. In 2010, we expect to generate approximately $9,000 in revenue from approximately 32 establishments. As previously mentioned, the purpose of the fee is to recoup all costs, both direct and indirect, associated with our environmental program. The Council approved these fees so that we could recover these costs and avoid having the costs of this program assumed by general city taxpayers. Mayor & City Council March 19, 2010 Page 3 Temporary Banners: The regulation of banners is considered as a temporary use permit per Section 30- 12 of the city's zoning code. Planning Director Darryn Burich has provided information regarding this permit on the attached memo. The current fee for a temporary use permit is $75, and the revenue generated from this temporary use in 2009 was $5,250. The history of this permit is that cities often experience a proliferation of these signs depending upon the economic conditions. As businesses seek to attract customers to their business, these temporary signs often serve as an inexpensive way to attract customers. However, there are others who believe that these are unnecessary nuisances being viewed along public right -of -way. This is certainly a policy for the Council to consider, however, I do not believe that the Plan Commission has taken this issue up recently to discuss the various policy pros and cons to the regulation of temporary banners. Projecting Signs: The city has recently begun permitting overhanging signs, as previous belief was that these were unsightly. With the success of the Public Enemies viewing, there has been renewed interest in nostalgic -type overhanging signs, even if they project over sidewalks in downtown areas. A permit for a sign that projects over the right -of -way is $50, or $75 for projections other than a sign (i.e., awnings). Each of these fees was established by Council resolution in July, 2006. The purpose of this fee is to inspect the sign to make sure that a sign that is overhanging the public right -of -way is not causing a danger to passers by. These signs are specifically permitted in public right -of -way, which is different from any other regulations in other areas of the city. Because of the special privilege we are providing to business owners, and the potential liability that may exist for the city because these signs are hanging in public right -of -way and could cause a danger if not properly maintained, it is appropriate for the city to regularly inspect these signs and insure that they are not causing any danger to the public. DISCUSSION/FISCAL IMPACT Most of the fees and charges proposed in this ordinance are related to regulating fees associated with bars and taverns, and are typically imposed to provide general property tax relief. When all of these fees are added up as proposed, we are looking at nearly $50,000 in annual revenues. Should each of these fees be repealed, the city would be losing this amount of revenue each year, which translates to approximately one and one -half cents of property tax. While this decision is purely a policy decision for Council to consider, please be aware that these fees have remained in place for many years by municipalities as simply a way to avoid general property tax increases. To the degree Council is concerned about the fiscal impact of these decisions on the general property taxpayer, I want Council to be aware of the spill -over impact. The information contained in this correspondence is all that staff could assemble in the short time period we were given. Should Council desire, we would be happy to provide more information. It is my hope that hiring an intern to conduct a more exhaustive analysis of all fees and charges will generate more information for the Council to consider on this important topic. In the meantime, please contact me if you require any additional information regarding this request or any other information relative to fees and charges. MAR/jdc Attachment ( 0 City of Oshkosh - Department of Community Development fHKO H ON THE WATER 215 Church Avenue Oshkosh, WI 54901 (920)236 -5055 (920) 236 -5053 fax MEMORANDUM TO: Mark Rohloff FROM: Darryn Burich DATE: March 17, 2010 RE: "Permit to Place Banners" Resolution The City doesn't specifically have a banner permit but includes such requests under the overall category of "Temporary Use Permits" per Section 30 -12 of the Zoning Ordinance. Temporary uses include, but are not limited to, temporary signs, tents greater than two hundred (200) square feet in area, outside sales activities, fire works stands, Christmas tree sales and other uses /structures which are of a temporary nature (excluding rummage sales) and which are allowed by the underlying zoning district uses /standards where the temporary use is located. The fee for a temporary use permit is $75. In 2009 the revenue generated from Temporary Use Permits was $5250. The service provided for this fee generally involves planner staff time to review and issue the permit, which is generally 15 -30 minutes, depending on the request, and another 15 minutes for secretarial staff to create the file and prepare the courtesy letter reminding the applicant when the permit expires. There is also another additional 15 -30 minutes of Planner staff time required for the final inspection after permit expiration to ensure the temporary use is removed. Based on salary and benefits for the associate planner and secretary who work principally with temporary use permits, it is estimated that staff only cost to issue the permit is $40.42 and this does not include supplies, overhead, or mileage for the inspection. In reviewing the records involving temporary uses, I cannot find any specific mandate ordering staff to initiate such an ordinance requirement but it appears that in the early to mid 1990's there was a proliferation of such sign temporary signage that the City sent out mass mailings to the business community to inform them of the issue and correct the problem, of which a part of the problem was signage placed in the right -of -way. At this time staff is not supportive of eliminating the permit requirement in total, which would require an Ordinance change, and thus due to the administrative costs is opposed to eliminating the fee. Staff would however support, reviewing the possibility of segregating the fees associated with temporary uses and breaking out individual fee classes and charging a different fee based on the temporary use.