Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd. 1470-2013ORDINANCE NO. 1470-2013 CITY COUNCIL, CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA AN ORDINANCE ADDING CHAPTER 10.70 TO THE SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE REGISTRATION OF HOTEL GUESTS WHEREAS, pursuant to Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution, the City of South San Francisco ("City") may make and enforce within its limits all local, police, sanitary, and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict with general laws, and WHEREAS, some hotels and motels provide bases of operation for criminal activities, including human trafficking, prostitution, and identity theft; and WHEREAS, requiring certain minimum information to be maintained in hotel and motel registers and inspection of those registers by the Police Department is a significant factor in reducing crime in those locations; and WHEREAS, the City seeks to encourage hotel operators and law enforcement agencies to collaborate to ensure the public safety in and around hotels. NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of South San Francisco does hereby ordain as follows: SECTION 1. AMENDMENTS Title 10 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code is hereby amended to add Chapter 10,70 to read as follows: CHAPTER 10.70: Hotel Registration 10.70.010 Definitions 10.70.020 Hotel register required 10.70.030 Identification required 10,70.040 Retention of register 10.70.050 Register — Format 10.70.060 Register — Inspection 10.70.070 False information prohibited 10.70.080 Posting regulations 10.70.090 Penalty for violation - 1 - 10.70.010 Definitions. "Guest" means a person who exercises occupancy or is entitled to occupancy in a hotel by reason of concession, permit, right of access, license, or other agreement. "Hotel" means any public or private space or structure, including but not limited to, any inn, hostelry, tourist home, motel, lodging house, or motel rooming house offering space for sleeping or overnight accommodations in exchange for rent and for a period of less than thirty (30) days. Hotel includes the parking lot and other common areas of the hotel. Hotel does not include living accommodations provided at any governmental or nonprofit institution in connection with the functions of that institution. "Occupancy" means the use or possession of any room at any Hotel. "Operator" means the person who is proprietor of the Hotel or any other person who has the night to rent rooms within the Hotel, whether in the capacity of owner, manager, lessee, mortgagee in possession, licensee, employee, or any other capacity. "Record" means all electronic, typewritten, or handwritten information about a Guest. "Register" means a machine in which electronic or typewritten records are kept or a document or set of documents in which handwritten or typewritten records are kept. 10.70.020 Hotel Register required. Every Operator of a Hotel, as defined by this Chapter, shall keep a Register in which the following information shall be entered legibly, either in electronic, ink, or typewritten form, prior to the room being furnished or rented to a Guest: (a) the true names and residence addresses for each Guest, and (b) the make, type and license number of any vehicle under the control of the Guest, if the vehicle will be parked on Hotel premises. The Register shall also show the day, month, and year when such information was entered, the day, month and year of Guest check-in, and the room or rooms to be occupied by such persons. It shall be unlawful for any Operator to refuse or neglect to comply with the requirements of this Chapter. 10.70.030 Identification required. (a) The Operator shall require identification to be presented upon registration sufficient to confirm the identity of the Guest in the following instances: i) when a Guest obtains a night to Occupancy by paying for the room entirely in cash; ii) when a Guest has not made a prior reservation and obtains a right to Occupancy on a "walk-in" basis; and 111) when, at the time of Guest registration, the Operator does not have in its possession all of the Register information required by Section 10,70.020(a). (b) When identification is required by this Section, the Operator shall record in the Register the type of identification presented, the number and expiration date of the identification presented, and the information required by Section, 10.70.020. The Operator may comply with this Section by swiping a driver's license or identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles -2- in an electronic device and recording the information in the Register, as permitted by California Civil Code section 1798.90.1. 10.70.040 Retention of Register. (a) The Operator shall keep the Register on the Hotel premises in the guest reception, guest check-in area, or in an adjacent office. The Register shall be maintained at that location on the Hotel premises for a period of two (2) years from the date of the last entry in the Register. (b) No person shall alter, deface, or erase the Register so as to make the information recorded in it illegible or unintelligible, or hinder, obstruct, or interfere with any inspection of the Register under this Chapter. 10.70.050 Register —Format. Any Register maintained in the form of a book shall be permanently bound, each page shall be sequentially numbered and the book shall be the minimum size of eight by ten inches. No page shall be removed from the book. A Register may be maintained electronically, but the electronic Register must be printable. 10.,70.060 Register — Inspection. The Register shall be made available to any officer of the South San Francisco Police Department. Whenever possible, the inspection shall be conducted at a time and in a manner that minimizes any interference with the operation of the business. 10.70.070 False information prohibited. It is unlawful for any Guest to use or allow the use of any name other than his or her true name in so registering. 10.70.080 Posting regulations. A copy of this Chapter shall be posted by the Hotel Operator in a conspicuous place on the Hotel premises, within reasonable view of any person who wishes to become a Guest of the Hotel. 10.70.090 Penalty for violation. (a) Any person violating a provision of this Chapter is guilty of an infraction and, upon conviction, shall be punished as set forth in Chapter 36900 of the Government Code. After a third conviction for a violation of the same provision, any subsequent violations within a twelve (12)-month period may be charged as a misdemeanor. (b) Continuing Violation, Unless otherwise provided, a person, firm, corporation or organization shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which a violation of this chapter is committed, continued or permitted by the person, firm, corporation or organization and shall be punishable accordingly as herein provided. -3- SECTION 2. SEVERABILITY If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this Ordinance, including the application of such pail or provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, provisions of this Ordinance are severable, The City Council of the City of South San Francisco hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases be held unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable. SECTION 3. PUBUCATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE Pursuant to the provisions of Government Code Section 36933, a summary of this Ordinance shall be prepared by the City Attorney, At least five (5) days prior to the Council meeting at which this Ordinance is scheduled to be adopted, the City Clerk shall (1) publish the Summary, and (2) post in the City Clerk's Office a certified copy of this Ordinance. Within fifteen (15) days after the adoption of this Ordinance, the City Clerk shall (1) publish the summary, and (2) post in the City Clerk 's Office a certified copy of the full text of'this Ordinance along with the names of those City Council members voting for and against this Ordinance or otherwise voting, This Ordinance shall become effective thirty days from and after its adoption. -4- Introduced as an Ordinance of the City of South San Francisco at a regular meeting of the City Council held the 13'h day of March, 2013 by the following vote: Adopted as an Ordinance of the City of South San Francisco at a regular meeting of the City Council held the 27 th day of March, 2013 by the following vote: AYES: Councilmember Mark N Addle , Richard A. Garbarino, and Pradeep Gupta. Mayor Pro Tem liar Matsumoto and Ma r Pedro Gonzalez NOES: ABSENT: None - 5 -