§ 7-32. License issuance; grounds for denial.

(a)

Unless a shorter period is prescribed by duly adopted rule or regulation, the director shall complete his or her review and make a determination in accordance with this section within forty-five (45) days following the date a complete application and full payment of all required fees are received by the director. A time extension of up to an additional thirty (30) days may be granted by the director upon the applicant's written request and a showing of good cause.

(b)

The director shall issue a license for an amusement facility or a temporary amusement, as applicable, unless the director finds one (1) of the following:

(1)

The applicant fails to provide the director within thirty (30) days of submitting a complete application, or within any time extension granted in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, the written approvals for the application (and for the purposes shown on the application) by the following, as applicable: 1) the fire department; 2) department of public works (including building inspection division); and 3) department of public health and environment.

(2)

The applicant is not, or will not be, as applicable, the owner or manager of the amusement facility or the owner, sponsor, or manager of a temporary amusement.

(3)

Each individual applicant listed in the application is not at least eighteen (18) years of age.

(4)

A license previously issued under this chapter to the applicant (individual or entity) is currently under suspension or has been revoked and the time bar for a new application has not lapsed (see, for example, subsection 7-34(b)).

(5)

The type of amusement to be provided is not permitted by chapter 59 (zoning) at the location for which application is made; provided, however, that where the type of amusement to be provided is permitted at the location by chapter 59, although other types of amusement not so permitted by chapter 59 may be offered or provided under the license for which application is made, a restricted license may be issued with the zoning restrictions noted on the license.

(6)

The applicant does not have a right to possession of the premises or a right to use the premises for the type of license being sought.

(7)

The application contains false or misleading information material to the issuance of the license or does not contain requested information material to the issuance of a license.

(8)

Any applicant (individual or entity) has been restricted or prohibited by any administrative or court order, decree, or similar judicial or quasi-judicial edict, any consent decree or settlement agreement, any terms of probation, or any other legal restraint from owning, managing, or being associated with the type of business or establishment for which an application has been made.

(9)

Any individual applicant has been convicted or released from confinement following conviction within the preceding five (5) years, anywhere in the United States, for one (1) or more of the following:

(A)

Sexually-related crimes: prostitution, pandering, procuring, and pimping; sexual assault; incest; indecent exposure or public indecency; stalking; harassment; obscenity or the promotion, sale, distribution, or possession of obscene materials; any of the foregoing related to a child or children, including trafficking in child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child, or providing sexually explicit material to a child; and any criminal attempts, solicitations, or conspiracies, including racketeering, involving any of the foregoing; or

(B)

Drug-related crimes: the unlawful manufacture, transportation, promotion, distribution, dispensing, sale or possession with intent to distribute narcotics, stimulants, depressants, or other controlled substances; the unlawful manufacture, transportation, promotion, distribution, dispensing, or sale of alcohol beverages, including the dispensing or sale to a person under twenty-one (21) years of age or a visibly intoxicated person; and any criminal attempts, solicitations, or conspiracies, including racketeering, involving any of the foregoing; or

(C)

Any criminal act or violation of local government ordinance or regulation, which criminal act or violation was punished, following conviction, by incarceration and was directly related to the operation, or committed upon the premises, of any establishment or business licensed under this chapter or any similar establishment or business operated elsewhere in the United States; or

(D)

Any criminal act or violation of local government ordinance or regulation, which resulted in a conviction or judicial determination directly ordering or causing the permanent closure or forfeiture of any establishment or business owned or managed by the applicant and licensed under this chapter or any similar establishment or business owned or managed by the applicant elsewhere in the United States.

When considering a criminal or ordinance violation conviction or judgment, the director shall be governed by the provisions of C.R.S. Section 24-5-101, as amended, pertaining to the effect of criminal convictions on employment rights. The director may also consider criminal convictions for lesser crimes that are sexually related or drug-related but are not listed in this paragraph (b)(9) under either of the following circumstances: There have been multiple convictions (three (3) or more) within the past five-year period or the conviction for a lesser crime appears, from uncontradicted evidence, to have resulted from a plea bargain and that the original charge or indictment was for a criminal act listed in this paragraph (b)(9).

(Ord. No. 806-98, § 2, 11-16-98; Ord. No. 427-18, § 4, 6-11-18)