HomeMy WebLinkAbout3624 AN ORDINANCE relating to and providing for ~ d%~
a license upon closing out, removal and
distressed merchandise sales in the City of
Bremerton; providing for the necessary
administration for the collection and en-
forcement of the licenses hereunder; defining
offences and prescribinq penalties.
THE CITY OF BREMERTON DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Definitions.
(a) The term "distress goods, wares, or merchandise
sale" as used in this Ordinance shall include all ~oOds, wares,
and merchandise advertised as an insurance, bankruptcy, mortqage,
insolvent, assignees, executors, administrators, receivers, or
trustees sale of goods, wares, and merchandise~ or a sale of goods,
wares, and merchandise advertised as damaged bv fire, smoke,
water, or otherwise; or a sale of goods, wares, and merchandise,
advertised as obtained by, through, as a result of, or b~7 reason
of,. any of the above-named Situations or contingencies.
(b) The term "removal sale" as used in this Ordinance
shall mean a sale, advertised, represented, or held out as such,
arising from a future, actual or contemplated moving of a business
from its present location to a new location.
(c) The term "closing out sale" as used in this Ordinance
shall mean a sale advertised, represented or held out as such
arising from a future, actual or contemplated cessation of business,
provided, however, that the c!osingout of a line or type of merchandise
not resulting in a cessation of the entire business shall not be
deemed a closing out sale.
Section 2. License required.
It shall be unlawful for any person to hold any sale
defined in Section One hereof, or to advertise, represent or hold
out that any sale of goods, wares or merchandise is a sale of distress
goods, wares or merchandise or is a removal or closing out sale in
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the City of Bremerton, unless such person shall have first obtained
a license to conduct such sale pursuant ko the provisions of this
chapter which license is hereby designated a "Closing O~t Sale
License."
Section 3. Isolated sales of stock in trade exempted.
Nothing herein contained Shall be construed to require
the licensing of a bona-fide sale of tools, eQuiDment, supDlies,
fixtures or stock in trade used in a trade or business, and not
ordinarily held for sale, when such trade o~ business is to be
discontinued, moved, relocated, or is replacing such items of
property with new property for similar use in the trade or business.
Section 4. Use of certain words without license
prohibited.
It shall be unlawful in the City of Bremerton for any
person to advertise the sale of any goods, wares or merChandise by
" "bankruptcy,"
using the words "fire," "smoke," "insurance, ~
"mortgage," "insolvent," "liquidation," "close out," "distress,"
"removed," "receivers," "trustees," "executors," "administrators,"
or words of similar import to denote the type of kind of sale, unless
same is a bona-fide distress goods, wares or merchandise sale, or is
a removal or closing out sale; and such person has first obtained a
license to conduct such sale pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
Section 5. Application for license.
Application for a Closing Out Sale License shall be
made ten days prior to the proposed opening date of the sale, or
the advertising of the sale, and shall be made to the City Clerk,
The applicant shall be required to file a statement showing all the
facts in regard to the contemplated sale, the reasons for such sale,
and an inventory listing the qoods to be sold, their actual selling
price, names of the persons from whom the ~oods were obtained, date
of delivery to the applicant, and all details necessary to fully
identify the goods to be sold, and shall specif~ the period of time
during which the sale will continue, not to exceed a period of two
months, except as hereinafter provided. Attached to such inventory
form shall be on oath to be signed by the applicant stating that
none of the listed goods has been brought to said store within
sixty (60) days last past and no license shall be issued as to any
goods brought into the store during said period. Filing of a false
affidavit shall be a violatiOn of this Ordinance. Such license shall
be issued by the Clerk upon payment of the fees hereinafter specified
and proper execution of the application form. No license shall be
issued to any person to conduct a close out sale for any business
which he had not conducted for at least sixty (60) days at the time
of application.
Section 6. Term of License.
All licenses issued for the sale of distressed ~oods
shall be valid for a period of two months only, unless renewed as
hereinafter provided.
Section 7. Renewal.
At any time during the perio~ of the license, apDlication
may be made to the City Clerk showin~ that all goods in the original.
inventory have not been sold, accompanied by an itemized inventory of
the remaining unsold goods, and if it appears to the City Clerk that
undue hardship will result unless said license is extended, said
license may be extended nad renewed on a daily basis upon the payment
of an additional license fee of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day, which
license shall continue in effect only so long as said daily license
fee is paid. and the licensee shall comply with the provisions of this
chapter. Any application for such a license under the provisions of
this chapter covering any ~oods, wares or merchandise previously
inventoried and licenses, shall be deemed to be an application for
renewal under this section~ whether presented by the original applicant
or by any other person.
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Section 8. ~.equisite to issuance of license.
No license shall be issued for distress goods, wares
or merchandise, removal or closing out sale unless it shall appear
that the applicant is, in good faith, disposing of his stock for
the purpose of retiring from business, or unless he has suffered a
fire or similar loss of substantial amount within thirty (30) days
prior to the date of such application, or unless the character of
other or similar designated sales is based upon the foundation of
facts or events upon which his announcement to the public regarding
such sale is to be put forth as an inducement for patronage, or unless
he is in a voluntary or involuntary bankrupt condition or unless he
is removing his inventoried stock to a new location.
Section 9. License fee.
The license fee for each sale of distress merchandise
under this Ordinance shall be and is hereby fixed in the sum of Two
Hundred Dollars ($200.00).
Section 10. Revocation of licenses.
The City Clerk may revoke the license of any person
found guilty of violating this Ordinance and no new license shall
be issued to such person within one year~ provided, that the violator
shall be entitled to a hearing before the City Clerk on the issue of
the revocation of said license, which hearing shall be not less than
seven (7) days nor more than fifteen (15) days following notification
to the violator of the City Clerk's intent to revoke said license
for cause. The decision of the City Clerk shall be final.
Section 11. ~nspec.tion of premises.
All premises used for licensed distress goods, wares
and merchandise sale as herein before set forth shall at all
reasonable times be open to inspection b~ any authorized employee
of the city required to enforce this chapter in order to ascertain
whether any infraction of the provisions of this chapter have taken
place or is taking place therein.
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Section 12. Commingling of goods.
The license shall be valid only for the inventoried
goods. It shall be a violation of this Ordinance for the holder of a
Closing Out Sale License to add to the inventoried Goods during
the conduct of the sale, or to commingle the inventoried goods with
others, or to sell in the sale any goods not listed on the inventory
filed with the license application. Durinq the sale , the licensee
shall retain copies of sales slips on all goods sold and such slips shall
identify the merchandise sold and shall be kept available for examination
by the Clerk of his dupties. If the Clerk discovers that goods
have been added to or commingled with the inventoried goo~s or that
goods have been sold which are not listed on such inventory he shall revoke
the Closing Out Sale License and it shall be unlawful for the
licensee to then proceed with such Closing Out Sale.
Section 13. Purchases with intent to co.mmingle.
No person seeking a~ license shall secure qoods, wares or
merchandise prior to the application ~
__ ~or a license for the purpose of
commingling with the distressed stock, and any unusual purchase or ad-
dition to stocks within sixty days prior to application for a license
shall be presumptive evidence that any such purchase or addition was
made for the purpose of commingling at such sale.
Section 14. Exceptions.
This Ordinance shall not apply to public or court officers
or to any person acting under the direction of state or federal courts
in the course of their official duties.
Section 15. S_e?erability.
If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause
or phrase of this Ordinance, is for any reason held to be unconsti-
tutional or void or unlawful, such decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portions of this chapter.
Section 16. Penalty for violations.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this
chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
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thereof shall be punished by a fine not to exceed five hundred.
dollars or imprisonment of ninety days or both, an~ the license
of any person so convicted shall be revoked by the Clerk.
APPROVED by the City Commissioners on the first reading
this '~--~ day of --~ ~. , 1981.
. \
PASSED by the City Commissioners of the City of Bremerton,
signed by the Mayor and attested by the City Clerk in authentication of
such passage this ~ day of~4~ , 1981.
·
ATTEST~
KAT~L~EN L. ~ANDIO, City Clerk
Approved as to form:
City Attorney
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