Attachment 2

Business Licence Bylaw Review Project – Summary Report.

The Planning and Development Department embarked on a re-write of the City of Edmonton’s Licence Bylaw (Bylaw 6124) in the fall of 2001. The major thrust of the Business Licence Review Project was to fundamentally overhaul the Bylaw and licensing practices in the City of Edmonton. The major objectives of the Project were to:

  • bring forward a piece of legislation that is contemporary with the current business environment;
  • reduce the large number of business licensing categories characteristic to the existing Bylaw;
  • modernize the language of the Licensing Bylaw;
  • simplify the licensing and appeal processes;
  • align the business licensing and development permitting processes;
  • deal with Dance Event and Night Club issues;
  • streamline the licensing referral process; and,
  • bring forward a new revenue neutral and equitable fee structure.

As directed by Council, the Business Licence Review Project included a significant stakeholder consultation exercise. The consultation initiative involved input from other regulatory partners and input from representatives of the various business ventures licenced to do business in the City of Edmonton

The key elements of the proposed new Business Licence Bylaw are summarized below.

Licensing Categories

The current Licensing Bylaw has approximately eighty (80) different categories of Licences. The number of licensing categories in the proposed Bylaw has been reduced to 37. Of the 37 licence categories, 21 require approvals from one or more of the regulatory partners. The remaining 16 only require Zoning approval, meaning that a business licence will be issued upon completion of the application and remittance of the appropriate fee. Currently there are 25, 500 business licence accounts, and 13,300 (52%) of these will fall within the zoning approval only business grouping.

Of the 21 business licence categories requiring approvals from regulatory partners, 11 categories require Edmonton Police Service approval prior to the issuance of a licence. These are: Adult Mini Theatre, After Hours Dance Club, Carnivals, Gaming Establishment, Dance Club, Dance Event, Firearms/Ammunition Dealer, Night Club, Pawn Shop, Public Market, and Secondhand Dealer. Ten new licence categories require the approval of other regulatory bodies. These regulatory partners are: the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC), the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (AMVIC), the Capital Health Authority (CHA), and the Emergency Response Department (ERD).

The licensing classification definitions in the proposed Business Licence Bylaw have been aligned and harmonized to the greatest extent possible with the land use classification definitions in the Zoning Bylaw.

Licensing Referral Process

In the continuing interest to promote public health, safety and the protection of persons and property, the proposed Bylaw will continue to engage and reinforce the mandates of a number of regulatory partners.

Under the proposed Business Licence Bylaw, there are11 business licence categories for which the issuance of a business licence will be withheld pending an Edmonton Police Service security clearance to the satisfaction of the City Manager. Once an EPS security clearance has been issued, the Planning and Development Department will issue a conditional licence. The conditions of the licence will compel the confirmation of the requisite approvals from other regulatory agencies prior to opening the business. With the co-operation of our regulatory partners, their review will be completed within 30 days of the submission of a licence application.

Enforcement, Fines and Appeals

This represents the area of greatest change from the practices under the existing Licence Bylaw. The proposed Bylaw maintains a partnership with our regulatory partners relative to co-ordinated administrative review and enforcement. The proposed Administrative Appeal Board Bylaw 13100 envisions a new independent appeal board. Finally, the proposed Bylaw envisions revamping the existing fine procedures to become a more effective deterrent for rogue operators.

Regulatory Partners

Much of the regulatory context for individual business is the product of regulations and guidelines emanating from the mandate and jurisdiction of other regulatory agencies. Our regulatory partners monitor, inspect, and take individual enforcement action within the context of their respective mandates and legislation. For example, in enforcing a violation of the Tobacco Act such as the sale of tobacco products to minors, Health Canada only has the power to impose a fine. Under the proposed Business Licence Bylaw, the intent is to support the enforcement efforts of our regulatory partners by incorporating the opportunity to take action to suspend or revoke a City of Edmonton Business Licence in those instances where a business operator persists in violating the regulations or guidelines of other regulatory authorities. It is specifically proposed that in those instances where a regulatory agency has taken action against a business operator on more than two occasions within a calendar year, the regulatory agency may request the Licensing Inspector to suspend or revoke a City of Edmonton Business Licence. The action of the Licensing Inspector in these situations can be appealed to the Administrative Appeal Board.

Appeal Authority

The current Bylaw establishes both a right of appeal of the decision of a Municipal Enforcement Officer to the Licensing Inspector and a subsequent right of appeal to the Community Services Committee of Council. This appeal process is not independent of the Administrative body delegated the authority of administrating the Licence Bylaw. Furthermore, this appeal process is not independent of the legislative body that enacts legislation governing business activity in the City of Edmonton. The new Administrative Appeal Board Bylaw proposes that the authority of appeal should rest with an independent body. This serves the purpose of adjudicating appeals from a quasi-judicial position, at arms-length from the Administration. A significant improvement is that the Administrative Appeal Board will have authority to deal with rogue business operations prior to any potential appearance in Court. This Board will have authority to place conditions on a business licence, or cancel a business licence. The Board will also consider appeals resulting from the decisions and actions of the delegated authority for all general bylaws, eg: Minimum Property Standards.

Fines

Fines under the proposed Business Licence Bylaw will continue to be stratified on the basis of an incremental increase for repeat offences. For example, fines for an offence may be $200.00 for a 1st offence and $400.00 for a subsequent offence. The fine for operating without a business licence is $400.00 or two times the licence fee, whichever is greater. Fines for breach of Bylaw or legislative provisions for Night Clubs, After Hours Dance Clubs and Pawn Shops will be as high as $2,000.00 for the 1st offence. Offences under the Bylaw include, amongst others: failure to conform with Bylaw provisions, failure to hold a valid licence, failure to post a licence conspicuously, failure to permit an inspection, obstruction of the duties of an inspector, furnishing of false information, travelling salesman selling without a licence, failure to maintain records for pawned goods, failure to hold pawned goods for 45 days, and falsification of records pertaining to pawned goods.

Fees

Under the existing Licence Bylaw licensing fees are collected under one or more of 240 fee codes. This complex fee system is the product of a Bylaw that was piecemealed together over 30 years. Not only is the fee system administratively cumbersome, it is extremely confusing and difficult to explain to our customers. One of the key recommendations coming out of the stakeholder consultation exercise was to simplify the fee structure. Specifically, business operators expressed a preference for a licensing fee structure principally based a flat fee model. The proposed fee structure is predominately a flat fee system. The flat fee for a business licence in the City of Edmonton will be $150.00. In those cases involving a referral, or screening by a regulatory partner, a supplemental fee of $50.00 per referral will be charged. The proposed fee structure also includes an administration fee element to cover minor administrative changes to a business licence such as a change of operating address. The proposed fee structure includes differentiated fees for the following business types: Garage Sale ($15.00 per event), Adult Mini Theatre ($1,500.00 plus referrals), Carnivals ($12,000.00 plus referrals), other Gaming Establishments ($2,000.00 plus referrals), Dance Events ($250.00 plus referral and monitoring costs), Night Club ($500.00 plus referrals), and maintains a non-resident business surcharge of $500.00.

Bylaw Approval

The proposed Business Licence Bylaw package provides a contemporary municipal legislative framework for business licensing in the City of Edmonton. The Planning and Development Department has prepared this Business Licence Bylaw package based on the direction of City Council and on the basis of a comprehensive stakeholder consultation exercise. The package includes a new Business Licence Bylaw for Council’s consideration and approval. In approving this Bylaw Council will be establishing the basis for modern day business licensing practices and procedures that will serve the City well for many years into the future.

Report 2002PDDB021 - Attachment 2 - Page 1 of 4