[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Chesterfield 7-8-1982 by Ord. No. 1982-7.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any machine which may be operated for entertainment or amusement
in public, whether the machine is coin-operated or not and whether
or not it registers a score or tallies. This definition shall include,
but not be limited to, pinball machines, bowling machines, mechanical
grab machines, billiard tables, electronic games, video-type games
or machines or similar devices that use a display screen for points,
lines and dots of light that can be manipulated to simulate games
or other types of entertainment and jukeboxes. This enumeration is
intended to be typical and shall not be construed as exclusive.
Any person, firm, partnership, corporation or association
in whose place of business two or more commercial amusement devices
are placed or kept for operation and used by the public.
Any coin-operated machine from which consumable items are
dispensed when coins or currency are inserted into the machine.
A.
No operator shall make any commercial amusement device
available for public use within the Township of Chesterfield without
first having paid the required fees and then obtaining a license for
the premises and each machine to be used thereon.
B.
Any fraternal, charitable organization or private
business, which is licensed for the sale or consumption of alcoholic
beverages need not apply for a premises license; however, said organization
or business shall not be exempt from the annual license fee as set
forth below for each machine on the premises.
C.
No vending machines shall be operated unless the owner
or operator of said machine shall have first paid the required fee
and displayed the necessary license.
No portion of this chapter shall apply to an
individual operating any type of amusement device or vending machine,
which operation is confined to that individual's private dwelling
and not for profit.
[Amended 3-30-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3]
All license applicants must be at least 18 years
of age and shall submit, in writing, to the Township Clerk of the
Township of Chesterfield, the application form prescribed by the Legalized
Games of Chance Control Commission, which shall include at least the
following information:
A.
The name and address of the applicant and whether
the applicant is an individual, partnership or corporation.
B.
The ages of the applicant, of each partner, if a partnership,
and of each of the principal officers of the corporation, if the applicant
is a corporation.
C.
The prior criminal record of the applicant, if any,
setting forth the date or dates of conviction, the nature of the violation
and the jurisdiction in which the violation occurred. If the applicant
is a partnership, the same information shall be supplied for each
partner, and, if the applicant is a corporation, this information
shall be supplied for each of the principal officers of said corporation.
D.
A full description of the device or devices to be
used by the applicant and made available to the public.
E.
The street number and description of the area where
the machines are to be operated, stating the floor or floors of the
premises and attaching a sketch showing the rooms or areas involved.
Such sketch shall be drawn to scale, with the scale set forth on the
sketch, and shall designate all exits, windows and storage spaces
to be used in the operation.
F.
A sketch showing the location of all structures and
designating the owners of said structures within 200 feet of the proposed
operation. Such sketch shall also designate prominent landmarks within
the two-hundred-foot radius, be drawn to scale, with the scale set
forth on the sketch, and show all streets and proposed areas of off-street
parking to be utilized by the general public for said operation.
A.
The number of automatic amusement devices that may
be located in any one location shall be governed by the physical space
available in any business location for the use of said devices.
B.
The following rules shall govern the location within
all business premises of automatic amusement devices:
(1)
Each device shall be located at least three feet from
the entranceway to the premises in which located and placed so that
it does not obstruct or interfere with the free and unfettered passage
to and from the premises of patrons or users of the premises.
[Amended 3-30-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Subsection
B(2), regarding perimeter zones, which immediately followed this section.
C.
This section of this chapter shall not be construed
to require the removal of any automatic amusement devices which are
in place as of the effective date of this chapter.
[Amended 3-25-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
A.
Premises. An operator shall be charged a fee as set forth in § 110-70, which fee shall be submitted with the application for the operation of the premises. Once an operator's application has been approved by the Township Committee, the Township Clerk shall issue a license, which license shall be prominently displayed on the premises.
B.
Commercial amusement devices. A fee of as set forth in § 110-70 shall be charged for each commercial amusement device located on the premises for any portion of a calendar year beginning January 1 and ending December 31. For each device or block of devices so licensed and for which a fee is paid, the Township Clerk shall issue an annual license, which licenses must be maintained on the premises and made readily available to members of the public and enforcing officials.
[Amended 3-30-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3]
C.
Vending machines. A fee as set forth in § 110-70 shall be paid for the operation of each vending machine located on any premises for any portion of a calendar year beginning January 1 and ending December 31. For each machine for which a fee is paid, the Township Clerk shall issue an annual license, which license must be displayed on said machine, readily visible to the public and any enforcing official. Each such license shall be nontransferable and shall designate thereon an identification number or serial number for the machine for which it has been issued.
[Amended 3-30-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3]
The Township Clerk shall then submit the completed
application and investigation to the Township Committee for review
at its next regular meeting, wherein a determination shall be made
as to whether or not the applicant has complied with all regulations. The
Township Committee shall have and exercise control and supervision
over all amusement games operated or conducted under such licenses
issued pursuant to this chapter, with all of the powers authorized
and granted to it under the Amusement Games Licensing Law, and all
amendments and supplements thereto and regulations promulgated thereunder.
No commercial amusement device as defined herein
shall be located within 1,000 feet of any school premises or 500 feet
of any church premises. This section of this chapter shall not be
construed to require the removal of any commercial amusement device
which is in place as of the effective date of this chapter.
No license issued pursuant to this chapter shall
be transferable from one place to another, from one operator to another
nor from one machine to another.
A.
Premises licenses. An operator shall annually renew
a premises license by filing notice with the Township Clerk between
October 1 and November 1 of any calendar year preceding the calendar
year for which said license is to be renewed. The notice shall be
accompanied by payment of the annual fee.
B.
Commercial amusement device and vending machine license.
The annual fee for each device or machine shall be due and payable
on or before January 10 of the calendar year in which said devices
or machines are operated. A fee for any additional devices or machines
shall be payable when said devices or machines are brought to the
operator's premises, and there shall be no refund or credit given
for any machines removed from the premises during any portion of the
calendar year. The fee shall not apply to machines which replace a
previously licensed machine.
[Amended 3-30-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3]
C.
Objections. Any objections to the renewal of an operator's
license shall be filed with the Township Clerk. All objections shall
be in writing and signed by the individual or entity making the objection.
A hearing on the objection to renewal shall be held upon at least
10 days' notice to the licensee and the person objecting on or before
October 1 in the year immediately preceding the year for which the
operator seeks renewal. Notice of the hearing shall be published at
least once in a newspaper circulating within the Township, no less
than 10 days prior to the hearing. All hearings shall be conducted
by the Township Committee at a special meeting convened solely for
the purpose of hearing objections and deciding the issue of renewal.
If a majority of the Township Committee shall determine that the operator
has violated the terms and provisions of this chapter and that such
violations are likely to continue, then the operator's license shall
not be renewed. In rendering its decision, the Township Committee
shall set forth, in writing, its findings of fact, conclusions and
reasons therefor. A copy of its decision shall be sent to the operator
and person or persons who filed objections within 20 days of the hearing's
conclusion. Any licensee shall be entitled to continue the operation
of the licensed premises pending the decision of the Mayor and Council.
[Amended 8-11-1983 by Ord. No. 1983-3; 3-30-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3]
A.
No operation of any commercial amusement device shall
be permitted between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., except
for premises which are licensed for the sale or consumption of alcoholic
beverages, in which case operation of commercial amusement devices
shall be permitted during the legal hours of sale.
B.
No operator shall permit any person using a commercial
amusement device to operate the same for any gambling purpose prohibited
by law. In the event that it is determined judicially or by admission
of the operator that any commercial amusement device is being operated
as a gambling device, the machine may be confiscated and destroyed
or sold at public auction, and the license of the operator may be
revoked after a hearing.
C.
No operator shall permit the noise level on any licensed
premises to interfere with the reasonable use of any adjacent structures.
D.
Every commercial amusement device and vending machine
required to be licensed under this chapter shall have permanently
affixed thereto an individual identification number or serial number,
which number shall not be transferable from one machine to another.
The identification number and serial number shall both be in a position
such that they may be readily reviewed and compared by members of
the public and enforcing officials.
Any operator violating this chapter shall, upon
conviction, be subject to a fine not exceeding $500 for each violation.
