AGENDA DATE: 2/20/2019
TITLE:
Title
Ordinance to Amend County Code Chapter 8, Licenses
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Public hearing to consider the adoption of an ordinance to amend County Code Chapter 8, Licenses
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Letteri, Kamptner, Herrick, Lamb
PRESENTER (S): Andy Herrick
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The Board has directed the County Attorney's Office to conduct a comprehensive review and recodification of the County Code. Chapter 8 of the County Code governs the County business license requirement, tax and fees. It outlines who is required to obtain a business license, what license tax or fee applies to various businesses, and how the Finance Director is to administer and enforce business license requirements.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Quality Government Operations: Ensure County government's capacity to provide high quality service that achieves community priorities.
DISCUSSION: The process of recodifying the County Code includes making formatting, style, organizational, and substantive changes. These changes are being addressed at the chapter level before the Board considers adopting a complete, recodified County Code.
State law controls the specific provisions that are allowed in local business license ordinances. Chapter 37 of Title 58.1 of the Virginia Code outlines specific provisions that local ordinances must or must not contain. Specifically, Virginia Code ? 58.1-3703.1 contains a lengthy uniform ordinance, and requires that every local ordinance "include provisions substantially similar" to it. Because the County's business license ordinance (originally adopted in 1973) pre-dates the state's uniform ordinance (enacted in 1996), the County's existing ordinance is substantially similar, but not identical, to the state's uniform ordinance.
Therefore, two overriding goals of the Chapter 8 recodification are:
1. To more closely conform ...
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