HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 1987 ORDINANCE NO. 1987.
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE AEGUL,'PION i.ND
LICENSING OF PUBLIC DANCES, PUBLIC DANCE HaLLS
AND MINCING SCIIOOLS; PROVIDING FOR THE .ZVOCA-
TION OF SAID LIC iSE; PLI.OVIDING A P:;NALTY; RE-
PEALING ALL OTHER ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT H,RE-
VETH; AND DECLARING AN ,ZRGENCY.
BE IT ORDAINIM BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY or ,TAT WORTH, T sJi,S:
SECTION 1.
That this ordinance shall be known as the dance hall ordinance, and the
following terns when used herein are defined as follows:
(a) The term "Public dance" as used in this ordinance shall be
taken to mean any dance to which admission can be had by paying
a fee or by the purchase, possession or presentation of a ticket
or token, or in which a charge is made for checking wearing ap-
parel or parcels, or any other dance in trhich the public generally
may gain admission with the payment of a fee directly or indirectly
or without payment of a fee.
(b) "A public dance hall" shall be taken to mean any roaa, space
or building where a public dance is held.
(c) The term "private dance" shall mean and include any dance
given at any home or any dance given or held by a bona fide club,
admission to which is granted to members and their invited guests
and from which the general public is excluded.
(d) The term "cabaret or night club or tavern" as used in this
ordinance shall mean any space, structure, building or resort
open to the public, inclosed or uninclosed, where food or beer or
wine or other beverage is served on the premises, including
restaurants and cafes, and where patrons are provided with a
space for dancing or are permitted to dance.
(e) The term "dancing school" as used in this ordinance shall
be taken to mean any room, space or academy in which classes
in dancing are held and instruction in dancing is given for
hire.
(f) The term "club" as used in this ordinance shall be taken
to mean any bona fide non-profit society, association or
persons or corporation organized for civic, fraternal, social
or charitable purposes, or any purpose, not a business or
commercial purpose, which oims, rents or operates a place or
building for the accommodation of its members when such
place or premises or any part thereof is used for dancing by
members of the club or is rented to others for such purposes.
(g) The term 'operator" as used herein shall be taken to mean
the person, firm, association, partnership or corporation
which conducts, manages, maintains or controls, either directly
or indirectly, any dance hall as defined and :iesignated herein.
Si;CTION 2.
From and after the passage of this ordinance, it shall be unlawful to hold
or conduct any public dance or dancing school as herein defined irithin the limits
of the City of Fort Worth unless the dance hall where same may be held shall first
have been licensed for such purpose. Said license shall be issued by the Assessor
and Collector of Taxes when the conditions of this ordinance have been complied
with and �.ihen said application has been ap;)roved by the Chief of Police or the
City Council of the City of Fort lbrth.
SECTION 3.
The following classifications and license fees for each class are set out:
(a) All cabarets, night clubs and t;iverns as herein defined
are made Class "A" dance halls, and the license fee shall be
,45.00 per year.
(b) All other dance halls fall under Class 113", the license
fee for which shall be A5.00 per year, save and except,
(c) Class "C" dance hall shall be those described in
Section 1, subsection "e" above, the license fee for which
shall be .01.00 per year.
:all licenses issued hereunder shall run for the calendar year and in the
event they are issued during the year they shall be,%r the proportionate part of
the annual fee as the part of the year remaining, and there shall be no refund of
any license fee paid hereunder for any cause whatsoever.
Licenses issued shall be deemed personal to the licensee and shall not be
assignable, provided, however, that licenses issued hereunder may be transferred
from one location or place of business to another location after the Chief of
Police shall have been given five (5) days' notice and shall have approved of
such change,
SECTION 4.
Any person, firm, association, partnership or corporation desiring a license
to operate a dance hall as herein defined shall file with the Chief of Police a
sworn written application for such license, which application shall state (a) the
location by street and number of the place, space, building, room or floor and the
size thereof which is porposed to be used for such purpose, and the name and ad-
dress of the applicant; (b) if the applicant is an individual, that he is a bona
fide resident of the City of Fort Worth and the State of Texas, and the length
of such residence therein, that he has not been convicted of a felony or misde-
meanor, and, if so, the nature of the offense, and in this connection he shall
submit to having his finger prints taken if the Chief of Police so specifies;
(c) if a firm, association or partnership all of the information prescribed in
paragraph (b) of this section as to each invididual composing the firm, associ-
ation or partnership; (d) if a corporation, that applicant is organized and
chartered under the laws of Texas, or if a foreign corporation, that such corpor-
ation has complied with the laws of thr:.t st,te, and the s�.me information t.rith
reference to the operator or person in charge of said dance hall shall be given
as prescirbed in paragraph (b) of this section; in addition thereto a list of
,,he officers, directors and stockholders of said corporation shr:l.l be riven; (e)
previous occupation or employment of the applicant for a pariod of five (5) years
next preceding the filing of his application; (f) in the case of applications
for Class "C" licenses, such application shall give the names and addresses of
each instructor in the school of
dancing; (g) whether a hotel, rooming house or lodging house is conducted in any
part of the premises for which a license is sought, and if so, the number of rooms
contained in such hotel, rooming house or lodging house, provided, however, that
nothing contained herein will prevent the issuance of a license to any -3ublic
dance hall having connected with it any sleeping rooms which are not open to or
let to the patrrns of F.ach dance hall or to the public; (h) the information riven
in such application •,s for the purpose of determining whether or not the appli-
cant is a fit and groper person to operate a dance hall, and it shall be unlawful
to misrepresent the kind and character of dance hall to be operated or any other
fact or statement made in said application, and any misrepresentation or any ap-
plicant for the purpose of avoiding the provisions of this ordinance shall in
addition to the other penalties prescribed by law be cause for the revocation of
'Uhe license in the mode and manner hereinafter provided; (i) the license herein
3rovided for shall state on its face to whom it is issued, the date it will ex-
Are, the address and location of such dance hall whether the license is issued
for Class "A", "B", or "C" dance hall; it shall be signed and sealed by the
Assessor and Collector of Taxes and posted by the licensee in a conspicuous place
-it or near the entrance and in such a place and position that it may be easily
read at any time of day or night; (j) no license to operate a Class "A" dance hall
�n any section of the city where private residences are located shall be granted,
,xcept after notice has been given to all residents in the block where the pro-
)used dance hall is to be located and an oplortunity has been given said residents
-o protest in writing the issuance of said license, and if any such residents shall
'ile a protest in writing, then it shall be grounds within the discretion of the
'hief of Police to refuse the issue:nce of said license for said locution; (k)
,he granting of any license under this ordinance shall in no event be construed as
he granting or conferring of any vested right to the licensee but shall be subject
to revocation and cancellation as provided herein; and (1) no license shall be
!ranted hereunder unless it shall appear upon investigation by the Chief of Police
ind Building Inspector that the premises desired to be used for the purpose of con-
iucting a dance hall comply with all ordinances of the City of Fort Tiorth and laws
f the State of Texas.
SECTION 5.
In the event the Chief of Police shall refuse to grant a license to any ap-
licant hereunder, said applicant shall have the right to appeal within ten (10)
I-ys after such refusal, in writing, to the City Council of the City of Fort ''orth
'equesting a hearing by said Council upon the application, and in the event of
uch appeal a hearing shall be had before the Council within thirty (30) days
thereeter to determine the correctness of the action of the Chief of Police on
said application, and whatever action shall be taken by the City Council on such
appeal shall be final.
SECTION 6,
In addition to the above provisions of this ordinance, dance halls shall be
governed by the following regulations:
(a) All Class "A" and Class "B" dance halls shall close and
not operate between the hours of 2:00 A.K. and 10:00 A.H., except
on Saturday nights iahen the hour of closing shall be 3:00 A.D.,
provided, however, that the Chief of Police may grant special
permits in writing to licensees to operate until a later hour
upon special occasions. Applicantions for such special permits
shall be made not les3 than forty-eight (48) hours prior there-
to.
(b) No person under the age of seventeen (17) years shall
be permitted to attend or take part in the public dance after
9:00 P.M., unless such minor is accompanied by parent or
guardian, and it shall be unlawful for any person to falsely
represent himself to be either parent or guardian of such
minor for the purpose of gaining his admittance to said dance
hall,
(c) It shall be unlawful for the operator of a dance hall
to permit any known prostitute, male or female procurer or
vagrant to be present at any public dance or dance hall.
(d) No dance hall shall have in any imy connected with
it any room or rooms equipped or fitted in any way as sleeping
rooms which are open to or let to the patrons of such dance
halls or to the public with or without a-charge being made
therefor, except bona fide hotels.
(e) Each dance hall shall be sup-ilied lai.th separate and
convenient toilet facilities for each sex.
(f) Free access and entrance into all dance halls shall
st all times be accorded and granted to the police officers
of the City of Fort Worth when on official duty.
(g) No operator or licensee of any dance hall hereunder
shall permit any person or persons to perform any indecent,
or immodest dance upon the premises.
(h) Nothing herein shall be construed as authorizing the
issuance of a license under any circumstances for the conduct
of any dance hall commonly known as "taxi dance halls," where-
in there are kept and provided male or female dancing partners
for male or female guests who pay by the dance for the privi-
lege of dancing with said partners.
(i) No employee of any licensee or anyone employed on the
premises, shall be permitted to dance with patrons of said
dance hall.
SECTION 7.
If any licensee hereunder shall violate any of the terms of this ordinance
or other ordinances of the City of Fort Worth or laws of the State of Texas, said
Chief of Police may at any time give notice in writing to said licensee or op-
erator of said dance hall of a hearing to be held in the City Hall of the City of
Fort Worth for the purpose of 6ancelling said license, and upon said hearing said
Chief of Police may cancel said license for any of the above causes, which action
shall become final at the end of ten (10) days from the expiration of said hearing.
Said licensee shall have the right of appeal to the City Council of the City of
Fort Lbrth within said ten (10) day period from and after the e.-:;:)ira.tion of said
hearing, and if such appeal is taken, then the City Council of the City of Fort
lbrth shall conduct a hearing on said c,ancelln.tion and may cancel said license
for any of the causes so shown, winch action shall become final.
SECTION 8,
That it shall be unlawful for any person to dance at any public dance hall
except a licensed'publ.ic dance hall hereunder. This, however, shall not apply
to any entertainer performing any sort of entertainment at a public gathering.
SECTION 9,
The provisions of this ordinance shall not apply to private clubs, societies,
persons or corporations where the attendance is restricted to the members of the
society, club or corporation and their invited guests, and from which the general
public is excluded.
SECTIOI4 10.
Any person, association or corporation who shall violate any provisions of
this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction
be fined not less than Five Dollars C4.00) nor more than Two riundred Dollars
(0200.00), and each day's action shall constitute a separate offense.
SECTION 11.
If any section or provision of this ordiru nce shall be declared invalid,
then such action shall. not affect the remaining sections or portions of this or—
dinance.
SECTION 12.
All ordinances or pirts of ordinances in conflict herewith are expressly re-
pealed.
5ZCTION 13.
The fact that there are now no adequate regulations of public dance halls in
the City of Fort "orth creates an emergency concerning the public peace, health
and safety, and the terms of this ordinance shall be in effect immediately after
its passage and publication required by law.
APPROVED AS TO FOR1. AND
L.G iLITY
Zs/ it, B. Y6unia
Attorney
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ORDINANCE
No.
Title
Date
Filed _ day of
City Secretary
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