(March 23) The county is giving up on regulating fortune tellers, pool and billiard halls and theaters.
The county has long had ordinances relating to licensing such operations but, according to a report by San Bernardino County Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Laura Welch dated March 17, “Such regulations are redundant and unnecessary because these businesses are already sufficiently regulated by other state and local laws. Such repeal will also, as a practical matter, have a negligible effect because there is currently only one fortune telling business licensed within the unincorporated area of the county, no business licenses have been issued for theaters since 1948, and no license has been issued for a pool/billiard hall since April 1972.”
The portion of the county code relating to pool and billiard halls was originally adopted in 1947 and was last amended in 1963. The provisions of the county code give significant discretion to the board of supervisors in approving a business license. They also prohibit gambling and the serving of alcohol in pool/billiard halls. “The concerns underlying the adoption of the original ordinance, to the extent they still exist, are adequately addressed by other regulatory authority,” said Welch. “California Alcoholic Beverage Control enforces state liquor licensing laws and gambling is regulated by state law. Pool/billiard halls are also subject to zoning requirements. Defined as “commercial entertainment – indoor,” they are limited to certain commercial land use zoning districts, certain industrial and special use zoning districts, and, with a conditional use permit, the rural living district.”
The portion of the county code relating to theaters requires movie theaters and stage theaters to obtain a business license. The sheriff’s department, public health department’s division of environmental health services, county fire, and land use services department’s building and safety and planning divisions are required to review applications. The ordinance also prohibits the sale and consumption of alcohol. California Alcoholic Beverage Control enforces state law regarding the sale and consumption of alcohol. “Elimination of the business license requirement would not limit these divisions and departments in conducting inspections pursuant to their own authority,” Welch said. “Theaters are also subject to zoning requirements; they may operate with a minor use permit or a conditional use permit in all districts of the commercial land use zoning district except for neighbor commercial and office commercial. There are also specific noise standards and parking standards for theaters.”
The portion of the county code relating to theaters relating to fortune telling requires business licenses for fortune telling. Environmental health services, county fire, building and safety, and planning must review the application. “Elimination of the business license requirement would not limit these divisions and departments in conducting inspections pursuant to their own authority,” Welch said. “Fortune telling businesses are subject to zoning requirements. They are a permitted use in all of the commercial land use zoning districts as psychics or palm readers, except neighborhood commercial and office commercial, and require a site plan permit and, under certain circumstances (large operations), a conditional use permit.”
In conclusion Welch said, “ Repeal of the above-described business license provisions will not undermine the ongoing regulation of pool/billiard halls, theaters, and fortune telling establishments because these businesses are already sufficiently regulated through separate state and local authority.”