A. After approval, denial, suspension or revocation of a license, any affected person may appeal the decision to the City Council in writing within 10 days after the written decision. At the time of filing an appeal, the applicant shall pay the required fee(s) as set forth in the master fee schedule of the City adopted by resolution of the City Council.

B. Consideration of an appeal of the decision shall be at a public hearing, notice of which shall be given pursuant to California Government Code Sections 65091 and 65905 and which hearing shall occur within 30 days of the filing or initiation of the appeal.

C. The City Council action on the appeal of the decision shall be by a majority vote of the members present and upon the conclusion of the de novo public hearing, the City Council shall grant or deny the appeal. The City Council’s decision shall be final and conclusive and shall be rendered in writing within four City business days of the hearing, such written decision to be mailed to the party appealing the Director’s decision.

D. In reaching its decision, the City Council shall not be bound by the formal rules of evidence.

E. Notwithstanding any provisions in this section regarding the occurrence of any action within a specified period of time, the applicant may request additional time beyond that provided for in this section or may request a continuance regarding any decision or consideration by the City of the pending appeal. Extensions of time sought by applicants shall not be considered delay on the part of the City or constitute failure by the City to provide for prompt decisions on applications.

F. Failure of the City Council to render a decision to grant or deny an appeal of a license denial within the time frames established by this section shall be deemed to constitute an approval of the sexually oriented business regulatory license.

G. The time for a court challenge to a decision of the City Council is governed by California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.8.

H. Notice of the City Council’s decision and its findings shall include citation to California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.8.

I. Any applicant or licensee whose license has been denied pursuant to this section shall be afforded prompt judicial review of that decision as provided by California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.8. (Ord. 3315 § 2(9), 2014; Ord. 3241 § 2, 2012).