The attached ordinance presents several amendments to the Municipal Code, primarily cleaning things up. The proposed changes and the reason for them are:
Section 7-1102: The Police Department provides DVDs of pictures instead of film and this change accommodates that change.
Section 8-306(d): The word “intrastate” appears to have been inadvertently left out of this section so it was added in.
Section 9-107: A recent Illinois court decision affirmed a municipality’s right to require a business owner to pay all debts owed to the municipality prior to being issued a business license. This new Code language sets forth such a requirement.
Section 11-201: The State of Illinois recently repealed the State Food Sanitation Code, which is the code adopted by the Village, with a plan to replace it with the Federal Sanitation Code. The process of moving to the federal code will take some time. Therefore, until the Village is ready to move to the federal code, it is recommended that the Village continue to use the State Code as it existed prior to its repeal. This section adopts that Code.
Sections 14-207 through 210: In June, a court determined that the Village’s hotel tax provisions did not apply to online travel companies. The court did find language from another municipality that did apply to online travel companies. These sections have been modified to match what the court found would make the hotel tax applicable to online travel companies.
Section 20-620: This amendment is designed to make the requirement for notice by the Village to property owners with diseased trees more practical. The publication notice has been removed and we have added the ability to deliver using a service that provides proof of delivery as an alternative to certified mail.
Ordinance Sections Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, and Twelve: With one exception, these sections do nothing other than remove the fees from Chapters 28 and 30 and put them in Chapter 7 with the rest of the fees. The exception is Section Eight, which codifies the recent practice of only charging a permit fee upon initial application for Outdoor Eating Cafes on Private Property.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Village Board adopt the attached ordinance amending multiple sections of the Arlington Heights Municipal Code.