§ 5.64.110. Public convenience and necessity.

No permit to operate a taxicab in the City shall be granted unless there are not already issued and outstanding a number of permits equal to that for which the City Council shall declare that there exists public convenience and necessity. The City Administrator shall hold public hearings before November 1, 1998 on the number of taxicab permits for which public convenience and necessities exists, and hold hearings on each successive second anniversary thereafter. The City Administrator shall report the findings of the public hearing to the City Council. The City Council shall determine whether to accept or reject the recommendation of the City Administrator.

Taxicab vehicle permit applications for permits in addition to those previously authorized by the City Council, shall be accepted following a declaration of public convenience and necessity by the City Council. All taxi vehicle permit applications, including those for previously authorized permits held by the City Administrator, shall be processed and granted or denied on the basis of criteria established by a request for proposals. Under no circumstances shall the number of vehicle permits issued per company or owner, including relatives to the tertiary degree of a company or owner, exceed 30 percent of the total number of permits authorized. However, this section shall not require the surrender of any permits already issued. Each taxicab vehicle permit application shall remain in effect only until the next scheduled hearing on public convenience and necessity, and shall then expire. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit or interfere in any way with permits issued and outstanding on the effective date of this provision.

(Ord. No. 13161, § 4, 5-21-2013)