§ 26. Rooming Houses, Boarding Houses, Residence Hotels, Single Room Occupancy Residences and Buildings with Special Uses.

Every rooming house, boarding house, residence hotel, single room occupancy residence and building with a special use shall conform to the requirements of this section.

(a)

Permit and License. No person shall operate a rooming house, boarding house, residence hotel, apartment hotel or single room occupancy residence unless such person holds a valid and current permit issued by the Police Department and a valid and current business license. The permit and license shall be in the name of the operator for the specific location where the business is to be located. The permit and business license shall at all times be displayed in a conspicuous and public place within the business. The permit and license are for regulatory purposes and shall not be transferable.

(b)

Recommendations for Revocation of Permits. Whenever, upon inspection of any building regulated under this section, the Director finds that conditions or practices exist which are in violation of any provisions of this Code, or of any rule or regulations adopted pursuant hereto, notice shall be given in writing to the operator of such house that the existence of such conditions or practices is unlawful and, unless they are corrected within a reasonable period to be determined by the Director, revocation or the operator's permit will be recommended to the License Review Board of the City. At the end of the designated period, the Director shall reinspect such building and, if it is found that such conditions or practices have not been corrected, the Director may file with the License Review Board a written recommendation that such permit be revoked, stating the reasons therefor. This shall not prevent the Director from taking any other appropriate action against the owner or operator for violations of this Code.

(c)

Flush Water Closets, Lavatory Basins, Bathtubs and Showers. At least one flush water closet, one lavatory basin and one bathtub or shower properly connected to an approved water/sewer system shall be supplied for each eight persons or fraction thereof residing within a rooming house, boarding house, or single-room occupancy residence, including members of the operator's family whenever they share the use of such facilities. Where rooms are let only to males, flush urinals may be substituted for not more than one-half the required number of water closets. All such facilities shall be so located within the dwelling as to be reasonably accessible from a common hall or passageway to all persons sharing such facilities. Every lavatory basin, bathtub or shower shall be supplied with both hot and cold running water at all times.

(d)

Floor Space. Every room occupied for sleeping purposes by one person shall contain at least one hundred (100) square feet of floor space, and every room occupied for sleeping purposes by more than one person shall contain at least fifty (50) square feet of floor space for each additional occupant thereof.

(e)

Means of Egress. Every room unit or boarding unit shall have safe and unobstructed means of egress leading to safe and open space at ground level as required by the laws of this City and State.

(f)

The operator shall be responsible for the sanitary maintenance of the building, including the exterior premises.

(g)

The operator may prepare one or more meals to be served on a regular basis in boarding houses. Community kitchens are expressly prohibited in rooming houses.

(h)

Each community kitchen as defined herein shall have one (1) refrigerator per twelve (12) residents except that one (1) refrigerator per community kitchen shall be required when each residential room contains an individual refrigerator.

(i)

Each residence and single-room occupancy residence shall contain a common area of not less than five (5) square feet per dwelling or dwelling unit with a minimum of 250 square feet. Common areas for this purpose shall include central lobby, recreation, meeting and dining rooms, and community kitchens. Not included are bathrooms, laundries, vending areas and hallways.

(j)

On site management and provisions for check in and check out shall be provided on a 24-hour basis for each single-room occupancy residence, and the operator shall make the premises available at any time to the Police Department and shall make the premises available for inspection by the Bureau of Buildings at any reasonable time.

(Ord. No. 1991-05, § 1, 1-29-91)

Code of ordinances reference— Hotels, motels and rooming houses, § 30-751 et seq.