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HomeMy WebLinkAbout14ORDINANCE NO. 111 AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS PROHIBITING THE POSSES- SION, USE, OR OPERATION OF ANY CLAW MACHINE, PINBALL MACHINE OR MARBLE MACHINE AS DEFINED THEREIN WITHIN THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS ?TILLS, CALIFORNIA, AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF IAS ALTOS HILLS DOES OR- DAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1: USE, OPERATION AND POSSESSION Every person who either as owner, lessee, agent, employee, mortgagor, or otherwise, owns, keeps, possesses, controls, sells, rents, leases, lends or gives away, transports or exposes for sale or lease or offers to sell, rent, lease, lend or give away or who permits the operation of or permits to be placed, maintained, used or kept in any room, space, enclosure, or building owned, leased or occupied by him or under his management or control, whether for use or operation or for storage, bailment, safekeeping or deposit only, any claw machine, pinball or marble machine or device as hereinafter defined, is guilty of a misdemeanor. SECTION 2: PINBALL M CHINE DESCRIBED The pinball machine or marlLe machine, contrivance, appli- ance or mechanical device, the use or operation or possession of which machine is prohibited by Section 1 hereof, is usually, but not exclusively, described as consisting of a table on legs, the table being in the shape of a box with the upper side covered by glass. Inside the box is a surface studded with pins, plugs, buffers, springs and holes and when a ball is released by a plunger upon this surface the ball wends its way from the top to the bottom and durimg its journey may fall into one of the numerous holes, or in its course along the surface of said table may hit many of the springs; pins; or plugs, thereby and by means of electrical or other recordings, giving to the player a score, or other indication of the result of play. The description of the pinball machine or marble machine or other contrivance, appliance, or mechanical device given in this Section does not in any way limit the penal provisions of Section 1 hereof, and is not to be construed as making legal any pinball mach- ine or marble machine or other contrivance, appliance or mechanical device which is prohibited by the general terms of Section 1 hereof, but may not be specifically described in this Section 2. SECTION 3: Confiscation of Machines and Monies Therein. In addition to any other remedy provided by law any claw machine, pinball or marble machine, appliance or mechanical device, as defined in this ordinance, may be seized by any peace officer, and a notice of intention summarily to destroy such machine or de- vice must thereupon be posted in a conspicuous place upon the pre- mises in or upon which such machine or device was seized. Such machine or device shall be held by the officer for thirty (30) days after such posting, and if no action is commenced to recover posses- sion of such machine or device within the thirty (30) days, and no notice of the commencement of such an action is served on the officer, or his superior, the machine or device shall be summarily destroyed by such officer, or if such machine or device is held by the court, in any civil or criminal action, to be in violation of this ordinance the same shall be summarily destroyed by such officer, immediately after the decision of the court has become final. Any and all money seized in or in connection with such machine or device, immediately after such machine or device has been so destroyed, is to be paid into the office of the Clerk of the Town of Los Altos Hills to the credit of the General Fund. It is further expressly provided that any pinball machine or other contrivance or device of a mechanical nature which is operated by the insertion of a coin in a slot constitutes a public nuisance, and the City Attorney of the Town of Los Altos Hills may institute abatement proceedings against the owner or lessee of any building in which such machine is located after this ordinance takes effect. SECTION Li.: EXCEPTIONS It is further expressly provided that this ordinance shall not apply to music machines, weighing machines and machines which vend cigarettes, candy, ice cream and other food and confections, or other commodity upon which there is deposited an exact consider- ation and in which in every case the customer obtains solely that which he purchases, nor to in any way prohibit, effect or restrict the owning, keeping and using for non-commercial purpose in a private residence or building on residential premises any device or rra chine mentioned herein. SECTION I£ any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, said de- cision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this ordinance. This Council hereby declares that it would have passed this m dinance and each section, sentence, clause and phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or some other section, sentence, clause, or phrases be declared unconstitutional or invalid. SECTION 6: Any person convicted of perpetrating a: nuisance as described and prohibited herein shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not less than Twenty -Five Dollars (,,25.00) nor more than Three Hundred Dollars (;)300.00) or by imprisonment by not less than five (5) days nor more than thirty (30) deys in the Santa Clara County Jail or by both such fine and imprisonment. SECTION: 7• This Ordinance shall be posted in three (3) public places in the Town of Los Altos Fills and shall take effect thirty (30) days after adoption. PASSED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills on the 14th day of may , 1956, by the following vote: AYES: Councilmen Bledsoe, Dungan, Powle, Rothwell NOES: None ABSENT: mayor Treat Sayer ATTEST: C ty Clerk - 2 - CERTIFIED - A Tru spy tltr Elalt