READ AND PASSED

The enacted ordinance creates rules holding business owners and operators accountable for repeated nuisance behavior occurring inside a business or on the sidewalk or street next to it, including illegal drug activity, gambling, loitering, public urination, littering, and other listed violations. A business may be designated a chronic nuisance after violations on at least three days within 60 days or seven days within 12 months, after which the owner may be required to take steps to address the behavior and could face an order to cease operations, with opportunities for administrative review and appeal.

Amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Regulation of Businesses, Trades and Professions," by creating a new Chapter to hold business owners responsible for nuisance behavior occurring on the business premises and within the immediate vicinity of the business, to provide for enforcement and penalties, and to provide for business owner meetings with Registered Community Organizations with respect to certain appeals, all under certain terms and conditions.