City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: APRIL 7, 2026 FROM: POLICE DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: ADOPT AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND TITLES 1, 5, 6 AND 9 OF THE RIVERSIDE MUNICIPAL CODE TO INCLUDE A STANDARDIZED BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE FOR BUSINESSES THAT REQUIRE A BACKGROUND AS PART OF THE BUSINESS PERMIT PROCESS ISSUE:
Adopt an ordinance amending Titles 1, 5, 6 and 9 of the Riverside Municipal Code to include a standardized background investigation procedure for businesses that require a background as part of the business permit process.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council adopt an ordinance to amend Titles 1, 5, 6 and 9 of the Riverside Municipal Code to include a standardized background investigation procedure for businesses that require a background as part of the business permit process.
INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE:
On March 24, 2026, the City Council introduced an ordinance to amend Titles 1, 5, 6 and 9 of the Riverside Municipal Code to include a standardized background investigation procedure for businesses that require a background as part of the business permit process. The motion carried unanimously with Councilmember Falcone absent.
BACKGROUND:
The Riverside Police Department is responsible for conducting background checks and issuing business permits for eleven types of businesses in the City of Riverside. Those businesses are (1) poolrooms; (2) vehicles for hire, taxicabs and animal drawn vehicles; (3) massage parlors; (4) cannabis dispensaries; (5) entertainment, (6) junk dealers and scrap metal recyclers; (7) pawn shops and secondhand dealers; (8) firearm dealers; (9) tobacco retail establishments; (10) adult oriented businesses; and (11) fortunetelling and occult art.
The Riverside Municipal Code (RMC) currently provides several different requirements for conducting background investigations on business owners and their employees, depending on the business types. When reviewing the requirements of all the businesses addressed in the RMC, it was apparent that most of the requirements applied to all businesses regardless of the business type, even though some of the requirements were not specifically listed under the specific RMC sections for each business type. Also, a few business types had additional requirements depending on the nature of the business. This occurred because the codes for each business type were written into the RMC at different times and each code included a specific background investigation process for the specific business type for which it was written.
The proposed amendments to the RMC would amend the background investigation procedure for the eleven current RMC chapters that address business permit procedures and add one new section, 1.17.122 – Background check procedure for Riverside Police Department review of business permit applications. This new section would include the uniform background investigation procedure that would apply to all businesses and their permits when they are subject to an RPD background review. Any additional requirements already in existence, specific to a type of business, would remain.
DISCUSSION
The Police Department is proposing to add RMC Section 1.17.122 – Background check procedure for Riverside Police Department review of business permit application. The proposed section will include a standardized background check procedure that would encompass all businesses requiring a background check investigation by the Riverside Police Department and provides a more consistent process for all background checks regardless of the business type.
There are eleven business permit types covered under eleven chapters in the RMC that would be amended to include a reference to RMC Section 1.17.122 to create a more standardized background check procedure. Any additional requirements already in existence, specific to a type of business, would remain.
The RMC chapters that will have the background check language added/modified are listed below:
5.28 Poolrooms
5.40 Vehicles for Hire, Taxicabs, and Animal-Drawn Vehicles
5.52 Massage
5.77 Cannabis Business Activities
5.80 Entertainment Permit
5.85 Junk Dealers and Scrap Metal Recyclers
5.90 Pawnshops and Secondhand Dealers
5.95 Firearm Dealer License
6.24 Permitting of Tobacco Retail Establishments
9.40 Adult-Oriented Businesses
9.42 Fortunetelling and Occult Arts
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the proposed ordinance.
Prepared by: Brandi Becker, Police Administrator
Approved as to form: Rebecca McKee-Reimbold, Interim City Attorney Attachment: Ordinance Final
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