Roselle staff propose new business, massage and occupancy licensing rules; fees consolidated

Roselle development staff on May 11 presented a package of proposed ordinance changes that would turn the village—usiness registration program into a formal licensing system, tighten rules for massage establishments and move occupancy requirements into the building code.

The presentation, given by Development Engineering Services Director Kristen Male, said the licensing changes would set clear standards for issuing, renewing, suspending and revoking business licenses and require an occupancy permit and life‑safety inspection before a new business could open. "This has been an effort that staff has been working on for about a year, year and a half now," Male said, adding the changes are intended to "clarify when a business license is required" and to give staff tools to address noncompliance.

Male described a separate set of updates for massage establishments that would expand background checks and anti‑trafficking protections. The draft would require fingerprinting every three years for relevant licensees, require owners to maintain rosters and manager lists for police spot checks, and allow code enforcement and police to close problem locations. "This tightens up the whole massage ordinance ... [it] will actually help us keep any of these CD businesses out of town," a police representative said, describing prior enforcement gaps.

The staff packet would also move certificate‑of‑occupancy rules from the zoning chapter into the building code, standardize temporary occupancy permit provisions and require life‑safety inspections for nonresidential businesses before issuance of a business license. Staff proposed a phased in approach to bring existing nonresidential businesses into full compliance over a three‑year period, prioritizing higher‑risk business types and allowing case‑by‑case remediation timelines after inspection.

On fees, Male told trustees that the proposal does not change current fee amounts; instead, it consolidates disparate fee listings into Chapter 23 so the village can evaluate cost recovery and comparability to neighboring municipalities at midyear. "We plan to evaluate fees for discussion around midyear budget," she said.

Trustees asked operational and timeline questions. Trustee Tjo suggested staff report historical ticketing numbers for sidewalk violations; Male said staff could provide that data. Trustee Lanisa pressed staff to avoid making Roselle comparatively harder for businesses to operate and supported benchmarking fee levels against peer communities. "We do whatever we can to help them," a staff member said regarding efforts to bring businesses into compliance.

Next steps: because the occupancy provisions are currently in the zoning code, staff will take those sections to the Planning and Zoning Commission at its June 2 meeting before returning the ordinances to the village board at one of the June meetings for potential adoption. Staff also plans outreach and training for businesses and an educational mailer to water customers and licensees.

Authorities referenced in the presentation included multiple chapters of the village code (chapters on fees, traffic and licensing) and the village—ode home‑rule authority; specific state statutes were not cited in the presentation.