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- (TAX ORDINANCE)
ORDINANCE NO. lU94(CCS)
(City Counc11 Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING
, CHAPTER 6B, THE CONDOMINIUM TAX LAW r
OF ARTICLE VI AND SECXroN 9123C AND
9123D OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL
CODE IN ORDER TO DELETE 'ALL REFERENCE
TO SUBDIVISIONS AND PROVIDE A
BUSINESS LICENSE TAX FOR CONDOMINIUMS
AND COOPERATIVES.
The C1ty Councll of the Clty of Santa Monica does
ordain as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 6B of Article XI of the
Santa Mon1ca Mun1clpal Code 1S hereby amended to read as
follows:
"CHAPTER 6B - CONDOMINIUM AND COOPERATIVE
TAX LAW.
Section 6651. CONOOMINIUM TAX. A
condominium bUSlness license tax is
1mposed solely for revenue purposes
upon the development and construct1on
of all condom1n1um projects, whether
of new construction or of conversion
from an eXlsting building, in the sum
of $1,000 per planned salable unit.
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Sect~on 6652. DEFINITIONS. In
~nterpret1ng and adm1n1ster~ng the
prov1s1ons of th1S law, each of the
following words and phrases shall
be construed as here1n set forth unless
it 15 clearly apparent from the context
that a different meaning 1S intended:
(a) CONDOMINIUM PROJECT. Any
condom~n1um proJect or commun1ty apartment
proJect as so def1ned in Sectlon 9102 of
thls Code or cooperat1ve apartment proJect
deflned as follows:
Cooperatlve Apartment Project 1S
the entire parcel of real property,
lncluding all structures thereon, on
WhlCh a cooperative apartment 1S to be
constructed or an existing improved real
property 1S to be converted to a co-
operat1ve apartment.
Cooperatlve Arartment 1S an
1mproved real property owned or leased
by a cooperatlve hous1ng corporatlon or by
any other corporat1on, partnersh1p,
trust, or association if all or sub-
stantially all of the shareholders of
such corporatlon, or partners of such
partnershlp, or beneflciar1es of such
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trust, or members of such associat~on,
recelve a rlght of exclUSlve occupancy
1n a portlon of the apartment house or
apartment hotel, WhlCh right of occupancy
lS transferable only concurrently wlth
the transfer of the stock, partnershlp
lnterest, beneflclal lnterest, or
membershlp held by the person havlng
such rlght of occupancy. For all purposes
of the Santa Monlca Municlpal Code, a
cooperative apartment will be subJect to
the same restrlct1ons, condltlons and
taxes as condomlnlums and cornmun~ty
apartments.
The word "condornlnlum" as used in thlS
Chapter 6B, shall apply equally to a
communlty apartment and cooperatlve apartment.
_(b) CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT.
Any and all acts connected with the
bUllding, erection, constructlon, creatlon,
product1on, conversion lnto, rnarketlng of,
or lmprovement to create any condoffilnluffi,
town house, communlty apartment, cooperatlve
apartment, cOndOmlTI1Um cluster development
or Slmllar structure or forms of ownership.
(c) SALE. The transfer of "tltle"
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to property, or the excluslve rlght to
occupy lt, by the executlon of the deed,
lease, or other lnstrument, by seller or
lessor and unconditional dellvery thereof
to the purchaser or lessee. For the purpose
of thlS Chapter, a sale shall not be deemed
to be completed untll a properly executed
deed, lease, or other lnstrument 1S
delivered to the purchaser or lessee,
except ln a land sale contract where sald
sale shall be complete upon executlon of
the contract. Recordatlon of the deed or
lease, or a memorandum thereof, shall be
prima faCle eVldence of dell very.
Sectlon 6653. CONDOMINIUM LICENSE.
a condomlnlum llcense wlll be lssued by
the Clty Clerk upon the payment of the
requlred fee provlded hereln or upon the
executlon and recordation of a duly
notarlzed agreement slgned by all record
owners of the property contained W1thin
the condomlnlum proJect, in a form approved
by the City Attorney, agreeing to pay the
condomlnium license tax prlor to occupancy.
Sald agreement shall be recorded with the
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County Recorder and shall create a llen
agalnst the property untll It lS pald.
Wlthln five (5) days of payment of said
tax, the Clty Clerk shall flle a release
of sald llen wlth the County Recorder.
SectloD 6653A. DEFERRAL OF CONDOMINIUM
TAX. The condomlD1Uffi buslness llcense tax
may be deferred by the Clty Councll wlth
regard to lndlvldual units in cooperatlve
apartments partlclpatlng ln or asslsted
by federal houslng programs for low and/or
moderate lncorne persons or where other
assurances are presented of the non-proflt,
non-speculatlve nature of the cooperatlve
apartment development, or unlts thereln.
Such assurances may conSlst of, but need
not be limlted to restrictions on equlty
bUlld-up and transfer thereof to promote
houslng for low and/or moderate lncome
persons. The Clty Clerk shall record a
notlce of deferral of taxes and the terms
thereof wlth the County Recorder.
The Clty Councl1 may also defer the
payment of said taxes on cooperatlve
apartment unlts to be occupled by the
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elderly or handlcapped persons under
the same terms, procedures and contlnued
occupancy restrlctlons set forth herelTI
for houslng for low and/or moderate lncome
persons.
Appllcatlons for deferral of the
condo~lnlum buslness llcense tax shall be
flIed wlth the Dlrector of Plannlng upon
forms developed and provided by hlm and
accompanled by such data as may be
prescrlbed by the Dlrector so as to assure
the fullest practicable presentatlon for
the permanent record, and shall be verlfled
by the appllcant as to the correctness of all
facts and lnformatlon contalned thereln.
Upon approval of the Clty Councll, payment
of sald taxes may be deferred so long as
sald unlts are occupled by persons of
low and/or moderate income and ln substantlal
compllance wlth the development proposal and
supportlng documents presented to the Clty
Councll. Should sald occupancy restrlctlons
be removed, the taxes on such unltS shall
become immedlately due and payable and
subject to the llen provlsions of Section 6656
hereln.
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Sectlon 6654. FAILURE TO OBTAIN
LICENSE UNLAWFUL. It lS unlawful to engage
ln, permlt, suffer, or asslst In the development
or constructlon or to occupy any condomlnlum
for WhlCh a license has not been obtalned
as provlded ln thlS chapter.
Sectlon 6655. TAX LIEN AND HEARING. In
the event that a developer falls to obtaln
a condomlnium llcense, the City Clerk shall
notlfy him that he is In Vlolatlon and that
If he does not request a hearlng withln
five (5) days, a 11en will be filed agalnst
the property being developed for the full
amount of the tax. In the event that a
hearlng is demanded, a properly notlced public
hearlng wlll be set withln ten (10) days
of sald request before the City Clerk, at
which time evidence may be presented to
contest the lien. The contestant will have
a rlght to call wltnesses and to cross-
examlne wltnesses of the City. The obllgatlon
to pay the tax and the amount of the tax
owed wl11 be determlned prlor to fillng
sald 11en.
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Sectlon 6656. FILING NOTICE OF LIEN.
The Clty Clerk shall, upon the determlnatlon
that the tax lS due, de11ver to the County
Audltor and record wlth the County Recorder
a notlce of 11en substantlally In the
fol10Wlng form, to W1t,
NOTICE OF LIEN
Pursuant to the authorlty vested In
me by Artlcle VI, Chapter 6B, Sect10n 6655
of the Santa Monlca Mun1clpal Code, I d1d
cause a hearlng to be held on the
day of
, 19
, WhlCh date was
wlth1n ten (10) days after recelvlng request
for sald hearlng and more than flve (5) days
after ~alllng notlce of sald hearlng to
all lnterested partles, to ascertaln why
a tax llen should not be lmposed upon the
herelnafter descrlbed property for non-
payment of a requlred condoffilnlum tax,
of whlch
lS stlll unpald
and oWlngj and havlng determlned at sald
hearlng that sald amount 15 owed to the
Clty of Santa Monlca, sald Clty hereby
does cla1ffi a llen on sald real property
ln the sum of
and the same shall be
a 11en upon sald real property untll the
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sald sum has been pald ln full and
discharged of record, and sald sum shall be
collected ln the same manner and at the same
tlme as are the taxes ror sald Clty on sald
real property and subJect to the same penaltles
and procedures to foreclose.
The real property hereln mentloned
and upon Wh1Ch a 11en lS clalmed 1S that
certaln plece or parcel of land in the Clty
of Santa Monlca, County of Los Angeles,
State of Callforn1a, and particularly
descrlbed as follows, to wit:
(Descrlption of property)
DATED this day of , 19
City Clerk.
Sect10n 6657. FAILURE TO PAY LICENSE
DENIAL OF PER}1ITS. No permlt for
bU1ldlng, constructlon, demolition, gradlng,
condom1n1um constructlon, condomlnlum
conVerSl0n, variance, condltlonal use or
occupancy shall be granted unless the llcense
prov1ded for In thlS Chapter is obtained.
No permlt speclfled hereln shall be granted
for any condom1nium, condoIDlnium conversion,
or condomlnlum proJect wlth2n any R-l zone,
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~nclud~ng, but not by way of Ilffiltatlon,
R-IA zones, and no condom~nlum, condo-
mlnlUm converSlon, or condO~lnlum proJect
shall be constructed wlthlTI any R-l one-faffilly
resldentlal dlstrlct, lncludlng, but not
by way of 11ffiltatlon, R-lA dlstrlcts;
provlded, however, that such perrnlts may be
lssued for propertles comprlsed of a
transltlonal resldentlal lot abuttlng the
multlple reSldentlal dlstrict frontlng upon
Ocean Avenue. Notwlthstandlng other
provlslons of law, no occupancy permlt may
be obtalned under any Clrcumstances untll the
condomlnlum llcense tax has been pald for
any condoID1Dlum converslon, or condomlnlum
proJect ln any zone other than any R-l zone.
A cert1f1cate of occupancy lS requlred for
the occupancy of any condoffilnlUffi, new or
converSlon. Separate occupancy perm1ts may
be granted upon separate payment of the
requlred llcense tax.
Sect10n 6658.
REMEDIES OF THIS CHAPTER --
SUPPLEMENTARY AND CUMULATIVE. The remedles
for fallure to pay th1S tax are supplementary
to any other remedy provlded by law for the
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fallure to pay a bus2ness license tax and
are also cumulatlve both with regard to
each remedy prov~ded by thlS chapter and
each remedy prov~ded by law.
Sect~on 6659. TAX REFUND. In the event
that the condomln~um or condorn~nlum
converS1on development 1S abandoned before
substantlal work ~s begun, the tax pa~d w~ll
be refunded to whomsoever pald sald tax,
upon payee's flIed statement that he has so
abandoned the proJect and upon h~s rellnqulsh-
ment of the lssued condomlnium llcense.
provlded further that ln the event of such
refund, It shall be unlawful for any person to
proceed ln any way wlth further development
of the proJect wlthout flrst applYlng for
and recelvlng the appllcable condomlnium llcense.
Sectlon 6660. RELEASE OF LIEN UPON PAYME~T
OR ABANDONMENT. Upon the payment of the
condoffilnlurn tax or upon abandonment of the
proJect as provlded in Sectlon 6659. the
Clty Clerk shall, wlth1n ten (IO) days
of hlS recelpt of the tax or hlS receipt of
not2ce, rellnqulshed condomlnlum license and
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v€rif1cation of abandonment, file with
the County Recorder and the County Aud1tor
a "Release of Lien.1t
SEC'fION 2.
Sections 9l23C and 912$0 of~
Chapter I of Article 9 of the Santa nonica Municipal Code
are amended to read as follows:
Section 9l23C. CONDOMINIUM CONVERSIONS.
Other sections notw1thstand1ng, no
,
coridom1nium may be converted unless;
1_ A Notice of Intent. To Convert
shall have been f11ed wi~h the C~ty
Planning Department pri?fto the date of
f;J.11ng of the Tentativ~~'~r~ct Map, such
not1ce to include a Comprehensive
BU1ld1ng Cond1tion Report prepared by a
Building Inspect10n Servi~e or S1mllar agency
acceptable to the Building Officer and Fire
Marshal containlng such informat1on as
1S set forth on forms to be provided by
the D1.rector of Planning;, present rent
schedulea, ~noludlng type and length
of tenancy; a llst1ng of the proposed
improvements to be carr~ed and an
est1mated t~e schedule therefor:. the
est1mated pr.lce .range pi- the <;pnvertedc
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units; and, a copy of the proposed
CC & Rts for the completed project.
2. The Clty Planning Department
w1thln Slxty (60) days after the fillng of
a Notlce of Intent to Convert shall have
prepared and delivered to the applicant and
City Plannlng Commission, a ConverSlon
Report, lnc1udlng a staff recommendation for
approval or denla1. However, in no
event shall such recommendatlon for approval
or denla1 be based upon elther present
rent schedules or the estlmated prlce range
of the converted unlts, lncludlng type
and length of tenancy; a listlng of condltlons
or requirements recommended as a baS1S for
approval or denial; and, supportlve reasons
or justiflcatlon for such recommendation.
3. The electrlcal, flre and life
safety systems of the structure, elther are,
or are proposed to be, ln a condltlon of good
repair and malntenance, includlng such
alterations for repa1rs as are requlred by
the BUlldlng Offlcer.
4. The structure presently has, or 1S
intended to have, plumblng and sound
condltlon, lndivldual gas and electrlcal meters,
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section 9123C or lmposed by the Planning
COmmlssion shall have been complied with.
2. All condOmlniUm projects of new
construction or conversion ~ldinq vested
riCjhts 'as a condoI1hnium.-ppej~ct as of~_ -;
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September 29, 19 7 3,-~'mrt!: exempt. -f:rsom
eomplying 'w~th hhe'~~ndbmini~ gevelQpment
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5~andards set forth in Sectlons 9123A and
9l23B above.
SECTION 3.
Any p:t;'oviSions <of "the- Santa Monica
>
Municipal Code, or appendlces thereto, inconsistent herewith,
to the extent of such inconslstencies and no further, are
hereby repealed or modlfled to that extent necessary to effect
the provlsions of thlS ordinance.
SECTION 4. If any word, seetlon, subsectlon,
sentence, clause or phrase of thlS ordinance is for any
reason held to be invalid or unconstltutional by a decision
of any court of competent jurlsdictionl s~~h decision shall
not affect the validity of the remainlng portlons of the
ordinance. The Clty Councl1 hereby declares that it would
have passed thlS ordinance and each and every word, section,
subsectlon, sentence, plause or phrase not declared 1nvalid
or unconst1tutional without regard to whether any portion
of the crdinance would he subsequently declared 1nva11d
or unconstitutlonal.
SECTION 5.
The Clty Counc11 of the Clty of
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Santa Manlea flndsi>and deternunes that the ordinance as
hereby adopted is fundamentally declaratory of existing law
and that the sectlon is adopted ih response to a Superlor
Court prelimlnary det~rminat1on that the, ordinance as originally
adopted in some manner encroaches on powers exclusively
conferred upon the State. The C1ty Council further declares
that ln adoptlng the Condominium Tax Law orlg1nally, 1t had
no inten:t to reg-uJ-ate anythlng. Sa1d law was :~,
adopted purely and absolutely pursuant bathe tax1ng power
Wh1Ch 1t holds as a charter c1ty under the const1tution of
the State of Callfornia. In adopting this law the Cl~y Counc~l
flnds and determines that th1S tax is adopted purely as a
revenue measure, purely for revenue purposes, 1S not a fee,
is not a regulatory measure, but 1S purely a taxing measure.
Any port1on of ~s ordlnance which is deemed In any manner
to be a regulatory measure is severable, inoperative, vOld
and of no effect.
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SECTION 6.
This ord~~an~e, soL~~y d. revenue
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is adopted pursuant to Sectlon 6l}(c) of the Santa
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Monlca Munlcipal Charter~6Ud Section 36937 of-the tallfornia
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Government Code as applied and declared to be appllcable by
thlS ordlnance and Sectlon 401 of the Santa Mon1ca C1ty Charter.
SECTIoN 7 I _
lJ:'he'Maye,Z':'!Jliail isign'and'Efie City
Clerk shall- at.~est to the 'passaqe '=of"'tMs _ordinance'. ~- TRe
eity~'C'lerk snall"catlse the same to be pUblfshed on:Ce "in" the
afficicH newSpaper'" wi thin ~ flf€eeii '-{15} '--days ;':aff.et its -"-
adoption. This ordlnance shall become effective immediately
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upon its adoptlon and shall operate retroactlvely unless
otherwise provided by law to September 29, 1973. This
ordinance shall not be 1nterpreted to be a new tax, but shall
be interpreted to be curative and a clarificatlon of the
operat1on and effect of the or1gLna1 oondominium tax law.
In the event that a court of competent jurisdict10n deter-
mines by f1nal Judgment that thlS ordinance may not be
retroactlvely applied or may be retroactive in some cases
but not 1n others, this ordinance shall be effect1ve on the
earliest legally permlsslble date, and any determinatlon
of partlal invalldity shall not effec~ the operation or
legality of the remalnder of said ordinance.
ADOPTED and APPROVED this 27th day of June
,
1978.
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ATTEST:, ~
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U~ATi "'~~:CAr;Ii--6AA'~A
COUNTY-QF~Lo&~ANGELES
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
)
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55.
I do hereby certlfy that the foregolng ordlnance
was duly and regularly introduced at a meeting of the City
27th day of
June
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, 1978; that thereafter
Councl1 on the
the said ordLnance was duly adopted at a meetlng of the
Clty Council on the 27th day of
June
, 1978; by
the following vote of the Council:
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AYES:
Councilmember: Bambrick, Reed, Scott,
Trives, van den
Steenhoven, Mayor Swink
NOES:
Councilmember: None
ABSENT:
Coun~lIn:ember.; Cohen
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