O1095
-------..,... ~
.-.
.- ITEM BE-3
- >cRGENC~ ORDINANCE)
ORDINANCE NO. l095(CCS)
(City council Series)
~
_1 .
; ~ ... ~ ~ -
. ~ - r C
.:t.~.
~
(~..r~~
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE. CITY OF SANTA MOllICA AMENDING
CHAPTER '6B, "THE CONDoMINiUM TAX. LAW,
OF ARTICLE'~VI .AND SEC'rI-oNS 9l23C AND
91230 OF THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL
CODE IN ORDER TO DELETE ALL REFERENCE
TO SUBDIVISIONS AND PROVIDE A BUSINESS
LICENSE TAX FOR CONDOMINIUMS AND CO-
OPERATIVES AND DECLARING THE PRESENCE
OF AN EMERGENCY.
The C1ty council of the City of Santa Monica does
,
i
ordain as follows:
SECT ION l.
Chapter 6B of Article XI of the Santa
Monica Municipal Code 15 hereby amended to read as follows:
"CHAPTER 6B - CONDOlHNIUM AND COOPERATIVE TAX LAW
Sect10n 665l. CONDOMINIUM TAX. A
condominium bUS1ness license tax is
imposed solely for revenue purposes
upon the development and construct1on
'i-oiot:
, ot _ aU. condomin~'fU proJects # whether
of new construction or of conversion
~
- -.
from an eX1stlng building, 1n the sum
of One Thousand ($1,000) Dollars per
planned salable un1t.
4
"
, .
C~.-27-78
.
Section 6652. DEFINITIONS. In
lnterpretlng and admlnisterlng the
prOV1Slons of thlS law, each of the
following words and phrases shall
be construed as hereln set forth unless
1t 1S clearly apparent from the context
that a d1fferent mean1ng 1S lntended:
(a) CONDOMINIUM PROJECT. Any
condominium project or communlty apartment
proJect as so def1ned in Sect10n 9102 of
this Code or cooperat1ve apartment proJect
def1ned as follows:
Cooperatlve Apartment Project 1S
the ent1re parcel of real property,
includ1ng all structures thereon, on
WhlCh a cooperatlve apartment is to be
constructed or an existing improved real
property 1S to be converted to a co-
operatlve apartment.
Cooperat1ve Apartment 1S an
1mproved real property owned or leased
by a cooperat1ve housing corporat1on or by
any other corporatlon, partnershlp,
trust, or assoclation if all or sub-
stantially all of the shareholders of
such corporatlon, or partners of such
partnership, or beneflciar1es of such
-2-
/
/-'
CAIJ27-78
.
trust, or members of such assoc~at~on,
receive a rlght of excluslve occupancy
in a portlon of the apartment house or
apartment hotel, WhlCh rlght of occupancy
1S transferable only concurrently w1th
the transfer of the stock, partnership
lnterest, beneflClal lnterest, or
membershlp held by the person havlng
such r1ght of occupancy. For all purposes
of the Santa Monlca Municlpal Code, a
cooperative apartment will be subJect to
the same restrictlons, condltlons and
taxes as condomlnlUffis and communlty
apartments.
The word "condomlnium" as used In thlS
Chapter 6B, shall apply equally to a
communlty apartMent and cooperat1ve apartment.
(b) CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT.
Any and all acts connected with the
bUlldlng, erection, construct1on, creatlon,
productlon; conversion into, marketlng of,
or lmprovement to create any condomlnium,
town house, communlty apartment, cooperatlve
apartment; condomlnlum cluster development
or slffillar structure or forms of ownership.
(c) SALE. The transfer of "tltle"
-3-
, .
C.27-78
.
to property, or the excluslve rlght to
occupy lt, by the execution of the deed,
lease, or other lnstrument, by seller or
lessor and uncondltional delivery 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 lS
delivered to the purchaser or lessee,
except In 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
~rlma faCle evidence of dell very.
Sectlon 6653. CONDOMINIUM LICENSE.
a condominlUffi license wlll be lssued by
the Clty Clerk upon the payment of the
requlred fee provlded hereln or upon the
executlon and recordatlon of a duly
notarlzed agreement signed by all record
,
owners of the property contalned wlthln
the condominlum project, in a form approved
by the City Attorney, agreeing to pay the
condomlnlum llcense tax prlor to occupancy.
Sald agreement shall be recorded wlth the
-4-
'. .
CtIj-27-78
.
County Recorder and shall create a llen
aga1nst the property untl1 ~t 1S pa~d.
Wlthln flve (5) days of payment of said
tax, the Clty Clerk shall fl1e a release
of sald 11en wlth the County Recorder.
Sectlon 6653A. DEFERRAL OF CONDOMINIUM
TAX. The condomlnlum buslness 11cense tax
may be deferred by the Clty Councll with
regard to lndlvldual unlts ln cooperatlve
apartments partlclpatlng In or assisted
by federal houslng programs for low and/or
moderate lncome persons or where other
assurances are presented of the non-proflt,
non-speculatlve nature of the cooperatlve
apartment development, or unlts therein.
Such assurances may conslst of, but need
not be llmited to restrictlons on equity
bUlld-up and transfer thereof to promote
houslng for low and/or moderate lncome
persons. The Clty Clerk shall record a
.
notice of deferral of taxes and the terms
thereof with the County Recorder.
The Clty Councll may also defer the
payment of sald taxes on cooperatlve
apartment unlts to be occupied by the
-5-
. ,
CAtlr27-78
.
elderly or handlcapped persons under
the same terms, procedures and contlnued
occupancy restrictlons set forth hereln
for houslng for low and/or moderate lncome
persons.
Appllcations for deferral of the
condomlnlum buslness llcense tax shall be
filed wlth the Dlrector of Plannlng upon
forms developed and provlded by him and
accompanled by such data as may be
prescrlbed by the Dlrector so as to assure
the fullest practlcable 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 City Council, payment
of sald taxes may be deferred so long as
sald unlts are occupied by persons of
low and/or moderate income and in substantlal
cornpllance wlth the development proposal and
supportlng documents presented to the Clty
councll. Should sald occupancy restrictlons
be removed, the taxes on such unlts shall
become lmmedlately due and payable and
subJect to the llen provisions of Section 6656
herein.
-6-
C~27-7B
-
Sect10n 6654. FAILURE TO OBTAIN
LICENSE UNLAWFUL. It ~s unlawful to engage
in, permit, suffer, or ass~st 1n the development
or construct~on or to occupy any condom~n1um
for Wh1Ch a 11cense has not been obtained
as prov1ded 1n th1S chapter.
Sectlon 6655. TAX LIEN AND HEARING. In
the event that a developer falls to obta1TI
a condominium 11cense, the Clty Clerk shall
notlfy him that he 15 1n vlolatlon and that
If he does not request a hear1ng w~thin
flve (5) days, a llen w1ll be filed agalnst
the property be1ng developed for the full
amount of the tax. In the event that a
hearlng 18 demanded, a properly notlced publ1C
hear1ng w1II be set withlh ten (10) days
of sa1d request before the C1ty Clerk, at
Wh1Ch t1me eV1dence may be presented to
contest the 11en. The contestant will have
a r1ght to call witnesses and to cross-
exarnlne w1tnesses of the City. The obllgat1on
to pay the tax and the amount of the tax
owed w1ll be deterrnlned prior to flllng
said 11en.
-7-
C~27-78
-
Sect~on 6656. FILING NOTICE OF LIEN.
The Clty Clerk shall, upon the determlnatlon
that the tax lS due, dellver to the County
Audltor and record wlth the County Recorder
a notlce of llen substantlally ln the
followlng form, to Wlt,
NOTICE OF LIEN
Pursuant to the authority vested ln
me by Artlcle VI, Chapter GB, Sectlon 6655
of the Santa Monlca Municlpal Code, I dld
cause a hearlng to be held on the
day of , 19 , WhlCh date was
wlthln ten (10) days after recelVlng request
for sald hearing and more than five (5) days
after maillng 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 required condomlnlU~ tax,
of which '
is stlll unpald
and oWlng; and havlng determlned at sa~d
hearlng that sald amount is owed to the
Clty of Santa Honlca, sald Clty hereby
does clalM a llen on sald real property
ln the sum of and the same shall be
a lien upon sald real property untll the
-8-
C~~27-78
-
sald sum has been pald In full and
dlscharged of record, and sald sum shall be
collected In the same manner and at the same
tlme as are the taxes for sald Clty on sald
real property and subJect to the same penaltles
and procedures to foreclose.
The real property hereln mentloned
and upon WhlCh a llen 1S clalmed lS that
certaln plece or parcel of land In the C1ty
of Santa Monlca, County of Los Angeles,
State of Callfornla, and partlcularly
descrlbed as follows, to Wlt:
(Descrlption of property)
DATED thlS day of , 19
Clty Clerk.
Section 6657. FAILURE TO PAY LICENSE
DENIAL OF PERMITS. No permit for
buildlng, constructlon, demolltion, gradlng,
condomlnium constructlon, condomlnlUffi
conversion, varlance, condltional use or
occupancy shall be granted unless the llcense
provlded for in thlS Chapter is obtalned.
No permlt specifled hereln shall be granted
for any condoIDlnlum, condominlum conversion,
or condominlum project within any R-l zone,
-9-
r .
C~-27-78
e
lncludlng, but not by way of llIDltatlon,
R-IA zones, and no condoffiln1 Uffi, condo-
ffilnlum conVerSlon, or condomlnluID proJect
shall be constructed wlthln any R-l one-faffilly
resldentlal dlstrlct, lncludlng, but not
by way of Ilffiltatlon, R-IA dlstrlcts;
provlded, however, that such permlts may be
lssued for propertles comprlsed of a
transltlonal resldentlal lot abuttlng the
multlple resldentlal dlstrlct frontlng upon
Ocean Avenue. Notwlthstandlng other
provlslons of law, no occupancy perrnlt may
be obtalned under any Clrcurnstances untl1 the
condomlnlum 11cense tax has been pald for
any condominlum converSlon, or condoffilnlum
proJect ln any zone other than any R-l zone.
A certlflcate of occupancy is requlred for
the occupancy of any condominlum, new or
converSlon. Separate occupancy permlts may
be granted upon separate payment of the
requlred l1cense tax.
Section 6658. REMEDIES OF THIS CHAPTER --
SUPPLEMENTARY AND CUMULATIVE. The remedles
for fallure to pay thlS tax are supplementary
to any other remedy provlded by law for the
-10-
C~-27-78
e
fa1lure to pay a busIness 11cense tax and
are also cumulative both w1th regard to
each remedy provIded by th1S chapter and
each remedy prov1ded by law.
Sect10n 6659. TAX REFUND. In the event
that the condom1nium or condom1nIUffi
conversion development 1S abandoned before
substant1al work is begun, the tax paid w1ll
be refunded to whomsoever pa1d sald tax,
upon payee's flIed statement that he has so
abandoned the proJect and upon h1S rellnqu1sh-
ment of the lssued condom1nium llcense,
prov1ded further that 1n the event of such
refund, 1t shall be unlawful for any person to
proceed 1n any way WIth further development
of the proJect w1thout flrst applYIng for
and receIv1ng the appllcable condom1nIum lIcense.
Sectlon 6660. RELEASE OF LIEN UPON PAYMENT
OR ABANDONMENT. Upon the payment of the
condoffilnlUffi tax or upon abandonment of the
proJect as prov1ded 1n SectIon 6659, the
C1ty Clerk shall, wIth1n ten (10) days
of h1S receIpt of the tax or his receIpt of
not1ce, rellnqu1shed condominIum llcense and
-11-
C'-27-78
e
verlflcat10n of abaJdonment, f1le w1th
the County Recorder and the County Aud1tor
a "Release of L1en."
SECTION 2.
Sectlons 9123C and 9123D of
Chapter I of Art1cle 9 of the Santa Monlca Municlpal Code
are amended to read as follows:
Sectlon 9l23C. CONDOHINIU~'1 CONVERSIO~S.
Other sect10ns notw1thstanding, no
condoffi1nlum may be converted unless:
1. A Not1ce of Intent To Convert
shall have been flIed with the C1ty
Plannlng Department prior to the date of
f1llng of the Tentat1ve Tract Map, such
notlce to include a Comprehens1ve
BUlldlng Cond1t1on Report prepared by a
BUlld1ng Inspect10n Serv1ce or slIDllar agency
acceptable to the BU11ding Officer and F1re
Marshal contalnlng such lnformation as
lS set forth on forms to be prov1ded by
the D1rector of Plannlngi present rent
scheduled, lnQludlng type and length
of tenancy; a llst1ng of the proposed
lmprovements to be carrled and an
estimated time schedule therefori" the
estlffiated prlce range of the converted
-12-
...~... ~
i116-27-78
e
unltsi and, a copy of the proposed
cc & Rls for the completed proJect.
2. The Clty Plannlng Department
w~thln Slxty (60) days after the f~l~ng of
a Notlce of Intent to Convert shall have
prepared and dellvered to the appllcant and
Clty Plannlng CO~~lsslon, a Conversion
Report, lncludlng a staff recommendatlon for
approval or denlal. However, in no
event shall such recowEendatlon for approval
or denlal be based upon elther present
rent schedules or the estlmated prlce range
of the converted unlts, includlng type
asd length of tenancy; a llstlng of condltlons
or requlreillents recommended as a baSls for
approval or denlal; and, supportlve reasons
or justiflcatlon for such recommendatlon.
3. The electrical, flre and life
safety systems of the structure, elther are,
or are proposed to qe, in a cond~tion of good
repalr and maintenanc~, includlng such
.
alterations for repalrs as are requlred by
the BUlldlng Offlcer.
4. The structure presently has, or is
q
~ntended to have, plumb1ng and sound
condltion, ind1vldual gas and electrical meters,
-13-
..~ &, .
C:_-27-78
e
except 1n such cases where lnd1vldual
meterlng 1S clearly lnadvisable or
lmpractlcal, adequate and protected trash
areas, and such other requlrements as may
be lwposed as a condltlon of approval.
5. The present tenants of the bUlldlng
have been glven notlce that poss1ble
converSlon lS under conslderatlon at least
(30) days to the Public Hearlng thereon.
The appllcants shall cert1fy that such notlce
has been glven. Tenants who quallfy
or would quallfy at the t1me of such Notice
under the crlter1a estab11shed for occupancy
by the proposed CC & Rig shall have the rlght
of flrst refusal for a perlod of th1rty (30)
days prlor to the tlme the unlt In WhlCh
they reslde 15 offered to the general publlC
for sale and such tenants shall have the
r1ght to purchase such a unit prior to lts
offer to the general public thereby.
Sect10n 91230. APPLICABILITY OF DEVELOPMENT
STANDARDS.
1. Other sect10ns notw1thstanding,
-'<
no condoffiln1um converS1on shall be approved
untll all the condlt1ons set forth in
-14-
~
.
S~C~lon ~~~~C or ~~pcsed by
the.' -'-'n- ~ ~
-io. .:;..,__ :::1.... ...L.";'J.":j
Comm~ssiort shall have been compl~ed w~th.
2. All C:J:1COr.l::Hl.'11 ?ro] ects of ne'.,
constructlcn or converSlon hold~~g vested
rights as a condomlnlum proJect as of
September 29, 1973, are exe~pt from
COffi?lYlng wlth tbe condomlnlum development
standards See ior~h l~ Sectlons 9123A and
9123B above.
SECTION 3.
Any provlslons of the Sa~ta Monlca
MU~lClpal Code, or appendlces thereto lncons~stent herewlth,
to the extent of such lnconslstencles and no further, are
hereby repealed or modlfied to that extent necessary to effect
the provlslons of thlS ordlnance.
SECTIO~ 4.
If any werd, section, s~bsectlon, sentence,
clause or phrase of thlS ordlnance 1S for any reason held
to be lnvalld or unconstltutlonal by a declslon of any court
of conpetent Jur~sdlctlon, such aeclslon shall not affect
the valldlty of the remalnlng portlons of t~e ordlnance.
The C~ty Councll hereby decla=es that ~t would have passed thlS
ordlnance and each and every word, 5ect~on, subsectlon, sentence,
clause or phrase not declared lnvalld or unconstltut~onal
w~thout regard to whether any portlon of the ordlnance would
be SUbsequently declared lnvalld Or unconstltutlonal.
SECTION 5.
The Clty Councll of the Cl~Y of
Santa ~or.lca f~nds and determl~es that the ordlnance as
hereby adopted 1S fundamentally declaratory of eXlstlng law
and that the sectLon lS ado?ted In response to a Superlor
Court prell~l~ary deter~lnatlon that the condom1nl~m tax law as
origlnally adopted lD some manner encroaches on powers excluslvely
conferred upon the State.
The C1ty Caunell further declares
-15-
'<.:;;iT
. 6-27-78
e
that 1n adopt1ng the Condoffiln1urn Tax Law orig1nally lt had
no intent to regulate anyth1ng. That SalG sect10n was adopted
purely and absolutely pursuant to the tax1ng power Wh1Ch it
holds as a charter Clty under the const~tu~lon of the
State of Callfornla. In adoptlng Sectlon I of thls amended
ordlnanc= the City Council finds and determlnes that it is adopted
purely as a revenue measure, purely for revenue purposes, 15 not a
fee, 15 not a regulatory measure, but is purely a taxlng measure.
Any portlon of said sect10n WhlCh 15 deemed ln any manner
to be a regulatory rneasur~ 15 severable, 1noperatlve, vOld
and of no effect.
-,16-
;;..
-r
I... I-
~
e
.
SECTION 6. ThlS ordlnance 1S declared by the
Clty Council to be necessary as an emergency measure for
preserving the pub11C peace, health or safety for the fol-
lowing reasons:
On June 26, 1978, the Honorable A. R. Early,
Judge of the Superior Court of Los Angeles, in
the case of Pines, a limited partnership v. Clty
of Santa Monica, C 161 735, issued a mlnute order
announcing an lntended decision to hold the Cityrs
condoIDlnium tax law invalld. At the present time
~
in e~cess of two million dollars of potential
revenue may be lost lf the Judgers decls10n stands.
Under the provisions of the recently adopted
Jarvis-Gann property tax llmltation measure, the
revenue of the City has been severely curtal1ed.
The loss of the condomlnium tax revenue, when added
to curtallment of revenues created by the Jarvis-
Gann lnltlative, severely limlts the capacity of the
Clty to provide necessary and essential services
to the public in the form of adequate police, flre,
health, publlC safety, sewer, trash collection and
transportation. The loss of such funding and the
correlative loss of essential services will gravely
Jeopardize public peace, health and safety.
SECTION 7. The Mayor shall sign and the Clty Clerk
shall attest to the passage of this ordinance. The City Clerk
shall cause the same to be published once in the offlclal news-
paper w1thin fifteen (15) days after its adoption. Th1S ordinance
-17-
4.
.
.
shall become effectlve
immediately upon lts adoptlon and shall
operate retroactively unless otherwise provided by law to September
29, 1973. ThlS ordinance shall not be interpreted to be a new
tax, but shall be interpreted to be curative and a clarification
of the operatlon and effect of the original condominlum tax law.
In the event that"a-QOurt of competent jurisdiction determines
by flnal judgment that this ordinance may not be retroactively
applied or may be retroactively applied in some cases but not
others, this ordinance shall be effective on the earliest
legally permissible date, and any determination of partlal
lnvalldity shall not affect the operation or legality of the
remalnder of said ordinance.
ADOPTED a~d APPROVED th~s, 27th
day of June
1978.
~U)~l~J~
MAYOR '
ATTEST:
~. -
I j '--
~V~~ ~~6:-
cr1 GVERK - ,,' -~-
~TE - t( ~ALI~miJ:~ --~. )
COUNTY OF LQS M.GELES ) S5.
CITY OF SANTA~MONICA )
I do hereby certlfy that the foregoing ordinance
was duly and regularly introduced at a meeting of the City
Council on the 27th day of
June
, 1978; that
-18-
-~- -
~
r~ ~'?
'~y:.
1~
A
..
.
thereafter the said ord1nance was duly adopted at a meeting of
the City Council on the 27th day of
June
I 1978; by
the following vote of the Councll:
AYES:
CounCl1members: Bambrick, Reed, Scott,
Trives, van den
Steenhoven, Mayor Swink
NOES:
Councilmembers: None
ABSENT:
Councilmembers:~ohen
..-- - - -- -- /"-
........ - - '- -
(~,/~ j"- --:' ~ ~~-~'- 'f7. .
~ .-~ ~
-' " ~
)Crt ~-=,- -;
// --:-- , "
~
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
-19-