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City Council Meeting 7-28-81
STAFF REPORT
T0: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Attorney
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JUL 2 8 1981
Santa Monica, California
SUBJECT: Ordinance Establishing Supplemental Procedures
for Instituting Residential Street Lighting
Improvements
The City Council has directed the City Attorney to
draft an ordinance to facilitate residential street lighting
improvements in tenant neighborhoods.
Because of limited fiscal resources, the City of Santa
Monica is unable to provide for residential street lighting
improvements from the general fund. Instead, residential
street lighting is provided through proceedings under the
Improvement Act of 1911. Under the Act, the costs of street
lighting improvements are financed by assessments against
real property.
Under the California Constitution (article XVI, Section
19), the City Council must terminate proceedings under the
Improvment Act of 1911 if a majority of property owners to be
assessed protest. This majority protest may be overruled
only if four-fifths of the members of the City Council
determine that public necessity and convenience require the
improvement.
JUL 2 8 ~gg~
Some members of the City Council have indicated that
they will not vote to overrule a majority protest unless the
Santa Monica Rent Control Board passes through a portion of
the assessment costs to the tenants. Through preliminary
discussions with the Rent Control Administration, it is
likely that the Santa Monica Rent Control Board will be
inclined to pass through assessment costs where a majority of
tenants request the improvement.
The accompanying ordinance permits tenants to petition
for institution of street lighting improvement proceedings
under the Improvement Act of 1911. The ordinance provides
that if the tenants of a majority of rental units in any-area
petition for street lighting improvement, the City Council
will institute proceedings under the Improvement Act of 1911.
The petition will serve as evidence of the tenants' desire
for street lighting and their willingness to incur a portion
of the cost of the street lighting.
Before the first proceedings are instituted under this
new ordinance it is likely that the Santa Monica Rent Control
Board will establish its policy on rent increases in such
assessment areas.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying
ordinance be introduced for first reading.
PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, City Attorney
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Council Meeting 7-28-81 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NO.
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA ESTABLISHING
SUPPLEMENTAL PROCEDURES FOR INSTITUTING
RESIDENTIAL STREET LIGHTING IMPROVEMENTS
WHEREAS, there exists in many multifamily neighborhoods
in the City of Santa Monica the need for street lighting; and
WHEREAS, tenants in these neighborhoods desire the City
Council of the City of Santa Monica to provide street light-
ing in these neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica is unable to provide
street lighting without utilizing the procedures of the
Improvement Act of 1911 which finances the costs of street
lighting improvement through assessments against real pro-
perty benefited by the assessments; and
WHEREAS, the California Constitution provides that if a
majority of property owners in any assessment area protest
the institution of proceedings under the Improvement Act of
1911 such proceedings must terminate unless upon a
four-fifths vote the City Council of the City of Santa Monica
determines that public necessity and convenience require the
continuation of such proceedings; and
WHEREAS, a majority of property owners in multifamily
neighborhoods are likely to protest the institution of such
proceedings because they may not live in the assessment area
to be benefited or because they believe that provisions of
the Santa Monica Rent Control Charter Amendment will preclude
sharing the costs of such assessment with tenants; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Santa Monica
desires to establish supplemental procedures for instituting
street lighting improvements under the Improvement Act of
1911 that will evidence the support of tenants for such
proceedings and the willingness of such tenants to share part
of the costs of street lighting with their landlords; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Santa Monica
urges the Santa Monica Rent Control Board to adopt a general
rent adjustment that will permit landlords to pass on to
tenants part of the costs of such street lighting assess-
ments in assessment areas instituted under this ordinance,
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 7160 is hereby added to the Santa
Monica Municipal Code to read as follows:
Section 7160. Institution of
Residential Street Lighting Improve-
ment Proceedings by Tenant Petition.
Whenever the tenants of a majority of
rental units in any area petition the
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City Council to institute proceedings
for residential street lighting
improvement, the City Council shall
institute proceedings under the
Improvement Act of 1911 to provide
residential street lighting to such
area. The petition shall be on the
form approved by the Director of
General Services.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions
of this ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and
no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent
necessary to affect the provisions of this ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence,
clause, or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to
be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance. The
City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this
ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence,
clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional
without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would
be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk
shall attest to the passage of this ordinance. The City
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Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. The
ordinance shall become effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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ROBERT M. MYERS
City Attorney
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