Alameda Municipal Code § 6-7 Regulations for Alameda Business Improvement Area

This section is adopted pursuant to the "Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1979", being Section 36500 et seq. of the California Streets and Highways Code, and Resolution of Intention No. 11684, adopted by the City Council on March 21, 1989, and Titled "Resolution Declaring Intention to Establish a Business Improvement Area In the Park Street and Webster Street Commercial Areas, to Provide for the Levying of Charges on Specified Businesses Conducted Within Such Areas, Classifying Various Businesses for Such Purposes, Describing the Boundaries of the Proposed Area, the Authorized Uses to which the Proposed Revenues Shall Be Put, the Rate of Such Charges, Fixing the Date, Time and Place of a Hearing to be Held by the City Council to Consider the Establishment of Such Area, and Directing the Giving of Notice of Such Hearing". Such resolution was published and mailed as provided by law, and hearings thereon were held by the City Council at its regular meeting on April 4, 1989, at which time all persons desiring to be heard, and all objections made or filed, were fully heard. The City Council duly concluded the hearing on April 4, 1989. By introducing this section, the Council hereby determines that protests objecting to the formation of the Area have not been made in writing by the businesses in the proposed area which will pay a majority of the charges proposed to be imposed within the area and that such protests are overruled and denied. The City Council hereby finds that the businesses and improvement area, in the opinion of the City Council, will be benefitted by the expenditure of the funds raised by the charges proposed to be levied.

(Ord. No. 2435 N.S. 1)

There is hereby established a business improvement area which shall be known as the "Alameda Business Improvement Area of the City of Alameda", herein referred to as the "Area" for brevity and convenience. The description of the Area is as follows:

a. All of the Park Street Business Area included by reference on the map and list of inclusive addresses, as they may change from time to time as long as the addresses are within the geographic boundary of the map, included in this section as Exhibit A and C,* respectively.

b. All of the Webster Street Business Area included by reference on the map and list of inclusive addresses, as they may change from time to time as long as the addresses are within the geographic boundary of the map, included in this section as Exhibit B and C,* respectively.

The businesses located in the Area shall be subject to any future amendments to the "Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1979" (commencing with Section 36500 of the Streets and Highway Code).

(Ord. No. 2435 N.S. 1; Ord. No. 2838-N.S. 2)

(Ord. No. 3095 N.S., § 1, 5-6-2014)

*Editor's Note: Exhibits A through C referred to hereinabove are on file in the City Clerk's office.

The authorized uses to which the additional revenue shall be put are as follows:

a. The general promotion of business activities in the area.

b. Promotion of public events which are to take place on or in public places in the Area.

c. Decoration of any public place in the area.

d. Furnishing of music in any public place in the area.

e. Acquire, construct or maintain parking facilities for the benefit of the Area.

(Ord. No. 2435 N.S. 1)

There is hereby imposed a charge for the purposes authorized in subsection 6-7.3 which charge is separate and in addition to the ordinary business license fee as it is imposed upon businesses conducting their activities within the area by Chapter V of the Alameda Municipal Code. Such separate and additional charge is imposed at the rates set forth in subsection 6-7.5 for the specified business classifications, regardless of whether the business is charged flat rate or other basis under the provisions of Chapter V of the Alameda Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 2435 N.S.)

The businesses doing business in the area must have a bona fide street address and be classified as follows so as to promote the equitable imposition of the additional charge hereunder in relation to the relative benefits to be derived. The charge shall be as follows:

a. Benefit Area "A".

1. Retailing goods: Forty ($0.40) cents per one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars of gross receipts for the reporting period, with a minimum charge of one hundred fifty ($150.00) dollars. This rate of levy also applies to non-profit organizations engaged in a retail goods business enterprise.

2. Retailing services: Forty ($0.40) cents per one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars, of gross receipts for the reporting period, with a minimum charge of seventy-five ($75.00) dollars.

3. Non-retail: Flat Fee of seventy-five ($75.00) dollars.

4. Financial institutions/utility companies: Flat fee of five hundred ($500.00) dollars. (Banks, savings and loans, credit unions/utilities, such as Pacific Bell, P.G.&E., Cable T.V., etc.)

5. There shall be a maximum charge of one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars per year.

6. There shall be a surcharge of four thousand ($4,000.00) dollars per year added to the maximum charge for any single stand-alone retail goods business enterprise, store, or tenant that exceeds thirty thousand (30,000) square feet in size.

b. Benefit Area "B".

1. Retailing goods: Twenty ($0.20) cents per one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars of gross receipts for the reporting period, with a minimum charge of seventy-five ($75.00) dollars. This rate of levy also applies to nonprofit organizations engaged in retail goods business enterprise.

2. Retailing services: Twenty ($0.20) cents per one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars of gross receipts for the reporting period, with a minimum charge of fifty ($50.00) dollars.

3. Non-retail: Flat Fee of fifty ($50.00) dollars.

4. Financial institutions/utility companies: Flat fee of five hundred ($500.00) dollars. (Banks, savings and loans, credit unions/utilities, such as Pacific Bell, P.G.&E., Cable T.V., etc.).

5. There shall be a maximum charge of five hundred ($500.00) dollars per year.

c. For the purposes of the Alameda Business Improvement Area of the City of Alameda, the following commercial activities in Benefit Areas "A" and "B", are not considered businesses on which a charge is levied:

1. Persons conducting, managing, or carrying on the business of renting or letting a building or structure of any kind to a tenant for the purpose of dwelling, sleeping or lodging or for any other purpose for a term other than on a daily or weekly basis.

2. Individual real estate agents working for and with and under the direction of a real estate broker.

3. Individuals engaged in the hair care business who are classified by the City of Alameda as a "concession in hair", or an individual barber whose business is located in a barber shop owned and operated by someone else.

4. Individuals engaging in permitted home occupation businesses.

5. Non-profit organizations when not engaging in a retail goods business enterprise.

d. Where there are multiple separate businesses performing different business functions and operated by different persons or legal entities at the same address, there shall be a separate charge levied against each separate business at that address.

e. The determination of the type or class of business or businesses a charge payer is engaged in or about to engage in shall be an administrative function of the City Revenue Accountant. In cases where a charge payer believes he/she is placed in the wrong business or businesses, he/she may apply in writing to the Revenue Accountant for a change in his/her classification, setting forth in full his/her reason for requesting such change. The Revenue Accountant shall conduct an investigation and shall thereupon render his/her decision in writing, within ten (10) working days of the request, as to the proper classification or classifications.

f. If the charge payer is aggrieved by the Revenue Accountant's decision, he/she shall have the right to appeal to the Finance Director. The appeal shall be filed with the Finance Director within ten (10) days of the date of the Revenue Accountant's decision, and shall be heard by the Finance Director thirty (30) days thereafter. The charge payer shall be given at least seven (7) days notice of the hearing by the Finance Director. The decision of the Finance Director shall be served on the charge payer, either personally or by certified mail addressed to the business address of the charge payer, with a notice of intended decision. This notice shall state the intended decision on the charge payer's application, the reasons for the proposed decision, the effective date of the decision if no appeal is filed by the charge payer, and the right of the charge payer to appeal to the City Council. The notice of intended decision shall be personally served or deposited in the United States Mail.

g. Any person dissatisfied with the decision of the Finance Director may file an appeal to the City Council. The appeal shall be made in writing and filed with the City Clerk not later than ten (10) days of the date of the Finance Director's decision. The appeal shall state in detail the factual basis for the appeal of classification. An appeal fee of fifty ($50.00) dollars shall accompany the request for appeal to cover the cost of processing the appeal.

h. The City Council shall consider the application at the public hearing on the appeal within forty-five (45) days of the appeal notice. The City Council may preside over the hearing on appeal, or, in the alternative, appoint a hearing officer to conduct the hearing, to receive relevant evidence, and to submit to the City Council findings and recommendations to be considered by the City Council. The City Council shall render its decision within forty-five (45) days from the date of the hearing, or in the event that a hearing officer has been appointed, within forty-five (45) days from the date the City Council receives the findings and recommendations of the hearing officer. The decision of the City Council shall be final.

i. If the City Council finds that an appeal or any portion of an appeal does not prevail, the charges assessed or any portion thereof shall automatically resume.

j. Each July 1, the amount of the nonretail charge in paragraphs a.3 and b.3 above, the amount of financial institutions/utility companies charge in paragraphs a.4 and b.4, and the maximum and minimum charges in paragraphs (a) 1, 2 and 5 and 6 and (b) 1, 2 and 5 shall be automatically increased by the amount of increase in the Consumer Price Index, San Francisco area, all items, most recently available prior to the date of increase, provided, however, that in no event shall any automatic increase hereunder exceed ten (10%) percent, and provided further that the amounts of such charges which result from the application of the automatic increases hereunder shall be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

(Ord. No. 2435 N.S. 1; Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 1)

(Ord. No. 3095 N.S., §§ 1, 2, 5-6-2014)

Any business, person or institution may make a voluntary contribution to the City of Alameda Business Improvement Area and such contributions shall be used for the purposes provided in this section.

(Ord. No. 2435 N.S.)

The City Council shall appoint an advisory board which shall make a recommendation to the City Council on the expenditure of revenues derived from the levy of assessments pursuant to this part, on the classification of businesses, as applicable, and on the method and basis of levying the assessments. The City Council may designate existing advisory boards or commissions to serve as the advisory board for the Area or may create a new advisory board for that purpose. The City Council may limit membership of the advisory board to persons paying the assessments under this section.

(Ord. No. 2435 N.S. 1; Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 2)

The City Council may exempt a business recently established in the Area from the levy of the charges, for a period not to exceed one (1) year from the date the business commenced operating in the Area. The City Council shall state its determination to so exempt new businesses in the resolution of intention to establish the Area and shall reaffirm its determination annually in the resolution of intention required to be adopted pursuant to subsection 6-7.12.

(Ord. No. 2435 N.S. 1; Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 3)

a. The collection of the charges imposed hereunder shall be made at the same time and in the same manner as the general business license fee under Section 5-4 of the Alameda Municipal Code.

b. A special fund is hereby created, known as the "Alameda Business Improvement Area Fund," and the charges imposed by this section shall be deposited in such fund.

(Ord. No. 2435 N.S.)

The provisions of Section 5-4 of the Alameda Municipal Code, separate as they are, insofar as they are relevant to the provisions hereunder, shall be made applicable to all businesses subject to the charges. No business license shall be issued pursuant to Section 5-4 of the Alameda Municipal Code unless the charges pursuant hereto are paid together with the applicable business license fee.

(Ord. No. 2435 N.S.)

a. The advisory board shall cause to be prepared a report for each fiscal year for which assessments are to be levied and collected to pay the costs of the improvements and activities described in the report. The report may propose changes, including, but not limited to, the boundaries of the Area or any benefit zones within the Area, the basis and method of levying the assessments, and any changes in the classification of businesses.

b. The report shall be filed with the City Clerk and Finance Director and shall refer to the Area by name, specify the fiscal year to which the report applies, and, with respect to that fiscal year, shall contain all of the following:

1. Any proposed changes in the boundaries of the Area or in any benefit zones within the Area.

2. The improvements and activities to be provided for that fiscal year.

3. An estimate of the cost of providing the improvements and the activities for that fiscal year.

4. The method and basis of levying the assessment in sufficient detail to allow each business owner to estimate the amount of the assessment to be levied against his or her business for that fiscal year.

5. The amount of any surplus or deficit revenues to be carried over from a previous fiscal year.

6. The amount of any contributions to be made from sources other than assessments levied pursuant to this section.

c. The City Council may approve the report as filed by the advisory board or may modify any particular contained in the report and approve it as modified. The City Council shall not approve a change in the basis and method of levying assessments that would impair an authorized or executed contract to be paid from the revenues derived from the levy of assessments.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 4; Ord. No. 2533 N.S.)

a. After the approval of the report, the City Council shall adopt a resolution of intention to levy an annual assessment for that fiscal year. The resolution of intention shall do all of the following:

1. Declare the intention of the City Council to change the boundaries of the Area, or in any benefit zone within the Area, if the report filed pursuant to subsection 6-7.11 proposes a change.

2. Declare the intention of the City Council to levy and collect assessments within the Area for the fiscal year stated in the resolution.

3. Generally describe the proposed improvements and activities authorized by this section and any substantial changes proposed to be made to the improvements and activities.

4. Refer to the Area by name and indicate the location of the Area.

5. Refer to the report on file with the City Clerk for a full and detailed description of the improvements and activities to be provided for that fiscal year, the boundaries of the Area and any benefit zones within the Area, and the proposed assessments to be levied upon the businesses within the Area for that fiscal year.

6. Fix a time and place for a public hearing to be hold by the City Council on the levy of the proposed assessment for that fiscal year. The public hearing shall be held not less than ten (10) days after the adoption of the resolution of intention.

7. State that at the public hearing written and oral protests may be made. The form and manner of protests shall comply with subsections 6-7.20 and 6-7.21.

b. The clerk shall give notice of the public hearing by causing the resolution of intention to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City not less than seven (7) days before the public hearing.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 4)

a. The City Council shall hold the public hearing at the time and in the place specified in the resolution of intention. The public hearing shall be conducted as provided in subsections 6-7.20 and 6-7.21. The City Council may continue the public hearing, but the public hearing shall be completed within thirty (30) days.

b. During the course or upon the conclusion of the public hearing, the City Council may order changes in any of the matters provided in the report, including changes in the proposed assessments, the proposed improvements and activities to be funded with the revenues derived from the levy of the assessments, and the proposed boundaries of the Area and any benefit zones within the Area. The City Council shall not change the boundaries to include any territory that will not, in its judgment, benefit by the improvement or activity.

c. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the City Council may adopt a resolution confirming the report as originally filed or as changed by it. The adoption of the resolution shall constitute the levy of an assessment for the fiscal year referred to in the report.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 4)

The assessments levied on businesses pursuant to this section shall be levied on the basis of the estimated benefit to the businesses and property within the Area. The City Council may classify businesses for purposes of determining the benefit to a business of the improvements and activities provided pursuant to this section.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 4)

The validity of an assessment levied under this part shall not be contested in any action or proceeding unless the action or proceeding is commenced within thirty (30) days after the resolution levying the assessment is adopted pursuant to subsection 6-7.12. Any appeal from a final judgment in an action or proceeding shall be perfected within thirty (30) days after entry of judgment.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 4)

In addition to the changes authorized to be made in the annual report filed with the City Council pursuant to subsection 6-7.11 or at the conclusion of the public hearing on the annual levy of the assessments, the advisory board may, at any time, recommend that the City Council modify the boundaries of the Area, any benefit zones within the Area, the basis and method of levying the assessments, and any improvements or activities to be funded with the revenues derived from the levy of the assessments. Any modification shall be made pursuant to this section.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 5)

a. The City Council shall modify the basis and method of levying the assessment or the boundaries of the Area by adopting an ordinance after holding a public hearing on the proposed modification.

b. The City Council shall adopt a resolution of intention which states the proposed modification prior to the public hearing required by this subsection. The public hearing shall be held not less than twenty (20) or more than thirty (30) days after the adoption of the resolution of intention. Notice of the public hearing shall be published and shall be mailed to each owner of a business affected by the proposed modification, as provided in subsection 6-7.19. The public hearing shall be conducted as provided in subsections 6-7.20 and 6-7.21.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 5)

a. The City Council may modify the improvements and activities to be funded with the revenue derived from the levy of the assessments by adopting a resolution determining to make the modifications after holding a public hearing on the proposed modifications. Notice of the public hearing and the proposed modifications shall be published as provided in subsection 6-7.19.

b. The public hearing shall be conducted as provided in subsections 6-7.20 and 6-7.21.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 5)

Notice of a public hearing held under this section shall be given by both of the following:

a. Publishing the resolution of intention in a newspaper of general circulation in the City once, at least seven (7) days before the public hearing.

b. Mailing a complete copy of the resolution of intention by first-class mail to each business owner in the affected Area within seven (7) days of the City Councils adoption of the resolution of intention.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 5)

a. At the public hearing, the City Council shall hear and consider all protests against the establishment of the Area, the extent of the Area, or the furnishing of specified types of improvements or activities within the Area. A protest may be made orally or in writing by any interested person. Any protest pertaining to the regularity or sufficiency of the proceedings shall be made in writing and shall clearly set forth the irregularity or defect to which the objection is made.

b. Every written protest shall be filed with the City Clerk at or before the time fixed for the public hearing. The City Council may waive any irregularity in the form or content of any written protest and at the public hearing may correct minor defects in the proceedings. A written protest may be withdrawn in writing at any time before the conclusion of the public hearing.

c. Each written protest shall contain a description of the business in which the person subscribing the protest is interested sufficient to identify the business and, if a person subscribing is not shown on the official records of the City as the owner of the business, the protest shall contain or be accompanied by written evidence that the person subscribing is the owner of the business. A written protest which does not comply with this section shall not be counted in determining a majority protest.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 5)

a. If written protests are received by the owners of businesses in the area which will pay fifty (50%) percent or more of the assessments proposed to be levied and protests are not withdrawn so as to reduce the protests to less than fifty (50%) percent, no further proceedings to create the specified area or to levy the proposed assessment, as contained in the resolution of intention shall be taken for a period of one (1) year from the date of the finding of a majority protest by the City Council.

b. If the majority protest is only against the furnishing of a specified type or types of improvements or activities within the Area, those types of improvement or activities shall be eliminated.

(Ord. No. 2484 N.S. 5)