Berkeley Municipal Code Art. 1 General Provisions and Definitions

The council hereby finds and declares that it is necessary and essential to the well-being of the City that it provide financial assistance to promote the economic development of the City. Such economic development will serve the following public purposes and municipal affairs of the City: (a) the full and gainful employment of residents of the City; (b) the full and efficient utilization and modernization of existing industrial, commercial, and business facilities; (c) the development of new industrial, commercial and business facilities; (d) the growth of the City’s tax base through increased property values and consumer purchasing; (e) the reduction of the need for and costs of welfare and other remedial programs; (f) the reduction of urban ills, such as crime, attributable in part to inadequate economic opportunities; (g) the stability and diversification of the City’s economy; (h) the lowering of the cost to City consumers of necessary goods and services; (i) the environmentally optimum disposition of waste materials of the City; and (j) the enhancement of the general economic prosperity, health, safety and welfare of the residents of the City.

The availability of the financial assistance authorized by this chapter will serve those purposes and the general plan of the City by providing financing capital outlays that are beneficial to the City and its residents and by ensuring that economic development within the City will reflect the local community’s needs and objectives and will be environmentally optimum with respect to both the physical and social environment of the City. The City shall promote such public interests pursuant to this chapter without adversely affecting areas outside the City and without conflicting with efforts by the state of California to solve problems of statewide concern. (Ord. 5683-NS § 1, 1985)

Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms defined in this chapter shall have the following meanings:

"Bonds" means the bonds, notes, certificates, debentures and other obligations authorized to be issued by the City pursuant to this chapter and payable as provided in this chapter. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, bonds include any security issued hereunder, including any guarantee of such security by any person given in relation to an issue of bonds, which satisfies the requirements of Federal law, including Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended for tax-exempt industrial development bond facilities. These include bonds which satisfy federal law requirements for tax-exempt small issue industrial development bonds, as well as bonds which satisfy the following criteria:

A. Are issued as part of an issue all or a major portion of the proceeds of which are to be used directly or indirectly in any trade or business carried on by any person who is not an exempt person within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended: and

B. The payment of the principal or interest on which (under the terms of such obligation or any underlying arrangement) is, in whole or in major part:

1. Secured by any interest in property used, or to be used, in a trade or business or in payments in respect of such property; or

2. To be derived from payments in respect to property, or borrowed money, used or to be used in a trade or business;

C. Are issued as part of an issue substantially all of the proceeds of which are to be used, with respect to any one or more of such facilities (none of which shall be deemed to be restricted in scope because of the provisions of any other state law):

1. To provide:

(a) Residential real property for family units; if at all times during the qualified project period:

i. Fifteen percent or more in the case of targeted area projects, or

ii. Twenty percent or more in the case of any other project, of the units in each project are to be occupied by individuals of low or moderate income,

(b) Sports facilities,

(c) Convention or trade show facilities,

(d) Airports, docks, wharves, mass commuting facilities, parking facilities, or storage or training facilities directly related to any of the foregoing,

(e) Sewage or solid waste disposal facilities or facilities for the local furnishing of electric energy or gas,

(f) Air or water pollution control facilities,

(g) Facilities for the furnishing of water for any purpose if:

i. The water is or will be made available to members of the general public (including electric utility, industrial, agricultural, or commercial users), and

ii. Either the facilities are operated by a governmental unit or the rates for the furnishing or sale of the water have been established or approved by a state or political subdivision thereof, by an agency or instrumentality of the United States, or by a public service or public utility commission or other similar body of any state or political subdivision thereof,

(h) Facilities for operation by corporations qualifying as exempt persons under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended;

(i) For the acquisition or development of land as the site for an industrial park; or

(j) For any other facilities, structures and the like, which the City can finance hereunder without violating the applicable federal laws and regulations promulgated thereunder pertaining to industrial development bonds.

"City" means the City of Berkeley.

"Cost" means the total of all costs incurred by or on behalf of a participating party to carry out all works and undertakings and to obtain all rights and powers necessary or incident to the acquisition, construction, installation, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of facilities. "Cost" may include all costs of issuance of bonds for such purposes, costs for construction undertaken by a participating party as its own contractor, amounts equal to interest on the bonds prior to, during, and for a reasonable period following construction of facilities, reserves for debt service and for repairs, replacements, additions and improvements to a facility, and other working capital incident to the operation of a facility.

"Council" means the City Council of the City of Berkeley.

"Facilities" means any of the properties, places or buildings within the City which are, or will be, maintained and operated for industrial, commercial, residential or business purposes, conform to the general plan of the City and are approved by the City for the financing authorized by this chapter, such approval being given only when the City finds and determines that such financing will substantially promote one or more of the public purposes listed in Section 7.74.010. "Facilities" include, without limitation, real and personal property, land, buildings, structures, fixtures, machinery and/or equipment and all such property related to or required or useful for the operation of a facility. In addition, facilities shall include any facilities authorized by Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as amended. Facilities do not include any property, place or building used or to be used primarily for sectarian instruction or study or as a place for devotional activities or religious worship.

"Participating party" means any individual, association, corporation, partnership or other entity which is approved by the City to undertake the financing of the costs of a facility for which this chapter authorized the issuance of the bonds.

"Revenues" means amounts received by the City as payments of principal, interest, and all other charges with respect to a loan authorized by this chapter, as payments under a lease, sublease or sale agreement with respect to facilities, as proceeds received by the City from mortgage, hazard or other insurance on or with respect to such a loan (or any property securing such loan), lease, sublease or sale agreement, all other rents, charges, fees, income and receipts derived by the City from the financing of facilities authorized by this chapter, any amounts received by the City as investment earnings on moneys deposited in any fund securing the bonds, and such other legally available moneys as the council may, in its discretion, lawfully designate as revenues. (Ord. 5683-NS § 2, 1985)

Revenues, as defined by this chapter, and the expenditure of such revenues shall not be taken into account in any manner in determining the City’s compliance with Article XIIIB of the California Constitution. (Ord. 5683-NS § 3, 1985)