Los Angeles Municipal Code Art. 2 Proceedings to Create a Community Taxing District

Section 6.712 Institution of Proceeding; Request; Petition; Fee. 6.713 Finding of Benefit. 6.714 Petition; Contents; Findings as to Requisite Number of Signatories. 6.715 Resolution of Intention to Establish District; Time for Adoption. 6.716 Resolution of Intention to Establish District; Contents. 6.717 Report and Estimate of Costs by Responsible Officers; Part of Hearing Record. 6.718 Required Notice of Hearing. 6.719 Optional Notice of Hearing. 6.720 Protests; Interested Persons or Taxpayers. 6.721 Written Protest; Further Proceedings to Create District; Elimination of Special Tax or Types of Facilities or Services from Ordinance of Formation.

Abandon or Proceed with Establishment of District. 6.723 Adoption of Ordinance of Formation Establishing District; Contents; Finding Concerning Validity and Conformity of Prior Proceedings. 6.724 Special Tax; Basis for Apportionment. 6.725 Noncontiguous Areas; Alteration of Boundaries. 6.726 Establishment or Changing Appropriations Limit; Election on Propositions, Adjustment. 6.727 Special Tax Levy; Election; Voter Qualifications; Ballots. 6.728 Elections; Law Governing. 6.729 Ballot Materials. 6.730 Special Tax Levy; Effect of Voter Approval or Disapproval. 6.731 Application of California Streets and Highways Code with Respect to Special Taxes; Filings.

6.732 Special Tax; Levy and Apportionment.

Proceedings for the establishment of a Community Taxing District may be instituted by the Council on its own initiative and shall be instituted by the Council when any of the following occurs:

A. A written request for the establishment of a District, signed by two members of the Council, describing the boundaries of the territory proposed for inclusion in the District, and specifying the type or types of facilities and/or services to be financed by the District, is filed with the Council;

B. A petition requesting the institution of the proceedings signed by the requisite number of registered voters, as specified in Subsection D of Section 6.714, is filed with the City Clerk. The petition may consist of any number of separate instruments, each of which complies with all of the requirements of the petition, except as to the number of signatures;

C. A petition requesting the institution of the proceedings signed by landowners owning the requisite portion of the area of the proposed District, as specified in subsection D of Section 6.714, is filed with the City Clerk.

D. The written request filed pursuant to Subsection A of this section and the petitions filed pursuant to subsections B and C of this section shall be accompanied by the payment of a fee in an amount that the City Administrative Officer determines is sufficient to compensate the City for all costs incurred in conducting proceedings to create a District pursuant to this Chapter, and shall not be considered received until the payment has been made to the City.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

When capital facilities to be financed by a proposed District will be privately owned, the appropriate findings of public benefit shall be made by the Council in connection with the formation of the District.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

A petition requesting the institution of proceedings to establish a Community Taxing District shall do all of the following:

A. Request the Council to institute proceedings to establish a Community Taxing District pursuant to this Chapter;

B. Describe the boundaries of the territory proposed for inclusion in the District;

C. Generally state the type or types of capital facilities and/or services to be financed by the District;

D. Be signed by not less than ten percent of the registered voters residing within the territory proposed to be included within the District or by owners of not less than ten percent of the area of land proposed to be included within the District.

If the Council finds that the petition is signed by the requisite number of registered voters residing within the territory proposed to be included within the District or by the requisite number of owners of land proposed to be included within the District, that finding shall be final and conclusive.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

Within six months after either a written request by two members of the Council or a petition requesting the institution of proceedings for the

establishment of a Community Taxing District is filed with the City Clerk, the Council shall adopt a resolution of intention to establish a Community Taxing District in the form specified in Section 6.716.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

Proceedings for the establishment of a Community Taxing District shall be instituted by the adoption of a resolution of intention to establish the District, which shall do all of the following:

A. State that a Community Taxing District is proposed to be established under the terms of this Chapter and describe the boundaries of the territory proposed for inclusion in the District; which may be accomplished by a reference to a map on file in the office of the City Clerk, showing the proposed Community Taxing District;

B. State the name proposed for the District in substantially the following form: “Community Taxing District No. ___ of the City of Los Angeles”;

C. Generally state the type or types of capital facilities and/or services proposed to be financed by the District pursuant to this Chapter. If the purchase of completed facilities or the incurring of incidental expenses is proposed, the resolution may identify those facilities or expenses;

D. State that, except where funds are otherwise available, a special tax sufficient to pay for all facilities and/or services, secured by recordation of a continuing lien against all nonexempt real property in the District, will be levied annually within the area of the District. The resolution shall specify the rate and method of apportionment and manner of collection of the special tax in sufficient detail to allow each landowner or resident within the proposed District to estimate the maximum amount that it will have to pay;

E. Fix a time and place for a public hearing on the establishment of the District, which shall not be less than fifteen days after the boundary map is recorded pursuant to Section 3111 of the California Streets and Highways Code or more than sixty days after the adoption of the resolution, and direct the giving of notice as provided in Section 6.718 and, if desired, Section 6.719;

F. Direct the preparation and filing of the report under Section 6.717;

G. Contain a description of the proposed voting procedure;

H. Designate the anticipated governing body of the District, which governing body may be comprised of all or a certain number of members of the Council, or members of the legislative body of any local agency with whom the City has, or will, enter into a cooperation, joint powers agreement or other agreement pertaining to the proceeds of the special taxes, to act as the governing body to exercise the powers of the District.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05. Amended by: Subsec. E., Ord. No. 179,539, Eff. 3-2-08.

At the time of the adoption of the resolution of intention to establish a Community Taxing District, the Council shall direct the appropriate officer to file or cause to be prepared and filed at or before the time of the hearing, a report with the City Clerk containing a brief description of the facilities, services or both proposed to be financed by type and an estimate of the cost of providing those facilities and services, together with an estimate of the costs of any debt issuance and the City’s administration of the District. If the purchase of completed facilities or the payment of incidental expenses is proposed, the report shall contain an estimate of the cost of those facilities or incidental expenses. The report shall be made a part of the record of the hearing on the resolution of intention to establish the District.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

A. The City Clerk shall publish a notice of the hearing once in a newspaper of general circulation in the proposed District. Publication shall be completed at least seven days prior to the date of the hearing.

B. The notice shall contain all of the following information:

1. The text of the resolution of intention to establish the District, and, if applicable, to incur Debt;

2. The time and place of the hearing on the establishment of the District;

3. A statement that at the hearing the testimony of all interested persons or taxpayers for or against the establishment of the District, the extent of the District, or the furnishing of specified types of facilities and/or services will be heard. The notice shall also describe, in summary, the effect of protests made by registered voters or landowners against the establishment of the District, the extent of the District, the furnishing of a specified type of facilities or services, or a specified special tax, as provided in Section 6.721;

4. A description of the proposed voting procedure.

   SECTION HISTORY

   Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

The Council may also direct the City Clerk to give notice of the hearing by first-class mail to each registered voter and to each landowner within the proposed District. This notice shall be mailed at least ten days before the hearing and shall contain the same information as is required to be contained in the notice published pursuant to Section 6.718, except that the entire text of the resolution of intention may be omitted if the date, number and fact of its adoption are shown and the proposed facilities and/or services are briefly described and the proposed amounts and method of apportionment of the special tax are shown.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

At the hearing, protests against the establishment of the District, the extent of the District, or the furnishing of specified types of facilities or services within the District, may be made orally or in writing by any interested persons or taxpayers. Any protests pertaining to the regularity or sufficiency of the proceedings shall be in writing and shall clearly set forth the alleged irregularities and defects. To be counted under Section 6.721, any written protest shall be filed with the City Clerk on or before the time fixed for the hearing. The Council may waive any irregularities in the form or content of any written protest and at the hearing may correct minor defects in the proceedings. Written protests may be withdrawn in writing at any time before the conclusion of the hearing.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

If fifty percent or more of the registered voters, or six registered voters, whichever is more, residing within the territory proposed to be included in the District, or the owners of one-half or more of the area of the land in the territory proposed to be included in the District and not exempt from the special tax, file written protests against the establishment of the District, and protests are not withdrawn so as to reduce the value of the protests to less than a majority, no further proceedings to create the specified Community Taxing District or to levy the specified special tax shall be taken for a period of six months from the date of the decision of the Council.

If the majority protests are only against the furnishing of a specified type or types of facilities or services within the proposed District, or against levying a specified special tax, those types of facilities or services or the specified special tax shall be eliminated from the ordinance of formation.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

Sec. 6.722. Hearing; Continuances; Time Limitation; Exception; Modification of Resolution of Intention; Determination to Abandon or Proceed with Establishment of District.

The hearing may be continued from time to time without further notice under Section 6.718 or 6.719, but shall be completed within six months of the original hearing date. The Council may modify the resolution of intention by eliminating proposed facilities or services; or by changing the rate or method of apportionment of the proposed special tax so as to reduce the maximum special tax to be levied on all or a portion of the property within the proposed District, or by removing territory from the proposed District. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Council may, in its sole discretion (i) abandon the proposed establishment of the Community Taxing District, or (ii) after passing upon all protests, determine to proceed with establishing the District, except as provided in Section 6.721 hereof.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

If the Council determines to establish the District, it shall adopt an ordinance of formation establishing the District. The ordinance of formation shall incorporate by reference all of the information required to be included in the resolution of intention to establish the District specified in Section 6.716. If a special tax is proposed to be levied in the District to pay for any facilities and/or services and the special tax has not been eliminated by majority protest pursuant to Section 6.721, the ordinance shall state that fact and all of the following:

A. Determine whether all proceedings were valid and in conformity with the requirements of this Chapter, which finding shall be
final and conclusive;

B. State that the proposed special tax to be levied within the District has not been precluded by majority protest pursuant to Section
6.721;

C. Identify any facilities and/or services, as may be changed under Sections 6.721 or 6.722, proposed to be funded with the
proceeds of the special tax;

D. Set forth the proposed rate and method of apportionment of the special tax;

E. Set forth the name, address and telephone number of the office, department, or bureau of the City or the District that will be
responsible for preparing annually a current roll of special tax, levy obligations by assessor’s parcel number and that will be
responsible for estimating future special tax levies pursuant to Section 6.749;

F. State that upon recordation of a notice of special tax lien pursuant to Section 3114.5 of the California Streets and Highways
Code, a continuing lien to secure each levy of the special tax shall attach to all nonexempt real property in the District and this lien
shall continue in force and effect until the special tax obligation is prepaid and permanently satisfied and the lien cancelled in
accordance with law or until collection of the tax by the City or the District ceases.

G. Set forth the book and page in the Book of Maps of Assessments and Community Facilities Districts in the Los Angeles County
Recorder’s Office where the boundary map of the proposed Community Taxing District has been recorded pursuant to Sections 3111
and 3113 of the California Streets and Highways Code;

H. Provide for the conduct of the election required under Section 6.727;

I. At the option of the Council, provide for the establishment of or change in the appropriations limit under Section 6.726.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.
Amended by: First para., Ord. No. 177,974, Eff. 12-3-06.

A tax imposed pursuant to this Chapter is a special tax and not a special assessment, and there is no requirement that the tax be apportioned on the basis of benefit to any property. However, a special tax levied pursuant to this Chapter may be on or based on benefit received by parcels of real property, the cost of providing facilities and/or services available to each parcel, or any other reasonable basis as determined by the Council. A special tax apportioned on any of these bases shall not be construed to be on or based upon the ownership of real property.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

A. A Community Taxing District may include areas of territory that are not contiguous.

B. In establishing the boundaries of the District, the Council may alter the exterior boundaries of the District to include less territory than that described in the recorded boundary map but it may not include any territory not described in that map.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

The Council may submit a proposition to establish or change the appropriations limit, as defined by Subdivision (h) of Section 8 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution, of a Community Taxing District to the qualified electors of a proposed or established District. The proposition establishing or changing the appropriations limit shall become effective if approved by the qualified electors voting on the proposition and shall be adjusted for changes in the cost of living and changes in populations, except that the change in population may be estimated by the legislative body in the absence of an estimate by the State of California Department of Finance, and in accordance with Section 1 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution. For purposes of adjusting for changes in population, the population of the District shall be deemed to be at least one person during each calendar year.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

A. By ordinance, the Council shall submit the levy of any special taxes to the qualified electors of the proposed Community Taxing District in the next general election or in a special election to be held, notwithstanding any other requirement, including any requirement that elections be held on specified dates contained in the California Elections Code, not more than one hundred eighty days, following the adoption of the ordinance of formation. The Council shall provide the ordinance of formation, a certified map of sufficient scale and clarity to show the boundaries of the District, and a sufficient description to allow the City Clerk to determine the boundaries of the District after the adoption of the ordinance of formation, if requested by the City Clerk. Assessor’s parcel numbers for the land within the District shall be included if it is a landowner election or the District does not conform to an existing District’s boundaries, if requested by the City Clerk. Any time limit specified by this section or requirement pertaining to the conduct of the election may be waived with the unanimous consent of the qualified electors of the proposed District and the concurrence of the City Clerk.

B. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection C of this section, if at least twelve persons, who need not necessarily be the same twelve persons, have been registered to vote within the territory of the proposed Community Taxing District for each of the ninety days preceding the date of the protest hearing, the vote shall be by the registered voters of the proposed District, with each voter having one vote. Otherwise, the vote shall be by the landowners of the proposed District and each landowner who is the owner of record at the close of the protest hearing, or the owner’s authorized representative, shall have one vote for each acre or portion of an acre of land that the owner owns within the proposed Community Taxing District. The number of votes to be voted by a particular landowner shall be specified on the ballot provided to that landowner.

C. If the proposed special tax will not be apportioned in any tax year on any portion of property in the District in residential use in that tax year, as determined by the legislative body, the legislative body may provide that the vote shall be by the landowners of the proposed District whose property would be subject to the tax if it were levied at the time of the election. Each of these landowners shall have, one vote for each acre, or portion of an acre, that the landowner owns within the proposed District which would be subject to the proposed tax if it were levied at the time of the election.

D. Ballots for the special election authorized by Subsection A of this section may be distributed to qualified electors by mail with return postage prepaid or by personal service by the election official. The election official may provide a certificate of the proper mailing or delivery of ballots, which certificate shall constitute conclusive proof of mailing or delivery in the absence of fraud. The voted ballots shall be returned to the election officer conducting the election not later than the time specified in the resolution calling the election. If all the qualified voters have voted, the election shall be closed.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

A. Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, the provisions of law regulating elections of the City, insofar as they may apply, shall

govern all elections conducted pursuant to this Chapter. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, there shall be prepared and included in the ballot material provided to each voter an impartial analysis, and arguments and rebuttals, if any.

B. Analysis and arguments may be waived with the unanimous consent of all the qualified electors.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

A. If the election is to be conducted by mail or hand delivered ballot, the City Clerk shall provide ballots and election materials pursuant to Subsection D of Section 6.727 and 6.728, together with all supplies and instructions necessary for the use and return of the ballot.

B. The identification envelope for return of ballots used in landowner elections shall contain the following:

1. The name of the landowner;

2. The address of the landowner;

3. A declaration, under penalty of perjury, stating that the voter is the owner of record or the authorized representative of the

landowner entitled to vote and is the person whose name appears on the identification envelope;

4. The date of signing and place of execution of the declaration immediately described above;

5. The printed name and signature of the voter;

6. The address of the voter;

7. A notice that the envelope contains an official ballot and is to be opened only by the election official.

   SECTION HISTORY

   Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

A. After the canvass of returns of any election pursuant to Section 6.727, the legislative body may levy any special tax as specified in the ordinance of formation adopted pursuant to Section 6.723 within the territory of the District, if two-thirds of the votes cast upon the question of levying the tax is in favor of levying that tax.

B. After the canvass of returns of any election conducted pursuant to Section 6.727, the legislative body shall take no further action with respect to levying the special tax within the Community Taxing District for six months from the date of the election, if the question of levying that specified special tax fails to receive approval by two-thirds of the votes cast upon the question.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

A. Upon a determination by the legislative body that the requisite two-thirds of votes cast in an election held pursuant to Section 6.727 are in favor of levying the special tax, the City Clerk shall record or cause to be recorded the notice of special tax lien provided for in California Streets and Highways Code Section 3114.5, whereupon the lien of the special tax shall attach as provided in California Streets and Highways Code Section 3115.5. The notice of special tax lien shall be recorded in the office of the Los Angeles County Recorder.

B. Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 3100) of the California Streets and Highways Code applies with respect to any special tax levied pursuant to this Chapter. This Chapter is a “principal act” as that term is defined in California Streets and Highways Code Section 3100.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.

A. Upon approval of a special tax pursuant to Subsection A of Section 6.730, the special tax may be levied only at the rate and may be apportioned only in the manner specified in the ordinance of formation, except as provided in Article 3 of this Chapter, and except that the legislative body may levy the special tax at a rate lower than that specified in the ordinance of formation. In addition, the special tax may be levied only so long as it is needed to pay the principal and interest on Debt incurred in order to construct facilities under authority of this Chapter, or so long as it is needed to pay the costs and incidental expenses of services or of the construction or maintenance of facilities authorized by this Chapter.

B. The legislative body of the Community Taxing District shall establish and maintain a Special Tax Fund into which shall be deposited all special taxes received by the Community Taxing District. All amounts in the Special Tax Fund, including any accrued interest, shall be used only for the enumerated purposes set forth in this Chapter.

C. When the Council determines that the special tax shall cease to be levied, the Council shall direct the City Clerk to record a Notice of Cessation of Special Tax, which shall state that the obligation to pay the special tax has ceased and that the lien imposed by the Notice of Special Tax Lien is extinguished. The Notice of Cessation of Special Tax shall identify the book and page of the Book of Maps of Assessment and Community Facilities Districts wherein the map of the boundaries of the District is recorded, and wherein the Notice of Special Tax Lien is recorded.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 177,051, Eff. 11-20-05.