Truckee Municipal Code Ch. 3.38 Optional Procedures for Formation of Community Facilities District

This chapter may be known as the "Alternative Community Facilities District Procedural Ordinance."

The purpose and intent of this chapter is to establish a procedure for financing certain public facilities and/or the maintenance of such facilities through the establishment of one or more community facilities districts and the levy and collection of special taxes within such districts. Proceedings for the formation and administration of community facilities districts may be conducted pursuant to this chapter whether or not provided in any state law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to preclude or prohibit the Town of Truckee from conducting such proceedings pursuant to the procedures set forth in state law. The resolution of intention adopted by the Town in any proceedings under any state law may provide that such state law is supplemented by this chapter. This chapter shall be liberally construed to give effect to its purposes.

The following definitions shall apply to terms appearing in this chapter:

Act means the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982, Government Code section 53311 et seq., as it may be amended from time to time.

Landowner or property owner shall mean the owner of a parcel of real property that is included within the district, but shall not include the owner of any real property that is subject to the California State Board of Equalization's state-assessed properties program, including but not limited to real property owned by a railroad.

Possessory interest shall mean a ground lease and ownership of a building or other improvements upon a parcel, but shall not include a leasehold or sublease interest in such building or improvements.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Act and those other provisions of California law referred to in the Act, as they may be amended, are incorporated into and made a part of this chapter.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the method and manner of making improvements or maintenance thereof and for levying and collecting special taxes shall be as provided in the Act. To the extent a conflict exists between this chapter and the Act or other provisions of California law referred to in the Act, the provisions of this chapter shall control.

(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the provisions of sections 55312.7, 55312.8, 53313.6, 53313.7, 53313.9, 53325.6, 53329, and 53329.5 of the Act are not incorporated into this chapter and shall have no application to proceedings conducted pursuant to this chapter.

(d) For purposes of this chapter, the words "not to exceed three consecutive years" are deleted from section 53314.3 of the Act.

(e) For purposes of this chapter, the words "not exceeding five years" and "within five years after such disbursement" are deleted from section 53314.5 of the Act.

(f) Section 53324 is incorporated into this chapter, provided that for purposes of this chapter it shall be amended to read as follows:

(a) If the owners of land or possessory interests in the territory proposed to be included in the district and not exempt from the special tax, and comprising a majority of the aggregate proposed financial obligation within the district, 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 facilities district or to authorize the specified special tax shall be taken for a period of one year from the date of the decision of the legislative body.

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

(b) This section does not apply to the formation of a district pursuant to Section 53328.1.

(g) Section 55326 is incorporated into this chapter, provided that: (i) the text "at least 90 days, but not more than 180 days" in subsection (a) thereof shall be replaced with "at least 45 days, but not more than 180 days" for purposes of this chapter; and (ii) for purposes of this chapter subsection (b) shall be amended to read as follows:

(b) The vote shall be by the landowners and possessory interest holders of the proposed district. Ballots shall be executed by an owner of a parcel or possessory interest, or by a representative of an owner or possessory interest lawfully appointed to represent the owner for purposes of the election. Each person casting a ballot assigned to a parcel of property or possessory interest who is not the owner of that property or possessory interest must present written evidence to the local agency of that person's authority to act for the owner for the election before casting the ballot. If more than one of the record owners of an identified parcel or possessory interest submits or wishes to submit a ballot, the votes attributable to the parcel or possessory interest shall be allocated to ballots for each owner in proportion to their respective record ownership interest, rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a vote, or, if the ownership interests are not shown on the record, as established to the satisfaction of the local agency, the votes attributable to the parcel or possessory interest shall be allocated according to the ownership interests shown by documentation submitted by those record owners. If no document is submitted, the votes shall be allocated equally among the parcel or possessory interest's owners requesting ballots. If the appointment of the representative to cast the ballot was made as part of the transaction by which the current owners acquired the property or possessory interest, or if the appointment appoints a former owner, or anyone affiliated in any way with a former owner of the property, the written appointment must be signed by all of the owners, and include a statement signed by all of the owners substantially in the form contained in Section 53341.5.

(h) Section 55328 is incorporated into this chapter, provided that for purposes of this chapter it shall be amended to read as follows: "After the canvass of returns of any election pursuant to Section 53326, the legislative body may, pursuant to Section 53340, levy any special tax as specified in the resolution of formation adopted pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 53325.1 within the territory of the district if two-thirds of the votes cast upon the question of levying the tax are in favor of levying that tax, provided votes shall be allocated to each landowner or owner of a possessory interest on the basis of one vote for each dollar of special tax that would be the obligation of that parcel or interest for the first year of collection of the special tax if the proposed special tax were approved."

(i) Section 53328.3 is incorporated into this chapter, provided that for purposes of this chapter it shall be amended to read as follows: "Upon a determination by the legislative body that the requisite two-thirds of votes (as calculated pursuant to Section 53328) cast in an election held pursuant to Section 53326 are in favor of levying the special tax, the clerk of the legislative body shall, within 15 days of a landowner election or within 90 days of a registered voter election, record the notice of special tax lien provided for in Section 3114.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, whereupon the lien of the special tax shall attach as provided in Section 3115.5 of the Streets and Highways Code. The notice of special tax lien shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder in each county that any portion of the district is located."

(j) Section 3114.5 of the Streets & Highways Code is incorporated into this chapter, provided that for purposes of this chapter the second sentence thereof shall be amended to read as follows: "The county recorder shall index the notice of special tax liens to the names of the property owners and possessory interest owners within the community facilities district and shown in the notice, as grantors."

(k) For purposes of this chapter, property that is subject to the California State Board of Equalization's state-assessed properties program, including but not limited to real property owned by a railroad, shall be exempt from taxation through a community facilities district, provided that a possessory interest in such exempt property shall not be exempt.

(a) Proceeds of a special tax imposed pursuant to this chapter may be used for any purpose permitted under the Act, including but not limited to financing the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, replacement, rehabilitation, upgrade and maintenance of any street frontage, streetscape, and/or landscape improvements and facilities.

(b) Revenues from any special tax imposed pursuant to this chapter may be spent on lease payments, administrative costs of a community facilities district, direct costs of acquisition, planning, engineering, design, site preparation and construction of improvements and facilities listed in subsection (a), and all incidental and administrative costs authorized by the Act.

All protest procedures set forth in the Act shall apply to this chapter, except that registered voters as such shall have no protest rights under any circumstances. Protests by landowners and holders of possessory interests shall be weighted as described in Section 3.38.040(h).

All election procedures set forth in the Act shall apply to this chapter, with the following exceptions:

(a) The qualified electors in all cases shall be the landowners and owners of possessory interests, rather than registered voters as such.

(b) In lieu of any other method for allocating votes, votes shall be allocated to each landowner or possessory interest owner on the basis of one vote for each dollar of special tax that would be the obligation of that parcel or interest for the first year of collection of the special tax if the proposed special tax were approved. The Town Council's determination of the number of votes to be allocated to each property or possessory interest shall be final.

(c) The landowners and possessory interest owners entitled to vote shall be those of record at the close of the public hearing referred to in section 53321(e) of the Act, unless the Town Clerk determines that there has been a change in ownership subsequent to the hearing and prior to the election. In that event the Town Clerk shall prepare and deliver a ballot for the new landowner or possessory interest owner, provided that the request for such ballot has been made no later than 24 hours prior to the deadline for returning ballots, and further provided that the Town Clerk may waive this deadline if deemed feasible. In the event a ballot is provided to a new landowner or possessory interest owner, the Town Clerk shall cause the canvass of the election to include the new ballot rather than the ballot prepared for the former landowner or possessory interest owner.

Any special taxes delinquent as of July 1 of any fiscal year, together with any penalties and interest accrued as of that date, may, at the option of the Town Council, be placed on the secured property tax roll for the parcel incurring the special tax obligation, where it shall be collected in the same manner as ordinary ad valorem property taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure, sale, and lien priority in case of delinquency as is provided for ad valorem taxes. Any such delinquent special taxes, penalties, and interest accruing against a possessory interest may be placed upon either the secured or unsecured property tax roll as determined by Nevada County pursuant to Revenue & Taxation Code Section 107, billed directly by the Town, or collected in any manner allowed by law, and shall be subject to the same penalties and procedures as delinquencies on the secured property tax roll to the extent feasible.

Any proceedings taken or special tax levied pursuant to this chapter shall not be held invalid for failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter provided such failure is not unconstitutional or otherwise beyond the Town's authority to deem not to invalidate the action in question.

In the event of any conflict between the Act and this chapter or other provisions of the Truckee Municipal Code, this chapter and the Municipal Code shall govern.

(ORD 2013-04 10/22/2014)