Article I — General Provisions

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "City of Whittier Special Tax Financing Improvement Code," and shall be referred to herein as "this chapter."

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-1), 1989)

A.

This chapter is adopted pursuant to Section 200 of Article I of the Charter of the city. In proceedings had pursuant to this chapter which are a municipal affair, any general laws referred to in this chapter are deemed a part of this chapter.

B.

In the event that any proceeding had pursuant to this chapter shall be adjudged a state affair, it is declared to be the intention that the proceedings were had pursuant to any applicable general law or laws.

(Ord. 2577 § 16, 1992; Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-2) (part), 1989)

This chapter provides an alternative method of financing certain public and private capital facilities and municipal services. The provisions of this chapter shall not affect or limit any other provisions of law authorizing or providing for the furnishing of facilities or services, or the raising of revenue for these purposes. The city may use the provisions of this chapter instead of or in conjunction with any other method of financing part or all of the cost of providing the authorized kinds of public and private capital facilities and municipal services.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-2) (part), 1989)

A.

Any provision in this chapter which conflicts with any general law or act shall prevail over the other such provision in connection with any proceedings taken pursuant to this chapter.

B.

In the event any portion of this chapter shall be declared illegal, unenforceable, or unconstitutional, such provision shall be deemed severable from the rest of the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-3), 1989)

This chapter shall be liberally construed in order to effectuate its purposes. No error, irregularity, informality, and no neglect or omission of any officer, in any procedure taken under this chapter, which does not directly affect the jurisdiction of the city council to order the installation of the facility or the provision of service, or the levy of special taxes, shall void or invalidate such proceeding or any levy for the costs of a facility or service.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-10), 1989)

The city council may take any actions or make any determinations which it determines are necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this chapter and which are not otherwise prohibited by law.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-4), 1989)

A.

A community facilities district may be established under this chapter to finance any one or more municipal services within an area including, but not limited to, the following:

Police protection services, including, but not limited to, criminal justice services. Criminal justice services shall not be limited to providing services for jails, detention facilities, and juvenile halls;

Fire protection and suppression services, and ambulance and paramedic services;

Recreation program services, library services and the operation and maintenance of parks, parkways, open space, and museums and cultural facilities;

Flood and storm protection services, including, but not limited to, the operation and maintenance of storm drainage systems;

Maintenance of sanitary sewer system facilities and storm drainage facilities of the city including, but not limited to, sanitary sewer mains, laterals, maintenance access holes, pump stations, and appurtenances of the city to convey, treat, and dispose of sewage, and all storm drainage lines, mains, inlets, channels and all appurtenances of the system of the city designed to convey stormwaters by cleaning, repairing and removal of debris, rubbish and other solid waste;

Any other municipal service which the city is authorized by law to provide.

B.

For purposes of this chapter, municipal services that may be financed include the performance by employees of functions, operations, maintenance and repair activities.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-5), 1989)

(Ord. No. 3112, § 2, 2-25-20)

A.

A community facilities district may also finance the purchase, construction, expansion, improvement or rehabilitation of any real or other tangible property with an estimated useful life of three years or longer or may finance planning and design work which is directly related to the purchase, construction, expansion or rehabilitation of any real or tangible property. The facilities need not be physically located within the district. A district may finance the purchase of facilities whose construction has been completed before or after the adoption of the resolution of formation if the facility is or was constructed pursuant to plans approved by the city, and the facility is inspected by the city and found to be in compliance with applicable city building codes and standards.

B.

For example, a community facilities district may finance facilities, including, but not limited to, the following:

Local park, recreation, parkway, and open-space facilities;

Elementary and secondary school sites and structures;

Libraries;

The district may also finance the construction or undergrounding of natural gas pipeline facilities, telephone lines, facilities for the transmission or distribution of electrical energy, and cable television lines. The district may enter into an agreement with a public utility to utilize those facilities to provide a particular service and for the conveyance of those facilities to the public utility. Any reimbursement by the public utility made to the district shall be utilized to reduce or minimize the special tax levied within the district or improvement area, or to construct or acquire additional facilities within the district or improvement area, as specified in the resolution of formation;

The district may also pay in full all amounts necessary to eliminate any fixed special assessment liens or to repay or defease any indebtedness secured by any tax, fee, charge, or assessment levied within the area of a community facilities district or may pay debt service on that indebtedness;

Improvements to or the rehabilitation of real property related to fire suppression and/or asbestos removal;

Any other facilities, public or private, which the city is authorized by law to contribute revenue to, or construct, own or operate.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-6), 1989)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 3112, § 1, adopted Feb. 25, 2020, repealed § 3.36.090, which pertained to school facilities financed by community facilities district; cost sharing by state allocation board and derived from Ord. 2466, § 2 (1-7), adopted in 1989; and Ord. 2869, § 15, adopted in 2006.

A.

The city council may from time to time transfer moneys to a community facilities district or to a zone within a community facilities district, for the benefit of the district or zone, from any funds available to the city. The city council also may appropriate any of the city's available moneys to a revolving fund to be used for the acquisition of real or personal property, engineering or other services, or the construction of structures or improvements needed in whole or in part to provide one or more of the facilities or services of a community facilities district.

B.

The district may reimburse the city for any amount transferred or appropriated pursuant to this section, together with interest at the rate per year, as determined by the city council.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-8), 1989)

A.

At any time either before or after the formation of a community facilities district, the city council may accept advances of funds or work in-kind from any source, including, but not limited to, private persons or private entities and may provide for the use of those funds or that work in-kind for any authorized purpose, including, but not limited to, paying any cost incurred by the city in creating a community facilities district. The city council may enter into an agreement with the person or entity advancing the funds or work in-kind to repay all or a portion of the funds advanced, or to reimburse the person or entity for the value, or cost, whichever is less, of the work in-kind, as determined by the city council, with or without interest, under all of the following conditions:

The proposal to repay the funds or the value or cost of the work in-kind, whichever is less, is included in the resolution of intention or the resolution of formation to establish the district, or in the resolution of consideration to alter the types of public facilities and services provided within an established district;

Any proposed special tax or change in a special tax is approved by the qualified electors of the district pursuant to this chapter. Any agreement may specify that if the qualified electors of the district do not approve the proposed special tax or change in a special tax, the local agency shall return any funds which have not been committed for any authorized purpose by the time of the election to the person or entity advancing the funds;

Any work in-kind accepted pursuant to this section shall have been performed or constructed pursuant to plans approved by the city, and the work-in-kind shall be inspected by the city and found to be in compliance with applicable city building codes and standards.

B.

Any such agreement shall not constitute a debt or liability of the city.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-9), 1989)

The failure of any person to receive a notice, resolution, order, or other matter shall not affect in any way whatsoever the validity of any proceedings taken under this chapter, or prevent the legislative body from proceeding with any hearing so noticed.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-11), 1989)

A.

This chapter applies insofar as the city has the power to install or contribute revenue for any of the facilities or provide or contribute revenue for any of the services authorized under this chapter. The officers of the city who have similar powers and duties as the municipal officers referred to in this chapter shall have the powers and duties given by this chapter to the municipal officials. Where no similar officer exists, the city manager shall appoint a person or designate an officer to perform the duties under this chapter.

B.

The city may initiate proceedings pursuant to Section 3.36.190 to include territory proposed for annexation to the city within a community facilities district if a petition or resolution of application for the annexation of the territory to the city has been accepted for filing and a certificate of filing has been issued by the executive officer of the city formation commission at the time the proceedings to create the district are initiated. Those proceedings may be completed only if the annexation of the territory to the city is completed.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-12), 1989)

A.

The city council may enter into a joint community facilities agreement with any other local agency pursuant to this section or into a joint exercise of powers agreement pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the California Government Code to exercise any power authorized by this chapter if the city council adopts a resolution declaring that such a joint agreement would be beneficial to the residents of the city or the district.

B.

Notwithstanding Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the California Government Code, a contracting party may use the proceeds of any special tax or charge levied pursuant to this chapter or of any bonds or other indebtedness issued pursuant to this chapter to provide facilities or services which that contracting party is otherwise authorized by law to provide, even though another contracting party does not have the power to provide those facilities or services.

C.

The agreement entered into pursuant to this section may provide for the division of responsibility to provide any of the facilities or services among the entities entering into the agreement. The agreement shall provide for the allocation and distribution of the proceeds of any special tax levy among the parties to the agreement.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-13), 1989)

Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this section shall govern the construction of this chapter.

A.

"Clerk" means the city clerk of the city.

B.

"Community facilities district" or "district" means a district established pursuant to this chapter for the sole purpose of financing facilities and/or services.

C.

"Cost" means the expense of constructing or purchasing the facility and of related land, right-of-way, easements, including incidental expenses, and the cost of providing authorized services, including incidental expenses.

D.

"Debt" means any binding obligation to repay a sum of money, including obligations in the form of bonds, certificates of participation, long-term leases, loans from government agencies, or loans from banks, other financial institutions, private businesses or individuals.

E.

"Incidental expense" includes all of the following:

The cost of planning and designing facilities to be financed pursuant to this chapter, including the cost of environmental evaluations of those facilities;

The costs associated with the creation of the district, issuance of bonds, determination of the amount of taxes, collection of taxes, payment of taxes, or costs otherwise incurred in order to carry out the authorized purposes of the district;

Any other expenses incidental to the management, administration, completion, and inspection of the construction and/or acquisition of the facilities.

F.

"Landowner" or "owner" or "owner of land" means any person shown as the owner of land on the last equalized assessment roll or otherwise known to be the owner of the land by the city clerk. Notwithstanding the foregoing, "landowner" or "owner" or "owner of land" means, with respect to any land which is the subject of a condemnation action, the person entitled to possession of the land. The city council has no obligation to obtain other information as to the ownership of the land, and its determination of ownership shall be final and conclusive for the purposes of this chapter. The city or any other public agency is not a landowner or owner of land for purposes of this chapter, unless the land owned by the city or any public agency or any leasehold therein would be subject to a special tax levied pursuant to this chapter; as provided in Sections 3.36.160 or 3.36.170.

G.

"Legislative body" means the legislative body or governing board of any local agency, and with respect to the city, shall mean the city council.

H.

"Local agency" means any city or county, whether general law or chartered, special district, school district, joint powers entity created pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1, or any other municipal corporation, district, or political subdivision of the state.

I.

"Rate" means a single rate of tax or a schedule of rates.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-14), 1989)

(Ord. No. 3112, § 4, 2-25-20)

A.

If property not otherwise exempt from a special tax levied pursuant to this chapter is acquired by a public entity through a negotiated transaction, or by gift or devise, the special tax shall, notwithstanding Sections 3.36.590 through 3.36.620, continue to be levied on the property acquired and shall be enforceable against the public entity that acquired the property.

B.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any public agency other than a city, county or school district may subject property owned by it to the levy of special taxes, if it shall certify to the city council:

Its agreement to do so;

That it intends to dispose of such property by transfer to a nongovernmental agency at some time in the future; and

That it agrees to cooperate in the sale of the property if necessary to obtain funds to pay any special taxes levied upon such property.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-15), 1989)

If property subject to a special tax levied pursuant to this chapter is acquired by the city or any public entity or entities through eminent domain proceedings, the obligation to pay the special tax shall be treated, pursuant to Section 1265.250 of the California Code of Civil Procedure, as if it were a special annual assessment. For this purpose, the present value of the obligation to pay a special tax to pay the principal and interest on any indebtedness incurred by the district prior to the date of apportionment determined pursuant to Section 5082 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code shall be treated the same as a fixed lien special assessment.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-16), 1989)

Collection.

A.

If a public agency owning property, including property held in trust for any beneficiary, which is exempt from a special tax pursuant to Sections 3.36.590 through 3.36.620 grants a leasehold or other possessory interest in the property to a nonexempt person or entity, the special tax shall, notwithstanding Sections 3.36.590 through 3.36.620 be levied on the leasehold or possessory interest and shall be payable by the owner of the leasehold or possessory interest.

B.

When entering into a lease or other written contract creating a possessory interest that may be subject to taxation, pursuant to subsection A of this section, the public agency shall include, or cause to be included, in the contract a statement that the property interest may be subject to special taxation pursuant to this chapter, and that the party in whom the possessory interest is vested may be subject to the payment of special taxes levied on the interest. Failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall not, however, invalidate the contract.

C.

If the special tax on any possessory interest levied pursuant to subsection A of this section is unpaid when due, the tax collector may use those collection procedures which are available for the collection of assessments on the unsecured roll.

(Ord. 2466 § 2 (1-17), 1989)