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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012/06/12 Item 06~~~ /~ .r•~~ .~. CHU~LA VISTA Office of the City Attorne MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Glen Googins, City Attorney DATE: JUNE 7, 2012 RE: Agenda Item# 6: Procedures for administration of any petitions that might be submitted by hotel/motel TMD Members proposing disestablishment of the Chula Vista Tourism and Marketing District ("CVTMD") Please find attached for your final approval revised versions of the above- ---- referenced procedures and of the related resolution. These attached revisions reflect changes conceptually approved by the City Council on June 5th and other minor conforming changes. To facilitate your review, changes are presented in underline/strikeout format. Please call me with any questions. 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91910 I w~ww.c~ul~vistaca.gov I (619) 691-5037 I tax (619) 409-5823 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION APPROVING FOR INCLUSION WITHIN THE CITY'S ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES, PROCEDURES FOR ADMINISTRATION OF ANY PETITIONS THAT MIGHT BE SUBMITTED FOR DISESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHULA VISTA TOURISM AND MARKETING DISTRICT WHEREAS, the CVTMD is a business improvement district established under the Property and Business Improvement District ("PBID") Law of 1994 (Streets and Highways Code 36600 et. seq.}; and WHEREAS, the PBID Law allows disestablishment of the district by resolution, upon submittal of a petition (or petitions) by a majority of the owners of businesses in the district who, in aggregate, pay 50 percent or more of the assessment levied; and WHEREAS, the period for presenting such a petition is the 30-day period commencing each year on the anniversary of the establishment of the district; and WHEREAS, the CVTMD was established on July 14, 2009; and WHEREAS, the next petition period will commence on July 14th of this year; and WHEREAS, in January 2012 a number of hotel/motel owners assessed under the TMD submitted petitions for disestablishment to the r'~~City; and WHEREAS, these petitions were not submitted during the time period provided by state law „ra ,a:,a .,,., „ „~~;~ .,>> +~,o ;.,~ ,.,...,.,*:,.~ ~ . +~ ~ • and ~~ WHEREAS, because of this, the City Attorney's office identified the need for procedures to supplement the State code in this area; and WHEREAS, At the City Council meeting on March 13, 2012, the Council requested that draft procedures be brought back in April, for City Council input; and WHEREAS, those draft procedures were submitted to the Council on April 24, 2012. Subsequently, staff met with, and presented draft procedures to, Chamber of Commerce representatives, the Chamber's TMD Board (on May 2°d) and the Chamber's Hotel/Motel Committee (on May 8th); and WHEREAS, draft procedures, along with a request for comments, were also transmitted directly to CVTMD hotel/motel owner/operators in advance of the May 8th Hotel/Motel Committee meeting, and this Council meeting; and 6-2 Resolution No. Page 2 and and WHEREAS, minor changes were proposed at the Chamber meetings and by City staff; WHEREAS, no separate comments were received from individual hotel/motel operators; WHEREAS, as a result of this outreach, and subsequent input from the City Council the draft procedures were revised. Changes made include: (i) eliminating the notary requirement for the business owner; (ii) deleting the requirement that the owner prove ownership; the owner can simply confirm that he or she is the owner by signing a statement to that effect under penalty of perjury; (111) prn~~irjing ~ti=nmrNl° ., f' ., °p+.,1.1° A,,,,,, °...+.,+' t, „ +1,.,+ +l, a + vu~~.u~u~avia .~ ,,°~ ~,°°„ °„+,,^,.:.,°a +^ °^+ °., +,,° ^ °r'.. ~.°i,°'~ larifYing the role of the Finance Director and Cit~erk; (iv) identifying the City Finance Department's Service Center as the appropriate place to deliver signed petitions; (v) stating that the petitions need not be in a specified format, but that a form petition will be made available on the City's website; (vi) clarifying that submitted petitions will be public documents; and (vii) setting forth the procedures to be followed, pursuant to Streets and Highways Code section 36670, if the petition process results in the initiation of disestablishment proceedings; and WHEREAS, staff recommends Council approve the proposed procedures because they are consistent with the underlying code provisions, consistent with good practices, provide for a . ~ fair and clear process, and don't impose undue burdens on potential peti~iens-petitioners or City staff. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the City Council of the City of Chula Vista does hereby approve for inclusion within the City's administrative procedures, procedures for administration of any petitions that might be submitted for disestablishment of the Chula Vista Tourism and Marketing District in the form presented, a copy of which shall be kept on file with the Director of Finance. Presented by: Approved as to form by: Glen R. Googins City Attorney Glen R. Googins City Attorney 6-3 ~~~r, ~__._ __..._ CIN OF CHULA VtSfA OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY PROCEDURES FOR ADMINSTRATION OF ANY PETITIONS THAT MIGHT BE SUBMITTED BY HOTEL/MOTEL TMD MEMBERS PROPOSING DISESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHULA VISTA TOURISM AND MARKETING DISTRICT ("CVTMD") ~r4a~;~'28~~June 12, 2012 1. Annual Notification. The City Manager, or designee, shall notify the CVTMD Members on or before June 1St, that written petitions for disestablishment may be submitted during the 30-day petition period commencing on July 14th and ending on August 12th. This notice shall be given °;~both by mail or electronically to the addresses provided by the CVTMD Members. 2. Petition Contents and Timing. a. Petitions must contain: 1. TMD Member(s) business name. 2. Printed name and signature of the current business owner, or than ewne~'s authorized agent. r~ +,,o ro+;+:,,,, oa ~,<, ., „+t,,,,.;~o,a u~ "crn~rre~°c-crcrvrrmusrccrr6~irE~ c iiirvrininzvr~°c~~zia~crrEi~3~t6 t~L x~"r'r"s6~~°1,.,14' ~'<, ^~es~9~f~2~3+.,l,lo .a +~+; o• (;1 ., ravr~crA cmircirrcrcr6i~3C-l~,i~c-ZzTu ~tarized-lettert~c~ent--b~ts~r~;~rner--ana ~;'~`--~3tutemer~t 3. A written statement of ownership or agencysigned under penalty of perjury. 4. Date of signing; petitions must be dated no earlier than June 1St and no later than August 12th b. If the signator of a submitted petition no longer owns the business as of August 12th of the petition year, the petition shall not be considered; however, the current owner may submit a petition in its place, up until August 12th c. Petitions must be delivered in person to City Hall at the Finance Department's Service Center at 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA, 91910. 1 6-4 d. Petitions shall be accepted for submission during the period July 14tH through August 12th (or the next business day, if the 12~` falls on a holiday or weekend). e. Petitions meeting the above requirements will be accepted for review by the Finance Director and need not be in a specified format. However, a form petition will be available through the City's website, on the City Clerk and Finance Department pages. f. Any petition submitted shall be a public document available for public review. 3. Finance Review. a. The Finance Director shall review all petitions -submitted for the following: 1. Confirmation of business ownership by petitioners by reference to City business license data and other available information• in the event of any discrepancy, the Finance Director shall follow up with the petitioner for clairification and/or additional information; 2. Determination of whether petitions were submitted by TMD Members business owners who pay 50 percent or more of the assessments levied in the CVTMD. For purposes of this calculation, the Finance Director shall utilize CVTMD revenue and assessment data for the 12 month period ending on the preceding June 30th b. The Finance Director, or designee, may contact any of the petitioners, as needed, to obtain information necessary to conducting the above review. Failure of a petitioner to provide the requested information may result in rejection of that petitioner's submittal. c. To be counted, a petition must be submitted by a TMD Member who is current on all amounts due and payable as assessments under the CVTMD ^~ ^"^^~' ''''for the 12 month period ending on the preceding June 30th. Notice of any delinauencv will be sent by on or before August 15th Full payment of any outstanding amounts owed for this time period must be received by no later than August 30th. d. The Finance Director shall forward the petitions to the City Clerk for verification that the uetitions submitted comply with the reauirements of this policy. After verification by the City Clerk, the City Finance Director shall forward the results of the review to the City Manager, by August 31st. 2 6-5 4. City Manager Action. a. If the Finance Director review confirms and the City Clerk verifies that the business owners who pay 50 percent or more of the CVTMD assessments submitted petitions, the City Manager shall schedule a resolution of intention to disestablish the CVTMD at the next apprep~ia#~City Council meeting. b. If the Finance Director review determines that the petition was not submitted on behalf of assessees who pay at least 50 percent of the assessments, the Finance Director shall send notice thereof to each party submitting a petition, notifyin sg uch parties that they have a period of 30 days to protest such determination. Upon completion of this process the City Manager shall report the results to the City -Council during his comments at the next scheduled City Council meeting. 5. City Council Action. If a resolution of intention to disestablish is brought forth to the City Council, the Council shall proceed pursuant to Streets and Highways Code section 36670 as follows: a. Upon submission of a petition, the Council shall first pass a resolution of intention to disestablish the district and then notice a hearing on disestablishment. b. The resolution of intention to disestablish the district shall: 1. State the reason for the disestablishment 2. Contain the time and place of the public hearing before the City Council when disestablishment will be considered. 3. Include a proposal to dispose of any assets acquired with the revenues of the assessments levied within the district. c. The notice of the hearing on disestablishment shall be given by mail to the owner of each business subject to the assessment. d. The public hearing shall be conducted not less than 30 days after mailing the notice to the business owners. e. The public hearing shall be held not more than 60 days after adoption of the resolution of intention. £ Any protest to the validity of one ore more petitions, the validity of the Finance Director's determination that the 50% threshold has been reached, or any other matter must be submitted to the City Attorney, in writing, after August 12~' in the petition year, but prior toil the date provided by the Finance Director in Section 4.b., above, if the protest relates to a determination of the invalidity of one or more petitions or the failure to reach the 50% threshhold; or (2) the close of the public hearing at which City Council considers disestablishment in the event the protest relates to 6-6 the validity of one or more petitions or challenges the determination that the 50% threshhold was reached. 6-7 THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE THE ORIGINAL ITEM DETAILS PRESENTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AT THE MEETING OF JUNE 5, 2012. s-a CITY COUNCIL AGENDA STATEN~ENT -1~-,~~ C1iY OF CHUiA VISTA ~(,cn e 5, 2~I2 .., 12 ~f~f~ 8 ITEM TITLE: RESOLUTION APPROVING FOR INCLUSION WITHIN THE CITY'S ADMWISTRATIVE PROCEDURES, PROCEDURES FOR ADMINISTRATION OF ANY PETITIONS THAT MIGHT BE SU_ BMITTED FOR DISESTABLISIiMENT OF THE CHULA VISTA TOURISM AND MARKETIIvG DISTRICT SUBMITTED AND CITY ATTORNE REVIEWED BY: 415TH5 VOTE: YES ~ NO ~X SUMIVIARY On April 24, 2012, staff presented the City Council with draft procedures for the handling of petitions that might be submitted far disestablistunent of the Chula Vista Tourism and Marketing District ("CVTMD"). Since that time, we have solicited input from the Chamber of Commerce and the hotel/motel CVTA~ID members. In response to input provided by the Council, staff, and CVTMD stakeholders, minor revisions to the procedures' were made_ These aze described below. Proposed final procedures aze now presented for Council approval. ENVIROI~Z1'IENTAL REVIEW The Environmental Review Coordinator has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a "Project" as defined under Section 15378 (b) (4) of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060{c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary. RECOMMENDATION That Council adopt the resolution. BOARDS/COMNIISSION RECOMMENDATION Not Applicable. 6-9 T>~~.~~ ZD12 _ ..-, ,Item 8 Page 2 of 3 DISCCGSSI~N The CVTMD is a business improvement district established under the Property and Business Improvement District ("PBID") Law of 1994 (Streets ~d Highways Code 36500 et. seq.) The PB1D Law allows disestablishment of the district by resolution, upon submittal of a petition (or petitions) by a majority of the owners of businesses in the district who, in aggregate, pay 50 percent or more of the assessment levied. The period for presenting such a petition is the 30-day period commencing each year on the anniversary of the establishment of the district. The CVTMD was established on July 14, 2009. Thus, the next petition period will commence on July 14'~ of this year. In January 2012 a number of hotel/motel owners assessed under the TMD submitted petitions to the CVTMD. These petitions were not submitted during the time period provided by state law and did not contain alt the information -necessary to process. Because of this, the City Attorney's office identified the need for procedures to supplement the State code in this area. At the City Council meeting on March 13, 2012, the Council requested that draft procedures be brought back in April, for City Council input. Those draft procedures were submitted to the Council on April 24, 2012. Subsequently, staff met with, and presented draft procedures to, Chamber of Commerce representatives, the Chamber's TMD Board (on May 2"a) and the Chamber's Hotel/Motel Committee (an May 8~'). Draft procedures, along with a request far comments, were also -~ transmitted directly to CVTMD hotellmotel owner/operators in advance of the May 8~' HoteUMotel Committee meeting, and this Council meeting. Minor changes were proposed at the Chamber meettngs and by City staff. No separate comments were received from individual hotel/motel operators. As a result of this outreach the draft procedures were re~7sed. Changes made include: (i} eliminating the notary requirement for the business owner; (ii) deleting the requirement that the owner prove ou~ership; the owner can simply confirm that he or she is the owner by signing a statement to that effect under penalty of perjury; (iii) providing examples of acceptable documentation showing that an authorized agent has been authorized to act on the owner's behalf; {iv) identifying the City Finance Department's Service Center as the appropriate place to deliver signed petitions; (v} stating that the petitions need not be in a specified format, but that a form petition will be made available on the City's website; (vi) clarifying that submitted petitions will be public documents; and (vii) setting forth the procedures to be followed, pursuant to Streets and Highways Code sec#ion 36670, if the petition process results in the initiation of disestablishment proceedings. The proposed procedures are attached hereto for Council approval for inclusion with the City's standard administrative procedures. {Another version of the procedures highlighting the specific changes made since the version presented to tlae Council on Apri124th will be provided prior to the May 22"a meeting.) Staff recommends Council approve the proposed procedures because they are consistent with the underlying code provisions, consistent with good practices, provide for a fair and clear process, and don't impose undue burdens an potential petitioners or City staff. 6-10 TLG~e 5, ZD('Z MA_~ 2, Item C3 Page 3 of ; DECLSION MAKER CONFLICT S-~aff has re~7ewed the decision contemplated by this action and has determined that it is not site specific and consequently, the X40-foot rule found in California Code of Regulations section 18704.2(a)(1} is not applicable to this decision. CURRENT YEAR FISCAL IlIZPACT Staff time related to administering the procedures for handling the disestablishment of the Chula Vista Tourism and Marketing District will be reimbursed from the TMD contractor which is capped at 3% of the annual TA~lD revenues. Any cost incurred for administrative support by the City above the 3% cap will be considered in-kind services. ONGOING FISCAL IMPACT Staff time related to administering the procedures for handling the disestablishment of the Chula Vista Tourism and Mazketing District will be reimbursed from the TMD contractor which is capped at 3 % of the annual TMD revenues. Any cost incurred for administrative support by the City above the 3% cap will be considered in-kind services. ATTACHIVIENTS Administrative Procedures for Processing CVT`MD Disestablishment Petitions Prepared 6y:.lill Moland, ~4ssistani CityRnorney, City.4tiorneyDepartment 6-~~ ~~~r, ~. ~~ ~~a v~srA OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORI~TEY PROCEDURES FOR ADMINSTRATION OF ANY PETITIONS THAT MIGHT BE SUBMITTED BY HOTEL/MOTEL TMD MEMBERS PROPOSING DISESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHGZA VISTA TOURISM .AND MARKETING DISTRICT {`CVTMD") May 22, 2012 - - Annual Notification. The City Manager, or designee, shall notify the CVTMD Members on or before June l st, that written petitions for disestablishment may be submitted during the 30-day petition period commencing on July 14~' and ending on August 12th. This notice shall be given either by mail or electronically to the addresses provided by the CVTMD Members. d 2. Petition Contents and Timin~- a. Petitions must contain: 1. TMD Member{s) business name. 2. Printed name and signature of the current business owner, or the owner's authorized agent. If the petition is signed by an authorized agent, the petition must also include information evidencing, to the City's satisfaction, that the owner has authorized the agent to sign on his or her behalf. Examples of acceptable documentation include: (i) a notarized letter from the current business owner; and (ii} a statement signed under penalty of per,}ury. 3. A written statement of ownership signed under penalty of perjury. 4. Date of signing; petitions must be dated no earlier than June 1S1 and no later than August I2"`. b. If the signator of a submitted petition no longer owns the business as of August 12th of the petition yeaz, the petition shall not be considered; however, the current owner may submit a petition in its place, up until August 12~'. c. Petitions must be delivered in person to City Hall at the Finance Department's Service Center at 2'76 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA, 91910. 6-12 d. Petitions shall be accepted for submission during the period July 14ei through August 12~' {or the nekrt business day, if the 12~' falls on a holiday or weekend). e. Petitions meeting the above requirements will be accepted for review by the Finance Director and need not be in a specified format. However, a form petition will be available through the City's website, on the City Clerk and Finance Department pages. f. Any petition submitted shall be a public document available for public review. 3. Finance Review. a. The Finance Director shall review all petitions .submitted for the following: 1. Confirmation of business ownership by petitioners; 2. Determination of whether petitions were submitted by TMD Members business owners who pay Sa percent or more of the assessments levied in the CVTMD. For purposes of this calculation, the Finance Director shall utilize CVTMD revenue and assessment data for the 12 month period ending on the preceding June 30ei. b. The Finance Director, or designee, may contact any of the petitioners, as needed, to obtain information necessary to conducting the above review. Failure of a petitioner to provide the requested information may result in rejection of that petitioner's submittal. c. To be counted, a petition must be submitted by a TMD Member who is cu-rent on all amounts due and payable as assessments under the CVTMD as of August 12~'. d. The Finance Director shall forward the petitions to the City Clerk for verification. After verification by the City Clerk, the City Finance Director shall forward the results of the review to the City Manager, by August 31st. 4. Citv Mana er Action. a Tf the Finance Director review confirms and the City Clerk verifies that the business owners who pay 50 percent or more of the CVTNID assessments submitted petitions, the City Manager shall schedule a resolution of intention to disestablish the CVTMD at the neat appropriate City Council meeting. 2 6-13 b. If the Finance Director review determines that the petition was not submitted on behalf of assessees who pay at Ieast 50 percent of the assessments; the City Manager shall report the results to the City Council during his comments at the nexrt scheduled City Council meeting. Citv Council Action. If a resolution of intention to disestablish is brought forth to the City Council, the Council shall proceed pursuant to Streets and Highways Code section 35670 as follows: a. Upon submission of a petition, the Council shall first pass a resolution of intention to disestablish the district and then notice a hearing on disestablishsnent. b. The resolution of intention to disestablish the district shall: 1. State the reason far the disestablishment 2. Contain the time and place of the public hearing before the City Council when disestablishment will be considered. 3. Include a proposal to dispose of any assets acquired with the revenues of the assessments levied within the district. c. The notice of the hearing on disestablishment shall be given by mail to the "~ owner of each business subject to the assessment. d. The public hearing shall be conducted not less than 30 days after mailing the notice to the business owners. e. The public hearing shall be held not more than 60 days after adoption of the resolution of intention. £ Any protest to the validity of one ore more petitions, the validity of the Finance Director's determination that the 50°l° threshold has been reached, or any other mater must be submitted to the City Attorney, in writing, after August 12~' in the petition year, but prior to the close of the pubEic hearing at which City Council considers disestablishment. 6-14 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION APPROVING FOR INCLUSION WITHIN THE CITY'S ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES, PROCEDURES FOR ADMINISTRATION OF ANY PETITIONS THAT MIGHT BE SUBMITTED FOR DISESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHULA VISTA TOURISM AND MARKETING DISTRICT WHEREAS, the CVTMD is a business improvement district established under the Property and Business Improvement District ("PBID'~ Law of 1994 (Streets and Highways Code 36600 et. seq.); and WI-IEREAS, the PBID Law allows disestablishment of the district by resolution, upon submittal of a petition (or petitions) by a majority of the owners of businesses in the district who, in aggregate, pay 50 percent or more of the assessment levied; and WHEREAS, the period for presenting such a petition is the 30-day period commencing each year on the anniversary of the establishment of the district; and WHEREAS, the CVTMI? was established on July 14, 2409; and WHEREAS, the next petition period will commence on July 14~' of this yeaz; and WHEREAS, in January 2012 a number of hotel/motel owners assessed under the TA~iD submitted petitions to the CVTMD; and WHEREAS, these petitions were not submitted during the time period provided by state law and did not contain all the information necessary to process; and WHEREAS, because of this, the City Attorney's office identified the need for procedures to supplement the Staie code in this area; and WHEREAS, At the City Council meeting on March 13, 2012, the Council requested that draft procedures be brought back in April, for City Council input; and WHEREAS, those draft procedures were submitted to the Council on April 24, 2012. Subsequently, staff met with, and presented drag procedures to, Chamber of Commerce representatives, the Chamber's TMD Board (on May 2"d) and the Chamber's Hote1/Motel Committee (on May 8`''); and WHEREAS, draft procedures, along with a request for comments, were also transmitted directly to CVTMD hoteUmotel owner/operators in advance of the May 8~' Hotel/Motel Committee meeting, and this Council meeting; and 6-15 Resolution No. page 2 WHEREAS, minor changes were proposed at the Chamber meetings and by City staff; and WHEREAS, no separate comments were received from individual hoteUmotel operators; and W1~REAS, as a result of this outreach the draft procedures were revised, Changes made include: (i) eliminating the notary requirement for the business owner; (ii) deleting the requirement that the owner prove ownership; the owner can simply confirm that he or she is the owner by signing a statement to that effect under penalty of perjury; (iii) pra~~iding examples of acceptable documentation showing that an authorized agent has been authorized to act on the owner's behalf; (iv) identifying the City Finance Department's Service Center as the appropriate place to deliver signed petitions; (v)~ stating that the petitions need not be in a specified format, but that a form petition will be made available on the City's website; (vi) clarifying that submitted petitions ~~ill be public documents; and (vii) setting forth the procedures to be followed, pursuant to Streets and Highways Code section 36670, if the petition process results in the initiation of disestablishment proceedings; and WHEREAS, staff recommends Council approve the proposed procedures because they are consistent with the underlying code provisions, consistent with good practices, provide for a fair and clear process, and don't impose undue burdens on potential petitions or City staff. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the City Council of the City of Chula Vista does hereby approve for inclusion within the City's administrative procedures, procedures for administration of any petitions that might be subrnirted for disestablishment of the Chula Vista Tourism and Marketing District in the form presented, a copy of which shall be kept on file with the Directox of Finance. Presented by: Googins Atto ey Approved as to form by: _ ~~ Glen R,Googins City Atto ey 6-16