Loading...
Ord 1876 - Establishing the Downtown Los Gatos Business Improvement DistrictORDINANCE 1876 ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS ESTABLISHING THE DOWNTOWN LOS GATOS BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS DOES HEREBY SECTION I Downtown Los Gatos Business Improvement District Section 1.100 - Purpose and Findings a. The businesses in the downtown area of the town of Los Gatos are under utilized and limited by inadequate facilities, services and activities; and b. It is in the public interest to promote the economic revitalization and physical maintenance of the downtown area to create jobs, attract new businesses, and prevent erosion of the business district; and C. The businesses within the District would benefit by the expenditure of the funds raided by the assessments levied by an assessment district. Section 1.010 - Resolution of Intention, Public Hearing and Protests a. Resolution of Intention On September 16, 1991, the Town Council of Los Gatos, on behalf of the Town of Los Gatos (the "Town "), adopted Resolution 1991 -204 entitled "Resolution of Intent of the Town of Los Gatos Declaring Its Intention to Establish a Business Improvement Area To Be Known As the Downtown Los Gatos Business Improvement District" (the "Resolution "), declaring its intention to establish a business improvement district (hereinafter referred to as the "District "), to levy a benefit assessment on all businesses, trades, professions, and vendors within said District, the proceeds of which shall be used for the public purposes herein described to benefit the businesses in the District, pursuant to the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989, Part 6 (commencing with Section 36500) of Division 18 of the California Streets and Highways Code (the "Act "). -1- b. Public Hearing Pursuant to the Act and the Resolution, Town conducted a public hearing, after having given due notice thereof as required by law, on October 7, 1991, at 7:30 p.m., at Town Hall, 110 E. Main Street, Los Gatos, California, and heard and considered all oral and written protests and other comments regarding such proposed actions. C. Valuation of Protests The value of written protests from businesses in the proposed District did not equal 50% or more of the proposed assessment. Section 1.015 - Definitions In order to distinguish between District businesses and for the purpose of calculating and applying the amount of assessments owed, the following definitions shall apply: (a) Billing Period: 'Billing Periods" shall refer to the one (1) period of each calendar year. The 'Billing Period" shall be the period of January 1st through December 31st, inclusive, of the calendar year. (b) Professional: "Professional" includes attorneys, architects, engineers, surveyors, physicians, dentists, optometrists, chiropractors and other in a medical /health service field, consultants, real estate brokers, and leasing agents, laboratories (including dental and optical), hearing aid services, artists and designers, banks, and savings and loans, etc.; (c) Restaurants: 'Restaurant" businesses include cafes, bars, eating establishments, sandwich shops, dinner houses, restaurants and fast food services and other similar businesses; (d) Retail Businesses: 'Retail Businesses" include all businesses not covered by other definitions set out in this Section, at least fifty percent (50 %) of whose gross income is derived from "retail sales" as that term is defined under the California Sales and Use Tax Law. The fact that a substantial part of its business consists of sales other than retail sales does not exclude said business from this classification so long as such other business component does not account for more than fifty percent (50 %) of said business' gross income; (e) Service Business /Banks & Financial: "Service" businesses include general office, news and advertising media, printers, photographers, personal care facilities and outlets, contractors /builders, service stations, repairing and servicing businesses, leasing businesses, utilities, vending machine -2- businesses, banks, savings and loans, and other similar businesses not otherwise defined as Professional, Retail Businesses, or Restaurants. Section 1.020 - Establishment of District Boundaries and Benefit Zones A business improvement district to be known as the "Downtown Los Gatos Business Improvement District" (the "District "), is hereby established pursuant to the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989, Streets and Highways Code Section 36500 et seq. The businesses in the District shall be subject to any amendments of the Act. The boundaries of the district and the benefit zones within the district shall be as set forth on Exhibit "A ", attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. Section 1.025 - Establishment of Benefit Assessment a. All businesses, trades, and professions located within the District boundaries shown on Exhibit "A" shall, commencing January 1, 1992, pay an annual benefit assessment to the District in the following amounts: Benefit Zone A Benefit Zone B * Type 1 - Retail /Restaurants $350.00 $175.00 **Type 2 - Retail /Restaurants 500.00 250.00 Type 3 - Service /Businesses Banks & Financial 250.00 125.00 Type 4 - Professional 150.00 75.00 *Type 1 includes retail businesses with 1 -9 employees and restaurants with 1 -15 employees (full -time equivalent) * *Type 2 includes retail business with 10+ employees and restaurants with 16 or more employees (full -time equivalent) b. No person or business shall be required to pay an assessment for: (a) a residential use of the property within the District, or (b) uses by a non - profit organization as defined by Section 501 (C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. Section 1.030 - Purpose and Use of Benefit Assessments A levy of assessments on businesses in the District shall provide for the following improvements and activities. These funds shall not be used to provide improvements or activities outside the District. a. The acquisition, construction, installation, or maintenance of any tangible property with an estimated useful life of five years or more including, but not limited to, the following improvements: (1) Trash receptacles -3- (2) Visitor amenities such as benches and water fountains b. Activities including, but not limited to, the following: (1) Maintenance and enhancement of District public areas (a) Encourage the Town of Los Gatos to carry out programs that include physical clean -up of streets and sidewalks and sidewalk steam cleaning on a regular basis. (b) Clean -up vacant lots (c) Clean -up parking lots (d) Clean -up, visual improvements to existing commercial vacancies (e) Plant downtown trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants downtown (2) Commercial Marketing /District Advertising - Image Building Campaign - Create an institutional, long term, image - building campaign - Design and implement a campaign to encourage community shopping in Los Gatos rather than in nearby malls and competing commercial districts - Create and implement an annual program of downtown - oriented retail events and activities - Coordinate closely with Chamber of Commerce regarding overall, Town -wide marketing plan (3) Commercial Recruitment and Retention Program This program will actively seek the most suitable new businesses to fill existing vacancies or vacancies as they occur. Aggressive recruitment of most desired new businesses will be pursued by creation and production of a marketing package, which may include a video. This program will also provide support services to existing businesses in the form of small business assistance financing and merchandising seminars. -4- (4) District Shuttle Service Program During the current period of downtown parking shortages, this program will assist with the development of a shuttle service to act as a people mover throughout the year for both customers and employees. The shuttle service will provide free transportation to all persons throughout an expanded service area in coordination with other Los Gatos marketing groups. Secti 1.035 - Collection of Benefit Assessment The benefit assessment shall be billed and collected once each fiscal year by the Town at no charge to the District. The District's fiscal year shall be January 1 to December 31. The Town will forward all funds collected to the District within 30 days of collection. Town will mail bills by first class mail no later than December 1st for the payment to be due no later than January 1st. Payments not received by February 1st will be considered late. New businesses entering the business improvement district will pay the assessment on a pro -rata basis. The pro- ration will be to the nearest quarter. Late payment penalties of 25% per month shall be imposed onto businesses that do not make timely payments. When late payment penalties equal 100% of the total annual assessment, judicial action may be taken to recover delinquent assessments and penalties. Costs of this recovery shall be borne by the business owing the assessment and late penalties. Section 1.040 - Voluntary Contributions to District Contributions to the District shall be permitted on a voluntary basis. The boundary of the District shall not be modified as a result of the contribution, nor shall any contributing business be considered a member of the District for voting or other purposes. However, said business making a voluntary contribution may be entitled to participate in the programs of the District upon a finding by the Board of Directors that the District derives a benefit from said business' participation in the program. Section 1.045 - Establishment of District Board of Directors There shall be a Board of Directors ('Board ") of the District to administer the affairs of the district. The Board shall be composed of representatives of eleven (11) member businesses of the District. The initial Board shall be appointed by the Town Council from a list of eleven (11) business operators located in the District that is submitted by the Formation Committee. Six (6) of these appointments shall be for a two (2) year term, and the remaining five (5) appointments shall be for a one (1) year term. At the beginning of the second year, the Directors shall be elected to one (1) year staggered terms by vote of the members of the District. The Town Council shall confirm and -5- appoint the Directors according to the results of the election as provided by the Board. Within the Board there shall be a President, Vice - President, Secretary and Treasurer elected by the membership, and such other officers as deemed necessary by the Board. Such other officers shall be appointed by the Board of Directors at their discretion. All voting within the District regarding election of Board members and any actions regarding the normal and routine conducting of District business shall be based on one (1) vote per assessed business, and said business must be current in payment of their District assessment(s) to participate in such votes. Section 1.050 - Annual Report Process Pursuant Section 36533 of the Act, as it may be amended, the District Board of Directors shall present an annual report for public hearing before the Town Council, review, and approval prior to the beginning of any Fiscal Year. The Town Council may approve the annual report as presented by the District Board of Directors or may modify any particular contained in the report and approve it as modified. Decisions of the District Board of Directors regarding expenditures of all funds generated under this program shall be final to the extent they are consistent with the District's annual report approved by the Town Council. Section 1.055 - Annual Assessment Process After approval of the annual report, the Town Council shall adopt a resolution of intention to levy an assessment for that fiscal year, consistent with the requirements of Sections 36534 -36536 of the Act as they may be amended. Section 1.060 - District Proceeds Do Not Offset Town Services Town specifically finds and declares that the funds derived from the District shall not be used to offset or diminish current maintenance, capital improvement programs, including but not limited to, public property and sidewalk cleaning, street cleaning and maintenance, tree maintenance, restroom cleaning and maintenance. The Town declares its intent to provide at least the same level and standard of maintenance and repair of public property within the District providing Town funds are available from year to year. Section 1.065 - Public Parking The proceeds of the benefit assessments established hereunder shall not be used to acquire and /or construct additional public parking, unless such use of the funds is first approved by a majority vote of the District members voting. Section 1.070 - Disestablishment of the District Proceedings to disestablish the District shall be initiated by the Town Council following the presentation of a petition to the Town Council signed by business owners paying 50% or more of the assessments levied in the District. Proceedings to disestablish the District shall follow the procedures set forth in Section 36550 of the Act as it may be amended. In the event of disestablishment of the District, remaining revenues of the District shall be refunded to paying business owners in a pro -rata manner calculated in the same manner as was used to establish the most recent assessments applied in the District. SECTION II If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this ordinance, it being expressly declared that this ordinance and each section, subsection, clause and phrase hereof would have been prepared, proposed, adopted, approved and ratified irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. -7- SECTION III This ordinance takes effect 30 days after it is adopted. Within 15 days after this ordinance is adopted the Town Clerk shall cause it to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the Town. This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos on October 21, 1991 and adopted by the following vote as an ordinance of the Town of Los Gatos at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos on November 4, 1991. COUNCIL MEMBERS: AYES: Randy Attaway, Joanne Benjamin, Steven Blanton, Eric D. Carlson Mayor Brent N. Ventura NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None SIGNED : MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA ATTEST: � CLERK OF THE TOWN OF LO., GATOS LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA V4