Pass: 4,205 / 63.5% Yes votes ...... 2,420 / 36.5% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

The existing business license tax does not apply to any commercial parking lot owner or operator that is not required to obtain a business license. For example, other public agencies that own parking lots within South San Francisco, such as the City and County of San Francisco or the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, may not be required to pay the tax. As a result, long term commercial parking is not taxed uniformly within the City.

The proposed ordinance includes a uniform structure that would authorize the City to levy a tax directly on parking customers in the City. The tax would be equal to eight (8) percent of the parking rate charged by the operator of the lot. If this ordinance is approved, the City would only be able to levy either the existing business license tax or the new commercial parking tax, but not both.

Pursuant to the proposed ordinance, parking lot operators would collect the tax and then pay the tax amounts collected to the City. For all customers who use existing commercial parking facilities, there is no anticipated impact on parking prices. The proposed ordinance exempts customers who park at City-owned lots and customers who park at public agency lots for less than 24 hours from payment of the parking tax. Thus, those customers who park at public agency parking lots for more than 24 hours would be subject to the parking tax.

A "yes" vote would authorize the City to levy the new commercial parking tax.

A "no" vote would retain the current business license tax applied to operators of commercial parking facilities.

Because the proceeds from the commercial parking tax will be used for general fund purposes, this ballot measure requires a majority affirmative ("yes") vote for approval.

Respectfully Submitted:

Steven T. Mattas, City Attorney

The parking tax has worked very well, but in 2006, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) opened a large parking garage in South San Francisco. That garage is larger than any others in South San Francisco, but at present the operator has found a loophole that allows it to pay an effective rate of approximately 1%, while other private commercial parking facilities pay the 8% rate.

In order to level the playing field for all businesses, the City Council placed this measure on the ballot to change the application of the parking tax from the current 8% tax on the revenues of the parking companies to instead be an 8% tax on the customers who park in publicly-owned and privatelyowned parking facilities. This would remove the loophole for the facility at SFO and would generate an estimated one million dollars ($1,000,000) for the City of South San Francisco. Because private parking companies pass the current tax on to their customers, these customers would not see an increase. Nor would it result in a double tax.

Passage of this measure will help the City maintain and improve its services. Vote Yes on Measure C.

/s/ Joseph Fernekes City Councilmember

/s/ Karyl Matsumoto City Councilmember

/s/ Barbara Irli Parking Place Commissioner

/s/ Pablo Gonzalez Parks & Recreation Commissioner

/s/ Robert Simms President, Park SFO

The Voters of the City of South San Francisco, State of California, hereby ordain as follows:

SECTION 1. Purpose, Intent and Authority.

The tax imposed by this ordinance is an excise tax on the activity of parking motor vehicles in the City of South San Francisco where there is a rent charged for parking. It is not a tax on real property, nor is it any other kind of tax on property or the ownership of property. It is not a transaction or sales tax on the sale of real property. The tax is a general tax under Proposition 218 and will be submitted to the voters on November 6, 2007.

SECTION 2. Chapter 4.22 is hereby added to the South San Francisco Municipal Code as set forth below:

CHAPTER 4.22 COMMERCIAL PARKING TAX

4.22.010 Short title.

This chapter shall be known as the Commercial Parking Tax of the City of South San Francisco.

4.22.020 Definitions.

When used in this chapter the following terms shall mean or include:

(a) "The City" + The City of South San Francisco.

(b) "Lost ticket" + A parking ticket that has been issued to and misplaced by an occupant and which has not been returned to the operator with payment of rent.

(c) "Motor vehicle" + Any self-propelled vehicle operated or suitable for operation on the highway.

(d) "Occupancy" + The use or possession or the right to the use or possession of any space for the parking of a motor vehicle in a parking station.

(e) "Occupant" + A person who, for consideration, uses, possesses or has the right to use or possess any space for the parking of a motor vehicle in a parking station under any lease, concession, permit, right of access, license to use, or other agreement.

(f) "Operator" + Any person operating a parking station in the City, including but not limited to, the owner or proprietor of such premises, lessee, sublessee, mortgagee in possession, licensee or any other person otherwise operating such parking station. A person who otherwise qualifies as an operator as herein defined shall not, by reason of the fact that he or she is exempt from the parking tax herein imposed, be exempted from the obligations of an operator hereunder.

(g) "Parking space" + A marked area or space designated for and only large enough for the parking of a single motor vehicle.

(h) "Parking Station" + The term "parking station" shall include, but is not limited to:

(1) Any outdoor space or uncovered plot, place, lot, parcel, yard or enclosure, or any portion thereof, where motor vehicles may be parked, stored, housed or kept, for which any charge is made;

(2) Any building or structure, or any portion thereof in which motor vehicles may be parked, stored, housed or kept, for which any charge is made.

(i) "Parking ticket" + The record provided by the operator to the occupant setting forth the time and date that the occupant's vehicle entered the parking station that is used by the operator to determine the rent charged to the occupant.

(j) "Rent" + The consideration received for occupancy valued in money, whether received in money or otherwise, including all receipts, cash, credits and property or services of any kind or nature, and also the amount for which credit is allowed by the operator to the occupant without any deduction therefrom whatsoever.

(k) "Tax Collector" + The Director of Finance of the City of South San Francisco or his or her designee.

(l) "Transaction" + The calculation and payment of rent for occupancy.

(m) "Unaccounted ticket" + A ticket that is issued to an occupant and is not returned to the operator. A lost ticket is an unaccounted ticket.

4.22.030 Imposition and rate of parking tax.

Subject to the provisions of this chapter, there is hereby imposed a tax of eight percent of the rent of every occupancy of a parking space in a parking station in the City.

4.22.040 Charges subject to parking tax.

The term "rent," as defined in section 4.22.020(j), shall be deemed to include the total charges required to be paid by an occupant (including but not limited to any separately stated valet or service labor charge for parking) in connection with the use or occupancy of a parking space, provided that nothing herein shall require the payment of parking tax on the sale of petroleum products, automobile parts, or the like, or the rendering of services (including car-wash services) totally unconnected with the use or occupancy of a parking space. The cost of services provided by an operator to an occupant at no extra or separate charge shall not reduce the amount of rent subject to the tax.

4.22.050 Occupant to pay parking tax to operator.

Unless prohibited by the laws of the United States, the State of California, or exempted by the provisions of this code, every occupant occupying a parking space or spaces in a parking station in the City shall be required to pay the parking tax to the operator along with the rent for occupancy.

4.22.060 Exemptions.

No parking tax shall be imposed (a) On the rent for the occupancy of a parking space in a parking station of which the City is the owner or operator, either directly or through contract.

(b) On the rent for the occupancy of a parking space in a parking station where the occupant is exempt from being subject to the parking tax under the laws of the United States or the State of California.

4.22.070 Administration.

(a) The Tax Collector shall deposit all moneys collected pursuant to this chapter into the general fund of the City. The collections may be expended for any City purpose.

(b) The Tax Collector shall enforce the provisions of this chapter and may prescribe, adopt, and enforce rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter as may be necessary or desirable to aid in the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter. Such rules and regulations may include exemptions from the parking tax and may otherwise create limitations to the application of the parking tax. However, any rule or regulation promulgated by the Tax Collector that creates an exemption or limitation to the parking tax shall be only temporary unless explicitly approved by the City Council as a permanent exemption or limitation. The Tax Collector may also prescribe the extent to which any rule or regulation shall be applied without retroactive effects.

4.22.080 Collection of parking tax by operator; receipt to occupant.

(a) Every operator renting a parking space in a parking station in the City to an occupant who is not exempted under this chapter or elsewhere in this code, shall at the time of collecting the rent from the occupant collect the parking tax from the occupant and on demand shall give to the occupant a receipt for the transaction. In all cases in which the parking tax is not collected by the operator the operator shall be liable to the City for the amount of parking tax due on the amount of taxable rent collected from the occupant under the provisions of this chapter, the same as though the parking tax were paid by the occupant.

(b) Unless the operator can provide an explanation or other sufficient proof that the Tax Collector in his or her sole discretion deems to be credible to establish the validity of a claim for a lost ticket or an otherwise unaccounted ticket, every lost ticket and unaccounted ticket shall be considered as a full value parking ticket for which the operator is liable for transmitting to the City the full value of the parking tax required under this code applicable to a full day's rent for a single parking space occupancy without discount.

4.22.090 Reporting and remitting.

(a) On or before the last day of each month, each operator shall file a return with the Tax Collector on forms provided by the City reporting the total amount of rent charged and received and the total amount of parking tax collected by the operator for the occupancy of the operator's parking spaces in the previous month.

(b) On or before the last day of each month, each operator shall remit to the Tax Collector the parking tax collected by the operator for the occupancy of the operator's parking spaces in the previous month.

(c) Returns and remittances are due within ten days of the cessation of business for any reason, or within ten days of a change in ownership of the business. All parking taxes collected by operators pursuant to this chapter shall be held in trust for the account of the City until payment thereof is made to the Tax Collector

4.22.100 Penalties and interest.

(a) Any parking tax that is not remitted to the City within the time required is delinquent and the operator shall pay a penalty of ten percent of the amount of delinquent parking tax.

(b) An operator who fails to remit any delinquent parking tax on or before a period of thirty days following the date on which the parking tax first became delinquent shall pay an additional delinquency penalty of another ten percent of the amount of the delinquent parking tax.

(c) If the Tax Collector determines that the nonpayment of any remittance due under this chapter is due to fraud, a penalty of ten percent of the amount of the tax shall be added thereto in addition to the penalties stated in subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section.

(d) In addition to the penalties imposed by this section, any operator who fails to remit any tax imposed by this chapter shall pay interest at the rate of one percent per month, or fraction thereof, on the amount of the delinquent tax, exclusive of penalties, from the date on which the remittance first became delinquent until paid.

(e) Every penalty imposed and such interest as accrues under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the parking tax required to be remitted by the operator.

4.22.180 Actions to collect.

Any parking tax required to be paid by any occupant under the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a debt owed by the occupant to the City. Any such parking tax collected by an operator which has not been paid to the City shall be deemed a debt owed by the operator to the City. Any person owing money to the City under the provisions of this chapter shall be liable in an action brought in the name of the City for the recovery of such amount.

4.22.200 Determination by City Council to impose either the commercial parking tax or the business license tax on commercial parking facilities.

(a) For any calendar year the City may only impose throughout the City either the commercial parking tax of this chapter or the business license tax on commercial parking facilities in section 6.16.047 of this Code. The City may not impose both taxes anywhere in the City at the same time. The decision whether to impose the commercial parking tax or the business license tax on commercial parking facilities is within the discretion of the City Council to decide. If the City Council wishes to change which tax is being collected, it shall do so by resolution passed before the start of the calendar year to which it is to apply.

(b) Whenever the commercial parking tax of this chapter is being imposed, and the business license tax on commercial parking facilities in section 6.16.047 is not being imposed, commercial parking facilities shall be subject to the business license tax provided for in section 6.16.240.

SECTION 3. Section 6.16.047 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as set forth below:

6.16.047 Commercial parking facility.

(a) Commercial Parking Facility Defined. "Commercial parking facility" means any privately owned or operated facility which provides, for any form of consideration, parking or storage for motor vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, bicycles or other similar means of conveyance for passengers or property. Privately owned or operated facilities, which would otherwise be within the foregoing definition of "commercial parking facility," are excluded from that definition when rented appurtenant to the rental of residential-dwelling units which are not otherwise required to be licensed pursuant to this chapter.

(b) "Operator" means any person who, as owner, lessee, employee, agent or otherwise, operates, maintains, manages, keeps, permits or allows to be operated, maintained, managed or keep any commercial parking facility in or upon any premises owned, leased, managed, operated or controlled by such person within the city.

(c) The license tax payable by operator shall be eight percent of the gross receipts received from facilities operated within South San Francisco without deduction therefrom.

(d) This section shall become operative and the tax set forth herein shall be imposed on January 1st, 1983.

(e) For any calendar year the City may only impose throughout the City either the business license tax on commercial parking facilities of this section or the commercial parking tax of chapter 4.22. The City may not impose both taxes at the same time anywhere in the City. The decision whether to impose the commercial parking tax of chapter 4.22 or the business license tax on commercial parking facilities of this section is within the discretion of the City Council to decide. If the City Council wishes to change which tax is being collected, it shall do so by resolution passed before the start of the calendar year to which it is to apply. Whenever the commercial parking tax of chapter 4.22 is being imposed, and the business license tax on commercial parking facilities of this section is not being imposed, commercial parking facilities shall be subject to the business license tax provided for in section 6.16.240

SECTION 4. Power of the City Council to Amend This Ordinance

It is the intent of the voters in approving the commercial parking tax in this ordinance that the City Council shall have the power to amend the terms of the commercial parking tax as approved by the voters, including but not limited to, creating further exceptions to the commercial parking tax, reducing the rate of the commercial parking tax, and creating procedures for the administration and collection of the commercial parking tax (including changing the dates on which the tax must be remitted to the City by an operator).

SECTION 5. Effective Date

Unless and until the City Council provides otherwise pursuant to section 6.16.047, subdivision (e), and section 4.22.200 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code as amended by this ordinance, the commercial parking tax shall go into effect for the 2008 calendar year, and the business license tax on commercial parking facilities in section
6.16.047 will not be imposed.

SECTION 6. Severability

In the event any section or portion of this ordinance shall be determined invalid or unconstitutional, such section or portion shall be deemed severable and all other sections or portions hereof shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 7. Authority for Ordinance

This ordinance is enacted pursuant to the authority of section
37100.5 of the Government Code.

SECTION 8. Election Required

The tax proposed by this ordinance shall not become effective until approved by majority of the voters voting on the issue at the November 6, 2007 election.