Municipal Code, Complete - City of Santa Barbara

VI. EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AND MISCELLANEOUS CLASSIFICATIONS.
Group A. EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES. Nineteen cents ($0.19) per usable square foot.
Group B. MISCELLANEOUS. All classifications not otherwise provided for, nineteen cents ($0.19) per
usable square foot.
VII. HOTELS AND MOTELS. Two-hundred seventy dollars ($270.00) per guestroom per year for guestrooms
without assigned parking spaces.
VIII. MISCELLANOUS EXEMPT BUSINESSES AND RESIDENCES. Residences, alleys, private parking, and
businesses engaged in auto repairing, servicing or sales, and warehousing and manufacturing, shall be exempt from
the additional annual business assessment, provided that the business described in this section shall be subject to the
additional assessment for the portion of business area devoted to office space or retail sales in connection with that
business. (Ord. 5521, 2010.)
4.37.050 Exclusions.
A. CALCULATION OF GROSS FLOOR AREA. In instances where the assessment is computed on the basis of
square footage, for purposes of computation of the assessment there shall be excluded any unoccupied or unusable
area and, with respect to area occupied for a portion of the assessment period, there shall be excluded the portion of
the area equal to the portion of the period during which the area was unoccupied.
B. EXCLUSIONS FROM CALCULATIONS. For the purpose of computing the square footage on which the
assessment is computed for telephone and telegraph businesses, there shall be excluded in addition to the exclusions
provided in subsection (a), all areas occupied by telephone or telegraph equipment used in interstate commerce, and
any area not clearly devoted to intrastate activities to the end that interstate commerce shall not be unreasonably
burdened by the assessment herein provided. (Ord. 4719, 1991.)
4.37.060 Off-premises Businesses.
Businesses within the combined zone of charge which have gross sales transactions which are originated,
negotiated and executed off the main business premises shall be designated "off-premises businesses" if at least
thirty-five percent (35%) of such sales transactions are so consummated. Off-premises business shall be assessed on
the basis of the gross sale transactions originated, negotiated or executed on the premises. (Ord. 4719, 1991.)
4.37.080 Credit Against Additional Annual Business Assessment.
Each business within the combined zone of charge shall be entitled to a credit against this assessment representing
the percentage of the required on site parking which each such business provides. The credit for each business shall
be limited to a maximum of seventy-five percent (75%) of the annual assessment assessed for that business. For the
purposes of computing the percentage credit, the amount of required parking shall be determined based on the gross
floor area of the business. To qualify for the credit, parking areas provided by businesses must be improved to the
current standards of the City, be open to patrons of the business and shall be located within two hundred fifty feet
(250') of the business claiming the credit. (Ord. 4719, 1991.)
4.37.090 Payment When.
The assessments collected pursuant to this ordinance shall be payable on or before the 15th day following the
close of each calendar quarter, and shall be based upon the gross sales, square feet of gross floor area, gross deposits,
or number of persons, as the case may be, for such preceding calendar quarter. Assessments shall be delinquent after
the last day of the month which follows the end of a calendar quarter.
Payments shall be accompanied by returns, on forms provided by the City Finance Director. Each owner or
operator of a business shall correctly fill in the return, sign the same and certify under penalty of perjury that the
contents are true and correct.
If a person is not in business for a full calendar quarter and the assessment is not based upon gross sales, the
amount of assessment shall be pro-rated according to the proportion of the quarter in which he was engaged in
business.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, if a person ceases to engage in business, the assessment shall become
due immediately and shall become delinquent thirty (30) days thereafter. (Ord. 4719, 1991.)
4.37.100 Failure to Pay Assessment - Penalty.
For the failure to pay a assessment on or before the delinquency date, the City Finance Director shall add a penalty
of ten percent (10%), and he shall add an additional penalty of ten percent (10%) at the end of each thirty (30) day
period thereafter; provided, that the amount of such penalty to be added shall in no event exceed fifty percent (50%)
of the assessment to which the penalty rates herein provided for have been applied. (Ord. 4719, 1991.)
78-3 rev. 6/30/10