ORDINANCE NO. THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA HEIGHTS DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

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1 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA HEIGHTS REPEALING THE CITY'S EXISTING FIRE SERVICE FEE, ADOPTING A SPECIAL FIRE TAX PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 53978, TEMPORARILY CHANGING THE CITY'S APPROPRIATION LIMIT PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 13B, SECTION 4 OF THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION, AND AMENDING THE LA HABRA HEIGHTS MUNICIPAL CODE THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA HEIGHTS DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Repeal of Fire Service Fee. Chapter 1B of Article III of the La Habra Heights Municipal Code, entitled ΑFire Service Fees, and Resolution No of the City Council of the City of La Habra Heights, which established the amount of those fees, are hereby repealed. Section 2. Adoption of Special Fire Tax. A new Chapter 1B of Article III of the La Habra Heights Municipal Code is hereby adopted to read as follows: ΑCHAPTER 1B SPECIAL FIRE TAX 3100B. Imposition of Special Tax. Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, a special tax to fund fire prevention and protection services is hereby imposed on every parcel of land in the City of La Habra Heights. The tax shall be imposed each fiscal year in amounts deemed necessary by the City Council to furnish adequate fire prevention and protection services to the City, but in no event shall the tax exceed the maximum amounts permitted by this Chapter. The tax imposed by this Chapter shall be a tax upon each parcel of property, and the tax shall not be measured by the value of the property. 3101B. Maximum Tax Amounts. The maximum amount of the tax imposed on each parcel pursuant to this Chapter shall be determined as follows: (a) Acreage Charge. A tax of $49.67 shall be imposed on each parcel, other than a parcel maintained and irrigated for golf course use, for each acre or part thereof up to and including the tenth (10th) acre; plus $25.63 for each acre or part thereof in excess of ten (10) acres, up to and including the twentieth (20th) acre; plus $12.79 for each acre or part thereof in excess of twenty (20) acres. A tax of $10.28 for each acre or part thereof shall be imposed on each parcel maintained and irrigated for golf course use.

2 Page 2 (b) Residential Structure Charge. In addition to the acreage charge imposed under paragraph (a) of this Section, a residential structure charge shall be imposed on each parcel improved with one or more residential structures. If the total enclosed habitable area of the structures on the site is equal to or less than 7,000 square feet, the residential structure charge shall be $ If the total enclosed habitable area of the structures on the site exceeds 7,000 square feet, the residential structure charge shall be $ (c) Commercial and Institutional Structure Charge. In addition to the acreage charge imposed under paragraph (a) and the residential structure charge imposed under paragraph (b) of this Section, a tax of $0.12 per square foot of enclosed habitable area shall be imposed on each parcel improved with one or more commercial structures and a tax of $1, shall be imposed on each parcel improved with one or more institutional structures. (d) Fuel Storage Facility Charge. In addition to the acreage charge imposed under paragraph (a) and the structure charges imposed under paragraphs (b) and (c) of this Section, a tax of $2, shall be imposed on each parcel improved with a fuel storage facility, pump station, natural gas underground storage facility or compressor station. 3102B. Exemptions. (a) The following parcels shall be exempt from the tax imposed by this Chapter: agencies; 1. Parcels owned by federal or state governmental 2. Parcels owned by local governmental agencies; 3. Parcels exempt from taxation by the City pursuant to the laws or constitutions of the United States and the State of California. (b) Any person claiming an exemption from the tax imposed by this Chapter shall file a verified statement of exemption on a form prescribed by the City Manager prior to June 30th of the first fiscal year for which the exemption is sought. 3103B. Administrative Determinations; Appeal Procedures. (a) The records of the Los Angeles County Assessor as of March 1st of each year shall determine the use and improvement of each parcel for the calculation of the tax applicable to that parcel in the following fiscal year. As used

3 Page 3 in this Chapter, Αparcel shall mean each contiguous unit of improved or unimproved real property held in separate ownership, including, but not limited to, any single-family residence, or any other unit of real property subject to the Subdivision Map Act, Government Code Section et seq. (b) The City Manager shall administer this Chapter. Appeals of any determination of the City Manager shall be submitted in writing to the City Clerk not later than July 1st of the fiscal year for which the tax is imposed. The City Council shall consider the appeal and issue a decision to the appellant in writing. 3104B. Special Fund; Use of Tax Proceeds. The proceeds of the tax imposed by this Chapter shall be placed in a special fund to be used for the fire prevention and protection services set forth in Government Code Section and for no other purpose. 3105B. Annual Determination of Tax Amounts; Inflation Adjustments. (a) The City Council shall annually act by resolution to determine the amount of revenue necessary to provide adequate fire protection and prevention services to the City and to establish tax amounts sufficient to generate that revenue. However, the City Council may not impose tax amounts in excess of those provided by Section 3101B of this Chapter, adjusted for inflation as provided in paragraph (b) of this Section, without the approval of two-thirds of the voters of the City voting on the question. (b) The maximum tax amounts specified by Section 3101B of this Chapter shall be increased by the lesser of (i) percent ( %) or (ii) the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the Los Angeles-Anaheim- Riverside area published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, or any successor to that index, increases in the twelve months prior to March of the year in which the adjustment is made. The City Manager shall annually recalculate the maximum tax amounts pursuant to this paragraph (b) and shall give notice of that determination in the manner required by law for notice of ordinances of the City. 3106B. Collection With Property Taxes. The special tax imposed by this Chapter shall be due in the same manner, on the same dates, and subject to the same penalties and interest as established by law for other charges and taxes fixed and collected by the County of Los Angeles on behalf of the City of La Habra Heights. The special tax imposed by this Chapter,

4 Page 4 together with all penalties and interest thereon, shall constitute a lien upon the parcel upon which it is levied until it has been paid, and shall constitute a personal obligation of the owners of the parcel on the date the tax is due. Section 3. Appropriations Limit; Expiration. Pursuant to Article 13B, 4 of the California Constitution, the appropriations limit for the City of La Habra Heights is hereby increased by the maximum aggregate amount projected to be collected pursuant to the special fire tax imposed by this Ordinance. This Section 3 shall expire on July, 2001 and the appropriations limit of the City shall thereafter be determined as if this Ordinance had not been adopted. The remainder of this Ordinance shall be unaffected by the expiration of this Section 3 and shall remain in effect until repealed. Section 4. Amendment of Ordinance. The City Council is hereby authorized to amend this Ordinance by three (3) affirmative votes of its members for the purpose of carrying out the general purposes of this Ordinance, to conform the provisions of this Ordinance to applicable state law, to permit the County Tax Collector or another public official to collect the special tax levied by this Ordinance in conjunction with County taxes, or to re-assign the duties of public officials under this Ordinance. In no event, however, may the City Council alter the provisions of Sections 3101B, 3104B, or 3105B of the La Habra Heights Municipal Code as adopted by this Ordinance without the approval of two-thirds of the voters of the City voting on the question. Section 5. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions of this Ordinance shall nonetheless remain in full force and effect. The people of the City of La Habra Heights hereby declare that they would have adopted each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions of this Ordinance be declared invalid or unenforceable. Section 6. Two-Thirds Approval; Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be effective only if approved by two-thirds (Ѐ) of the voters voting thereon and shall go into effect ten (10) days after the vote is declared by the City Council.

5 Page 5 Section 7. Execution. The Mayor is hereby authorized to attest to the adoption of this Ordinance by signing where indicated below. I hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED by the people of the City of La Habra Heights voting on the day of July John Powers MAYOR ATTEST: Leslie L. Doolittle CITY CLERK