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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/07/2009, C10 - INCREASE IN MEMBERS TO THE TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ADVISORY BOARD council j acEnaa Repoin CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO FROM: Shelly Stanwyck, Assistant City Administrative Officer Prepared By: Brigitte Elke, Principal Administrative Analyst SUBJECT: INCREASE IN MEMBERS TO THE TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ADVISORY BOARD RECOMMENDATION As recommended by the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Board, introduce an ordinance amending ordinance 1517 to increase the number of TBID board members from five to seven. DISCUSSION Background In June 2008 Council adopted Ordinance 1517 (Attachment 1) establishing a tourism business improvement district as requested by the local lodging industry. The ordinance (Attachment 1 — TBID Ordinance 1517) stipulated that Council appoint an advisory body to recommend the use of the collected funds. The number of board members was set at five: 12.42.100 ADVISORY BODY. An advisory body comprised of five(5 ) members is hereby created to carry out the functions of an advisory board under Section 3653 0 of the law. Said advisory body shall be referred to as the Tourism Business Improvement District Board or TBID Board. The members of the TBID Board shall be appointed following the City's recruitment guidelines for Advisory Bodies. All applicants and members must be operators of hotels within the district, or employed by the operator of such a hotel. On September 3, 2008 the board convened for its first time and has since been meeting for the regular meeting on the second Wednesday of each month and called several special meetings to address more specific issues. During that time, several hoteliers have participated in the audience with a keen interest in the board's business and have been invited by the board to actively participate and comment. At the same time, the board has had difficulty maintaining quorums due to the board members' individual schedules and business challenges. Discussion Facing the difficulty of maintaining a quorum and the fact that very important decisions were made on a 3-member vote, as well as the fact that several hoteliers were interested in participating, the board asked staff to look into either augmenting the number of board members C/o-/ Council Agenda Report—TBID RFP for Marketing Services Page 2 or appointing alternates to the board in cases where elected board members were unable to attend the meeting. In collaboration with the City Attorney and the City Clerk, staff established that both alternatives required the same process: amending the existing ordinance, followed by recruiting and interviewing potential applicants or electing new members or alternates. When presenting the two options to the board, the members felt that an increase of board members would be most beneficial to the industry. It would not only guarantee a quorum, but would involve a broader spectrum of participants and representatives of the assessed lodging industry. The board therefore voted to recommend that Council increase the board membership to seven board members and direct the City Clerk to start the recruitment (Attachment 2 — Board Minutes). Next Steps If Council approves the recommended increase in advisory board members, the City Clerks will open the recruitment for the two positions. All businesses in the TBID will receive notification and will be directed to apply for the board positions online. The Council liaisons to the board, Andrew Carter and Allen Settle, will then interview the applicants to recommend appointment to Council. FISCAL IMPACT There is a minor fiscal impact due to the unscheduled recruitment process that will be required following approval of the recommended action. ATTACHMENTS 1. Ordinance 1517 2. TBID Board Minutes from May 2009 3. Amended Ordinance �/0-� ATTACHMENT ORDINANCE NO. 1517 (2008 Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO ESTABLISHING THE SAN LUIS OBISPO CITY TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT(TBID),FIXING THE BOUNDARIES THEREOF, PROVIDING FOR THE LEVY OF A BUSINESS ASSESSMENT TO BE PAID BY HOTELS IN SUCH DISTRICT WHEREAS, on April 15,2008, the City of San Luis Obispo Council adopted Resolution No. 9972 (2008 Series) entitled,"Resolution of the City of San Luis Obispo Declaring its Intention to Establish the San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District(TBID),to Establish the Basis for and to Levy the Assessment for the District and to Set.Dates for the Public Hearing on the District and the Proposed Assessment"; and WHEREAS,as specified in such Resolution,the boundaries of the district encompass the City of San Luis Obispo, and there are no separate benefit zones within the district; and WHEREAS,said Resolution was published and copies thereof were duly mailed and posted, all as provided by state law and specified in the Resolution; and WHEREAS,pursuant to that Resolution a public meeting concerning the formation of said district was held before the City Council on May 20, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City hall; and WHEREAS, also pursuant to Resolution a public hearing concerning the formation of said district was held before the City Council on June 3,2008 at Tp.m..in the City Council Chambers at City Hall; and WHEREAS, all written and oral protests made or filed were duly heard, and testimony for and against the proposed action was received and considered', and WHEREAS, the City Council determined that there was no majority protest within the meaning of Streets and Highways Code.Section 36525.,as written protests were not received from owners of businesses in the proposed district which would pay fifty percent(50%) or more of the assessments proposed to be levied; and WHEREAS,protests are weighted based on the assessment proposed to be levied on each hotel. For purposes of the initial formation of the district,the proposed assessment to be levied was calculated based on the assessment rate multiplied by the most recent available data for the hotels' rental revenues. NOW, THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows: SECTION 1. Pursuant to authority granted under the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989, California Streets and Highways Code Sections 36500 et seq., 01517 C/o '3 Ordinance No. 1517 (2008 Se..es) ATTACHMENT. Page 2 the City of San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District(TBID) is hereby established in the City of San Luis Obispo as herein set forth and all hotels in the district established by this ordinance shall be subject to any amendments made hereafter to said law or to other applicable laws. SECTION 2. The City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo finds that hotels within the San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District will be benefited by the improvements and activities funded by assessments to be levied. SECTION 3. Chapter 12.42 (Tourism Business Improvement District)is hereby added to Title 12 (Streets, Sidewalks,and Public Places)of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code to read as follows: 12.42.010.TITLE.This chapter shall be known as the"City of San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District Law.." 12.42.020.DEFINITIONS. (l)"City Council'shall mean the City of San Luis Obispo City Council. (2) "City Advisory Body"shall mean the Advisory Body appointed by the City Council, pursuant to this chapter. (3) "District"shall mean the City of San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District (or"TBID") created by this chapter and as delineated in Section 12.42.040. (4) "Hotel' shall.mean any structure,or any portion of any structure,which is occupied or intended or designed for occupancy by transients for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, and includes any hotel,motel, bed and breakfast, or vacation home and pays Transient Occupancy Tax. For purposes of this chapter.the definition of"hotel' shall not include RV Parks. (5) "Law" shall mean the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989, California Streets and Highways Code Sections 36500 et seq., as amended. (6) "Operator" shall mean the person who is the proprietor of the hotel, whether in the capacity of owner,lessee, sublessee,mortgagee in possession,licensee or any other capacity. Where the operator performs its functions through a managing agent of any type or character other than an employee, the managing agent shall also be deemed an operator for the purposes of this chapter and shall have the same duties and liabilities as his principal. Compliance with the provisions of this chapter by either the principal of the managing agent shall,however,be considered to be compliance by both. (7)"Transient'means any person who exercises occupancy or who is entitled to occupancy,by reason of concession,permit,right of access,license, or other agreement for a period of thirty (30) consecutive calendar days or less, counting portions of calendar days as full days. 12.42.030.AUTHORIZED USES.This ordinance is made and enacted pursuant to the provisions of the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989 (Sections 36500 et. seq., of the California Streets and Highways Code). The purpose of forming the district as a business improvement area under the Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989 is to provide revenue to defray the costs of services, activities and programs promoting tourism which will benefit the operators of hotels in the district through the promotion of scenic,recreational, cultural and other attractions in the district as a tourist destination. It is the intent of this chapter C/O - Ordinance No. 1517 (2008 Sends) ATTACHMENT t Page 3 to provide a supplemental source of fimding for the promotion of tourism in the district and it is not intended to supplant any other existing sources of revenues which may used by the City of San Luis Obispo for the promotion of tourism.The specific services, activities and programs to be provided by the district are as follows: A The general promotion of tourism within the district is to include costs as specified in the business plan to be adopted annually by the City Council. B. The marketing of the district to the travel industry in order to benefit local tourism and the local hotel industry in the district. 12.42040. BOUNDARIES.The boundaries of the TBID shall be the boundaries of the City of San Luis Obispo. 12.42.050.LEVY OF ASSESSMENT AND EXEMPTIONS. The TBID shall include all hotels located within the TBID boundaries. The assessment shall be levied on all hotels , existing and future, within the City of San Luis Obispo based upon two.percent(2%)of the paid gross rent charged by the operator per night for all transient occupancies. The assessment shall be collected monthly,based on two percent (20/6)of the gross rent charged by the operator per night in revenue's for the previous month. New hotels within the boundaries shall not be.exempt from the levy of assessment authorized by Section 36531 of the law. Assessments pursuant to the TBID shall not be included in gross room rental revenue for purpose of determining the amount of the transient occupancy tax.. The value of rooms for extended stays of more than thirty(30)consecutive calendar days shall be exempt from the levy of assessment. . 12.42.060.ANNUAL REVIEW OF ASSESSMENT. All of the assessments imposed pursuant to this chapter shall be reviewed by the City Council annually,based upon the annual report prepared by the Advisory Bodyappointed pursuant to this chapter and Sections 36530 and 36533 of the law. After approval of the annual report the City Council shall follow the hearing process as outlined in Section 36534 of the law. At the public hearing the City Council shall hear and consider all protests. If written protests are received from hotel businesses in the district paying fifty percent(50%)percent or more of the annual assessment,no further proceedings to continue the levy of assessments shall take place. The protests shall be weighted based upon the annual assessment for the prior year by each hotel business. 12.42.070. IMPOSITION OF ASSESSMENT. The City Council hereby levies and imposes and orders the collection of an additional assessment to be imposed upon hotels in the district described above,which shall be calculated pursuant to Section 12.42.050 above. Such levy shall begin on August 1, 2008. 12.42.080.USE OF REVENUE. The improvements and.activities to be provided by the TBID will be funded by the levy of the assessments. The revenue from the levy of assessments within the TBID shall not be used to provide improvements or activities outside the TBID or for any purpose other than the purposes specified in the resolution of intention. All fiords shall be expended consistent with the purposes of this act. Funds remaining at the end of any TBID term may be used in subsequent year in which TBID assessments are levied as long as they are used consistent with the requirements of this Section. The City Council shall consider �0 5, Ordinance No. 1517 (2008 St,es) - MACHMEIV I Page 4 recommendations made by the CityAdvisory Body created by Section 12.42.100 of this chapter as to the use of assessment revenue. 12.42.090.DELINQUENCY, PENALTY,AND INTEREST. Any hotel that fails to remit any assessment imposed by this ordinance within the time required shall pay a penalty in accordance with the policies, regulations, and ordinances of the City of San Luis Obispo. Any and all remedies available to the City of San Luis Obispo for non payment of assessments or taxes shall be applicable in the event of non payment of an assessment under this chapter. 12.42.100 ADVISORY BODY. An advisory body comprised of five(5) members is hereby created to carry out the functions of an advisory board under Section 36530 of the law. Said advisory body shall be referred to as the Tourism Business Improvement District Board or TBID Board. The members of the TBID Board shall be appointed following the City's recruitment guidelines for Advisory Bodies. All applicants and members must be operators of hotels within the district,or employed by the operator of such a hotel. The length of the term for each individual member of the TBID Board shall follow the guidelines of all City Advisory Bodies and is limited to eight(8) subsequent years. Members of the TBID Board shall serve at the pleasure of the City Council and may be removed by the City Council at any time. If a member no longer represent the lodging establishment for which he or she was selected to the TBID Board,his or her seat will be vacated and a new member will be appointed. The TBID Board shall review the implementation of this chapter,the implementation of programs and activities funded through this chapter, and advise the City Council on the amount of the district's assessments and on the services,programs, and activities to be funded by the Assessments, and shall perform such other duties as required by the law,including preparing the Annual Report required by Section 36533 of the law. The.Annual Report shall be submitted to the City Council no later than 90 days 1.before the new budget year. The City Council:shall ensure that the TBID Board has timely access to all public information regarding collection,disbursement, and uses of the fimds collected under the terms of this ordinance 12.42.110 MODIFICATION OR DISESTABLISHMENT. The City Council,by ordinance,may-modify the provisions of this chapter and.may disestablish the district or parts of the district, after adopting a resolution of intention to such effect. Such resolution shall describe the proposed change or changes,or indicate that it is proposed to disestablish the area, and shall state the time and place of a hearing to be held by the City Council to consider the proposed action. If the operators of hotels which pay fifty percent(50%) or more of the assessments in the district file a petition with the Clerk of the City of San Luis Obispo to adopt a resolution of intention to modify or disestablish the district,the City Council shall adopt such resolution and act upon it as required by law. Signatures on such petition shall be those of a duly authorized representative of the operators of hotels in the district. In the event the resolution proposes to modify any of the provisions of this chapter,including changes in the existing assessments or in the existing boundaries of the district, such proceedings shall terminate if protest is made by the operators of hotels which payfifty percent (50%)or more of the assessments in the district,or in the district as it is proposed to be enlarged. �jo -� Ordinance No. 1517.(2008 Se►.es) ATTACHMENT Page 5 In the event the resolution proposes disestablishment of the district,the City Council shall disestablish the district;unless at such hearing,protest against disestablishment is made by the operators of hotels paying fifty percent(50%)or more of the assessments in the district. SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more of the sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases hereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 5. A summary of this ordinance, together with the names of Council members voting for and against it, shall be published at least five(5) days prior to its.final adoption, in The Tribune, a newspaper published and circulated in the City of San Luis Obispo. This ordinance shall go into effect at the expiration of thirty(30) days after its final adoption. INTRODUCED on the P day of June 2008, AND FINALLY ADOPTED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo on the 17`h day of June 2008, on the following roll call vote: AYES: Council Members Carter, Mulholland and Settle, Vice Mayor Brown and Mayor Romero NOES: None ABSENT: None Mayor David F. Romero ATTEST: udrey H er City Cler .. APPROVED AS TO FORM: c onathan well i orney jp_� 1 Tourism Business Improvement District Board ATTACHMENT 2 Minutes Wednesday, May 20, 2009 11:00 am Council Hearing Room City Hall, 990 Palm Street CALL TO ORDER: Chair John Conner PRESENT: Billing, Mueller, Wallace STAFF PRESENT: Brigitte Elke, Principal Administrative Analyst PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. CONSENT AGENDA ACTION: Moved by Wallace/Mueller to approve consent agenda as presented. Motion carried 4:0 PRESENTATIONS 1. CAMBRIA BICYCLES OUTFITTERS— TIM WIL Tim Wilkinson introduced Cambr' ' cles' rental program that they will be starting in May 2009. He would like to a the program to allow lodging properties to run their own rental program with Ca . maintaining the fleet for a monthly retainer fee. John Conner will follow-up i e hoteliers to see how much interest there is for such a program. BUSINESS ITEMS 1. LEVEL STUDIOS Level Studios' team presented a review oft erials for phase one of the TBID campaign. They presented their research findin eir branding approach, the marketing planning, the website status, and the road including next steps. All board members were pleased with the agency's directio the preliminary ideas presented. Level will now begin the design work and pr the components for review at the June meeting. C/o -1 C MOMENT ,!- 2. TTACHMENT22. EXPANSION OF THE BOARD OR POSSIBLE ALTERNATES Staff reported that the process for adding board members or electing alternates is the same and therefore recommended to increase the board to seven members. ACTION: Moved by Wailace/Billing to recommend to Council to increase the number of members on the TBID board to seven. Motion carried 4:0 3. PROCEDURE & POLICY REGARDING PRESENTATION TO THE The board members discussed a possible frame wo y or presentations to the board. They agreed that decisions ue to be made on a case-by-case basis. However, presente ormed that the board will hear the presentation, but might make sions regarding fund allocation at the next regular board meeting. 4. TBID STAFF SUPPORT After discussion, the board asked bo er Mueller to provide a job description for further evaluation at t meeting. BID MEETING TIME & DATE ACTION: Moved by Wallace/Mueller to k eeting on the second Wednesday of the month, but to c e start time to 2:00 P.M. Motion carried 4:0 Staff was o send out a notification to all hoteliers immediately. The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m. e/D�� ATTACHMENT ORDINANCE NO. XXX (2009 Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 1517 TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ELECTED ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS FOR THE TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD FROM FIVE TO SEVEN MEMBERS. WHEREAS, on June 17, 2008 the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo adopted Ordinance No. 1517 establishing the Tourism Business Improvement District in the City of San Luis Obispo, and; WHEREAS, the Council elected an Advisory Board for the Tourism Business Improvement District as mandated by State Law and set the number of elected board members at five members; and WHEREAS, the established Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board faced difficulty achieving a quorum, while seeing interest and consistent participation from lodging industry members who regularly attend meeting; and WHEREAS, the Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board met to discuss the best course of action; and WHEREAS, the Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board recommended increasing the number of elected board members from five to seven members; and WHEREAS, after consideration of this recommendation at its July 7, 2009 public meeting, the City Council decided to increase the number of advisory board members for the TBID from five to seven members. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows: SECTION 1. Section 12.42.100 of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code is hereby repealed and replaced with new Section 12.42.100 to read as follows: 12.42.100 ADVISORY BODY. An advisory body comprised of seven (7)members is hereby created to carry out the functions of an advisory board under Section 36530 of the law. Said advisory body shall be referred to as the Tourism Business Improvement District Board or TBID Board. The members of the TBID Board shall be appointed following the City's recruitment guidelines for Advisory Bodies. All applicants and members must be operators of hotels within the district, or employed by the operator of such a hotel. The length of the term for each individual member of the TBID Board shall follow the guidelines of all City Advisory Bodies and is limited to eight (8) subsequent years. Members of the TBID Board shall serve at the pleasure of the City Council and may be removed by the City Council at any time. If a member no longer represents the lodging establishment for which he or she was selected to the C/o-/o ATTA018ff 3 Ordinance No. XXX (2009 Series) Page 2 TBID Board,his or her seat will be vacated and a new member will be appointed. The TBID Board shall review the implementation of this chapter, the implementation of programs and activities funded through this chapter, and advise the City Council on the amount of the district' s assessments and on the services, programs, and activities to be funded by the Assessments, and shall perform such other duties as required by the law, including preparing the Annual Report required by Section 36533 of the law. The Annual Report shall be submitted to the City Council no later than 90 days before the new budget year. The City Council shall ensure that the TBID Board has timely access to all public information regarding collection, disbursement, and uses of the funds collected under the terms of this ordinance INTRODUCED on the 7t' day of July, 2009 AND FINALLY ADOPTED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo on the day of 2008 on the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Mayor David F. Romero ATTEST: Audrey Hooper City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Jonathan P. Lowell City Attorney C/O -�l