51299.

 As used in this chapter the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) “Activities” means activities that benefit real property located within a commercial, retail, or mixed-use, industrial, or residential district or neighborhood within the district, and includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Promotion of public events and programs that benefit real property in the district.

(2) Furnishing of music in any public place within the district.

(3) Promotion of district or neighborhood identity within the district.

(4) Marketing, planning, zoning, and economic development, including business retention and recruitment.

(5) Providing security, sanitation, graffiti removal, street and sidewalk cleaning, parking, and other services supplemental to those normally provided by the local agency.

(b) “Improvement” means 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:

(1) Parking facilities.

(2) Benches.

(3) Booths.

(4) Kiosks.

(5) Display cases.

(6) Pedestrian shelters and signs.

(7) Trash receptacles and public restrooms.

(8) Lighting and heating facilities.

(9) Decorations.

(10) Fountains.

(11) Planting areas.

(12) Minor modifications of existing streets, facilities, or equipment, or any combination thereof, to enhance security of persons and property within the district.

(13) Ramps, sidewalks, plazas, town centers, or pedestrian malls.

(14) Rehabilitation or removal of existing public structures.

(15) Installation or planting of landscaping, the installation or construction of statuary, fountains, and other ornamental structures and facilities.

(16) Installation or construction of any facilities that are appurtenant to any of the foregoing or that are necessary or convenient for the maintenance or servicing thereof, including, but not limited to, grading, clearing, removal of debris, the installation or construction of curbs, gutters, walls, sidewalks or paving, or water, irrigation, drainage or electrical facilities.

(c) “Legislative body” means a city council or board of supervisors for a local agency located in the County of San Diego.

(d) “Local agency” means a city, county, or city and or county.

(e) “Maintain” or “maintenance” means the furnishing of services and materials for the ordinary and usual maintenance, operation, and servicing of any improvement, including the following:

(1) Repair, removal, or replacement of any part of the improvement.

(2) Providing for the life, growth, health, and beauty of landscaping, including cultivation, irrigation, trimming, spraying, fertilization, or treating for disease or injury.

(3) The removal of trimmings, rubbish, debris, and other solid waste.

(4) The cleaning, sandblasting, and painting of walls and other improvements to remove or cover graffiti.

(f) “Nonprofit management corporation” means a private nonprofit entity that is under contract with a city or county to administer or implement activities and improvements specified in the community benefit district plan.

51299.1.

 (a) A local agency may establish a community benefit district by complying with the procedures established in this chapter.

(b) A community benefit district may be used to order improvements, maintenance, or activities, or any combination thereof, in specifically defined commercial, retail, mixed-use, industrial, or residential districts or neighborhoods of a local agency. The local agency shall determine and declare the property owners to be benefited by the improvement, maintenance, or activities, or any combination thereof, and assess the cost and expenses of the improvements, maintenance, and activities, including all expenses incurred incidentally, upon the lots or parcels of real property in proportion to the estimated benefits to be received.

51299.2.

 (a) Upon the receipt of a written petition prepared pursuant to Section 51299.3, and a community benefit district plan prepared pursuant to Section 51299.4, the city clerk or county clerk shall prepare a report pursuant to Section 51299.5, and submit that report to the legislative body for its consideration.

(b) The legislative body may approve, correct, or modify the report in any respect, or may direct the city clerk or county clerk to make changes to the report. If the legislative body approves of the report, or approves the report as modified and corrected, the legislative body may pass an ordinance of intention to establish the district pursuant to Section 51299.6.

(c) If the legislative body passes an ordinance of intention pursuant to subdivision (b), that legislative body shall notify the affected property owners at least 45 days prior to the public hearing pursuant to Sections 51299.7 and 51299.8, and hold a public hearing on the matter consistent with the procedures of Section 53753.

(d) If the legislative body complies with subdivision (c), and there is no majority protest as described in Section 53753, then the legislative body may adopt an ordinance establishing a community benefit district and levying an assessment pursuant to Section 51299.9.

51299.3.

 The written petition shall be signed by the property owners in the proposed district who support the establishment of the district and who will pay more than 30 percent of the assessments proposed to be levied. The amount of assessment attributable to property owned by the same property owner that is in excess of 20 percent of the amount of all assessments proposed to be levied shall not be included in determining whether the petition is signed by property owners who will pay more than 30 percent of the total amount of assessments proposed to be levied.

51299.4.

 The property owners in the proposed district who support the establishment of the district shall prepare a community benefit district plan that shall contain all of the following:

(a) A map of the district in sufficient detail to locate each parcel of property within the district.

(b) The name of the proposed district.

(c) A description of the boundaries of the district, including the boundaries of any benefit zones, proposed for the establishment or extension of the district in a manner sufficient to identify the lands included. Under no circumstances shall the boundaries of a proposed district overlap with the boundaries of another existing district created pursuant to this chapter. Nothing in this chapter prohibits the boundaries of a district created pursuant to this chapter from overlapping with other types of assessment districts.

(d) The improvements and activities proposed for each year of operation of the district and their maximum cost.

(e) The total annual amount proposed to be expended for improvements, maintenance, and operations.

(f) The proposed source or sources of financing, including the proposed method and basis of levying the assessment in sufficient detail to allow each property owner to calculate the amount of the assessment to be levied against his or her property, including a statement setting forth the requirement to provide completion bonds for any improvements that are proposed to be constructed.

(g) The time and manner of collecting the assessments.

(h) Any proposed rules and regulations to be applicable to the district.

(i) A statement, placed in a conspicuous place in the community benefit district plan, stating that assessments for the maintenance of improvements constructed by the district, if any, shall continue to be levied on each parcel of land within the district for a period of time equal to the useful life of the improvement, as determined by the city clerk or county clerk, regardless of whether the district is disestablished or the term of the original levy has expired.

(j) The name of the nonprofit management corporation that will administer the district on behalf of the property owners.

51299.5.

 (a) Before the city council or board of supervisors may take any action on the ordinance of intention, the city clerk or county clerk shall prepare and file a report in writing proposing that the proceeding be commenced as requested in the petition, designating the plans and specifications of the proposed maintenance, improvements, and activities for the proposed district, and estimating the cost and expenses of the work for each year during which the proposed work will be done.

(b) The report shall include a certified engineer’s report stating that the establishment of the district is consistent with the provisions of Article XIII D of the California Constitution in that each lot or parcel within the district to be assessed is being assessed in proportion to the estimated benefit to be received, and containing a diagram showing the boundaries of the proposed assessment district and each lot or parcel of land within the district proposed to be assessed.

51299.6.

 (a) The ordinance of intention shall briefly describe the proposed improvements, state the period of time, which shall not exceed 20 years, for which the proposed improvements are to be made, and contain a description of the district that will benefit from the improvements and that will pay the costs and expenses of the improvements.

(b) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (a), the ordinance of intention shall also do all of the following:

(1) State that a district is proposed to be established pursuant to this chapter and describe the boundaries of the proposed district and the boundaries of each separate benefit zone to be established within the district. The boundaries may be described by reference to the map and description contained in the preliminary report of the city clerk or county clerk on file in the office of the city clerk or county clerk.

(2) State the name of the proposed district.

(3) State the type or types of improvements and activities proposed to be funded by the levy of assessments on property owners within the district, including any improvements to be acquired.

(4) State the amount of the proposed assessment for the entire district, the duration of the payments, the reason for the assessment, and the basis upon which the proposed assessment was calculated.

(5) State the date, time, and location of a public hearing on the proposed assessment.

(6) Include a ballot as described in Section 53753.

(7) State, in a conspicuous place, a summary of the procedures applicable to the completion, return, and tabulation of the ballots, including a disclosure statement that the existence of a majority protest will result in the assessment not being imposed.

(8) State that at the public hearing the testimony of all interested persons for or against the establishment of the district, the boundaries of the district, or the furnishing of specified types of improvements or activities will be heard.

(9) Refer to the preliminary report of the city clerk or clerk of the board of supervisors on file in the office of the city clerk or clerk of the board of supervisors.

(10) State the manner of collection of the assessment.

51299.7.

 (a) In addition to the notice and protest procedures established pursuant to Section 53753, a legislative body shall mail a complete copy of the ordinance of intention by first-class mail to each property owner in the proposed district, and to each neighborhood council known by the legislative body to be located within the proposed district, no later than 45 days before the public hearing.

(b) In addition to a first-class mailed notice sent pursuant to subdivision (a), the legislative body shall publish the ordinance of intention in a newspaper of general circulation in the local agency once at least seven days before the public hearing.

51299.8.

 Following the adoption of the ordinance of intention pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 51299.2, the city clerk or county clerk shall prepare a notice and map describing the assessment district pursuant to Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 3100) of the Streets and Highways Code, and file a copy of that map with the county recorder of each county in which all or any part of the proposed district is to be located.

Following the adoption of the ordinance establishing the district pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 51299.2, the city clerk or county clerk shall record a map of the newly created district pursuant to Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 3100) of the Streets and Highways Code. All the provisions of that division apply to the district established pursuant to this chapter.

51299.9.

 (a) The ordinance establishing the district shall contain all of the following:

(1) A summary of the community benefit district plan.

(2) The number, date of adoption, and title of the ordinance of intention.

(3) The time and place where the public hearing was held concerning the establishment of the district or the levying of a new assessment.

(4) A determination regarding any protests received.

(5) A statement that a district has been established.

(6) A statement that the improvements and activities to be provided to the district will be funded by the levy of assessments. The revenue from the levy of assessments within a district shall not be used to provide improvements or activities outside the district or for any purpose other than the purposes specified in the ordinance of intention, as approved, or as modified and approved, by the legislative body at the hearing concerning the establishment of the district.

(7) A finding that the property within the district will be specially benefited by the improvements and activities funded by the assessment to be levied.

(8) A statement, if applicable, that a completion bond will be required for any improvements constructed by the district and that a continuing assessment in an amount sufficient to maintain the improvement throughout its useful life, as determined by the local agency, will be levied on each parcel within the district regardless of whether the district is disestablished or the term of the original levy has expired.

(b) The adoption of the ordinance establishing the district and levying the assessment pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 51299.2, and recordation of the notice and map pursuant to Section 51299.8, shall constitute the levy of an assessment in each of the fiscal years referred to in the community benefit district plan.

51299.10.

 The validity of an assessment levied under the provisions of this chapter shall not be contested in any action or proceeding unless the action to contest is commenced within 30 days after the time the assessment is levied, and any appeal from a final judgment in the action or proceeding shall be perfected within 30 days after entry of the judgment.

51299.11.

 (a) The legislative body shall contract with a nonprofit management corporation to manage the district on a day-to-day basis. The contract shall be for a minimum period of one year, with the option to renew.

(b) The nonprofit management corporation shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) The board of the nonprofit management corporation shall be composed of the property owners of the district.

(2) A nonprofit management corporation is a private entity and may not be considered a public entity for any purpose, nor may its board members or staff be considered to be public officials for any purpose. Notwithstanding this paragraph, a nonprofit management corporation shall comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code), at all times when matters within the subject matter of the district are heard, discussed, or deliberated, and with the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code), for all documents relating to activities of the district.

51299.12.

 The legislative body may advance funds for the first quarter of a new district so that the district may commence work prior to the initial collection of the assessments. The funds advanced may not exceed one-quarter of the assessment for the first year. The funds advanced shall then be deducted from the first year’s disbursement.

51299.13.

 The collection of assessments levied pursuant to this chapter shall be made at the time and in the manner set forth by the legislative body in the ordinance of intention. The assessment may be collected at the same time and in the same manner as for the ad valorem property tax, and may provide for the same lien priority and penalties for delinquent payment.

51299.14.

 (a) The nonprofit management corporation shall prepare an annual report that shall explain the results of the improvements and activities funded by the district.

(b) The report shall be filed with the city clerk or county clerk and shall refer to the district by name, specify the fiscal year to which the report applies, and, with respect to that fiscal year, shall contain all of the following information:

(1) Any proposed changes in the boundaries of the district or in any benefit zones within the district.

(2) The improvements and activities to be provided for that fiscal year.

(3) An estimate of the cost of providing the improvements and the activities for that fiscal year.

(4) The method and basis of levying the assessment in sufficient detail to allow each real property owner to estimate the amount of the assessment to be levied against his or her property for that fiscal year.

(5) The amount of any surplus or deficit revenues to be carried over from a previous fiscal year.

(6) The amount of any contributions to be made from sources other than assessments levied pursuant to this chapter.

(c) The legislative body may approve the report as filed by the nonprofit management corporation or may modify any particular contained in the report and approve it as modified. Any modification shall be made pursuant to Section 51299.16. The legislative body shall not approve a change on the basis and in the method of levying assessments that would impair an authorized or executed contract to be paid from the revenues derived from the levy of assessments.

51299.15.

 A community benefit district, the improvements or activities provided by the community benefit district, and any assessment levied to support the community benefit district pursuant to this chapter shall not extend beyond 20 years after the date of the creation of the district by the local agency.

51299.16.

 (a) A legislative body may modify a community benefit district plan in accordance with the procedures established by this section.

(b) The nonprofit management corporation may, at any time, request that the legislative body modify the community benefit district plan. Upon the written request of the nonprofit management corporation, the legislative body may adopt an ordinance of intention to modify the community district plan. The ordinance of intention shall state the proposed modifications to the community benefit district plan. The legislative body shall notify the affected property owners of the proposed modifications at least 45 days prior to the public hearing pursuant to Sections 51299.7 and 51299.8, and hold a public hearing on the matter consistent with the procedures of Section 53753.

(c) If the legislative body complies with subdivision (b), and there is no majority protest as described in Section 53753, then the legislative body may adopt an ordinance modifying the community benefit district plan in accordance with the ordinance of intention.

(d) Any subsequent modification of the ordinance shall be reflected in subsequent notices and maps recorded pursuant to Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 3100) of the Streets and Highways Code.

51299.17.

 (a) A legislative body may disestablish a district established pursuant to the provisions of this chapter where there is no indebtedness, outstanding and unpaid, incurred to accomplish any of the purposes of the district, in either of the following circumstances:

(1) The legislative body finds there has been misappropriation of funds, malfeasance, or a violation of law in connection with the management of the district.

(2) The property owners in the district who pay 30 percent or more of the assessment levied file a written petition with the local agency requesting to disestablish the district. During the operation of the district, there shall be a 30-day period each year in which assessees may request disestablishment of the district. The first period shall begin one year after the date of establishment of the district and shall continue for 30 days. The next 30-day period shall begin two years after the date of the establishment of the district. Each successive year of operation of the district shall have such a 30-day period.

(b) (1) If a valid ground to disestablish the district exists pursuant to subdivision (a), the legislative body may disestablish the district by adopting an ordinance of intention to disestablish the district. The ordinance of intention shall state the reason for the disestablishment, the time and place of the public hearing, and contain a proposal to dispose of any assets acquired with the revenues of the assessments levied within the property and business improvement district.

(2) The legislative body shall notify the affected property owners of the disestablishment as provided in Section 51299.7, and shall hold a public hearing on the disestablishment no less than 30 days and no more than 60 days after the adoption of the ordinance of intention in accordance with the procedures in Section 53753.

(3) After holding a public hearing, the legislative body may adopt an ordinance to disestablish the district.

(c) (1) Upon the disestablishment of the district, any remaining revenues derived from the levy of assessments, or any revenues derived from the sale of assets acquired with the revenues, shall be refunded to the owners of the property located and operating within the district in which assessments were levied by applying the same method and basis that was used to calculate the assessments levied in the fiscal year in which the district was disestablished, other than amounts needed to maintain any improvements constructed by the district.

(2) If the disestablishment occurs before an assessment is levied for the fiscal year, the method and basis that was used to calculate the assessment levied in the immediate prior fiscal year shall be used to calculate the amount of refund.

(3) In the event that the district has constructed any improvements, an amount of assessment equal to the amount needed to maintain the improvements through its useful life, as determined by the legislative body, shall continue to be levied upon each parcel in the district after disestablishment of the district.

(d) The legislative body shall publish a notice of the disestablishment of a district once in a newspaper of general circulation in the local agency, not later than 15 days after the ordinance disestablishing the district is adopted.