36500-36504

STREETS AND HIGHWAYS CODE
SECTION 36500-36504




36500.  This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Parking
and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989."



36501.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that businesses
located and operating within the business districts of this state's
communities are economically disadvantaged, are underutilized, and
are unable to attract customers due to inadequate facilities,
services, and activities in the business districts.
   (b) The Legislature also finds and declares that it is in the
public interest to promote the economic revitalization and physical
maintenance of the business districts of its cities in order to
create jobs, attract new businesses, and prevent erosion of the
business districts.
   (c) The Legislature also finds that it is of particular local
benefit to allow cities to fund property related improvements and
activities through the levy of assessments upon the businesses which
benefit from those improvements and activities.
   (d) The Legislature also finds and declares that tourism is a
large and growing contributor to California's economy, and that
promotion of a city's or county's scenic, recreational, cultural, and
other attractions as a tourist destination is an important public
purpose.
   (e) The Legislature also finds and declares that assessments
levied for the purpose of providing improvements and promoting
activities which benefit individual businesses may also benefit the
property within the area directly or indirectly and that those
assessments are not taxes for the general benefit of a city, but are
assessments for the improvements and activities which confer special
benefits upon the businesses for which the improvements and
activities are provided.


36502.  The purpose of this part is to recodify and supplant
previously enacted provisions of law which authorize cities to levy
assessments on businesses within a parking and business improvement
area and to provide a uniform procedure to levy assessments for
improvements and activities of businesses located and operating in a
business district of a city. This part does not affect or limit any
other provisions of law authorizing or providing for the furnishing
of improvements or activities or the raising of revenue for these
purposes. In addition, this part is intended to provide a method for
financing public programs to attract tourist visits to areas where
tourism is economically important and desired.



36503.  Any provision of this part which conflicts with any other
provision of law shall prevail over the other provision of law.



36504.  This part is intended to be construed liberally and, if any
provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in
full force and effect. If the provisions of this part respecting the
levying of assessments are held invalid in any area within which
assessments have been levied pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 36530), the assessments shall be reimposed in an identical
amount and upon the same businesses as a matter of law and no lapse
in the levy of any assessment shall be deemed to have occurred.
Assessments levied under this part are not special taxes.