2009 California Government Code - Section 53395-53395.9 :: Article 1. General Provisions

53395.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the state and
federal governments have withdrawn in whole or in part from their
former role in financing major, regional, or communitywide
infrastructure, including highways and interchanges, sewage treatment
and water reclamation works, water supply and treatment works, flood
control and drainage works, schools, libraries, parks, parking
facilities, open space, and seismic retrofit and rehabilitation of
public facilities.
   (b) The Legislature further finds and declares that the methods
available to local agencies to finance public works often place an
undue and unfair burden on buyers of new homes, especially for public
works that benefit the broader community.
   (c) The Legislature further finds and declares that the absence of
practical and equitable methods for financing both regional and
local public works leads to a declining standard of public works, a
reduced quality of life and decreased safety for affected citizens,
increased objection to otherwise desirable development, and excessive
costs for homebuyers.
   (d) The Legislature further finds and declares that it is
equitable and in the public interest to provide alternative
procedures for financing public works and services needed to meet the
needs of new housing and other development projects.

53395.1.  Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions
contained in this article shall govern the construction of this
chapter.
   (a) "Affected taxing entity" means any governmental taxing agency
which levied or had levied on its behalf a property tax on all or a
portion of the property located in the proposed district in the
fiscal year prior to the designation of the district, but not
including any county office of education, school district, or
community college district.
   (b) "City" means a city, a county, or a city and county.
   (c) "Debt" means any binding obligation to repay a sum of money,
including obligations in the form of bonds, certificates of
participation, long-term leases, loans from government agencies, or
loans from banks, other financial institutions, private businesses,
or individuals.
   (d) "Designated official" means the city engineer or other
appropriate official designated pursuant to Section 53395.13.
   (e) (1) "District" means an infrastructure financing district.
   (2) An infrastructure financing district is a "district" within
the meaning of Section 1 of Article XIII A of the California
Constitution.
   (f) "Infrastructure financing district" means a legally
constituted governmental entity established pursuant to this chapter
for the sole purpose of financing public facilities.
   (g) "Landowner" or "owner of land" means any person shown as the
owner of land on the last equalized assessment roll or otherwise
known to be the owner of the land by the legislative body. The
legislative body has no obligation to obtain other information as to
the ownership of land, and its determination of ownership shall be
final and conclusive for the purposes of this chapter. A public
agency is not a landowner or owner of land for purposes of this
chapter, unless the public agency owns all of the land to be included
within the proposed district.
   (h) "Legislative body" means the city council or board of
supervisors.

53395.2.  (a) The revenues available pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 53396) may be used directly for work allowed
pursuant to Section 53395.3, may be accumulated for a period not to
exceed five years to provide a fund for that work, may be pledged to
pay the principal of, and interest on, bonds issued pursuant to
Article 4 (commencing with Section 53397), or may be pledged to pay
the principal of, and interest on, bonds issued pursuant to the
Improvement Bond Act of 1915 (Division 10 (commencing with Section
8500) of the Streets and Highways Code) or the Mello-Roos Community
Facilities Act of 1982 (Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 53311)),
the proceeds of which have been or will be used entirely for
allowable purposes of the district. The revenue of the district may
also be advanced for allowable purposes of the district to an
Integrated Financing District established pursuant to Chapter 1.5
(commencing with Section 53175), in which case the district may be
party to a reimbursement agreement established pursuant to that
chapter. The revenues of the district may also be committed to paying
for any completed public facility acquired pursuant to Section
53395.3 over a period of time, including the payment of a rate of
interest not to exceed the bond buyer index rate on the day that the
agreement to repay is entered into by the city.
   (b) The legislative body may enter into an agreement with any
affected taxing entity providing for the construction of, or
assistance in, financing public facilities.

53395.3.  (a) A district may finance (1) the purchase, construction,
expansion, improvement, seismic retrofit, or rehabilitation of any
real or other tangible property with an estimated useful life of 15
years or longer which satisfies the requirements of subdivision (b),
(2) may finance planning and design work which is directly related to
the purchase, construction, expansion, or rehabilitation of that
property and (3) the costs described in Sections 53395.5, and
53396.5. A district may only finance the purchase of facilities for
which construction has been completed, as determined by the
legislative body. The facilities need not be physically located
within the boundaries of the district. A district may not finance
routine maintenance, repair work, or the costs of ongoing operation
or providing services of any kind.
   (b) The district shall finance only public capital facilities of
communitywide significance, which provide significant benefits to an
area larger than the area of the district, including, but not limited
to, all of the following:
   (1) Highways, interchanges, ramps and bridges, arterial streets,
parking facilities, and transit facilities.
   (2) Sewage treatment and water reclamation plants and interceptor
pipes.
   (3) Facilities for the collection and treatment of water for urban
uses.
   (4) Flood control levees and dams, retention basins, and drainage
channels.
   (5) Child care facilities.
   (6) Libraries.
   (7) Parks, recreational facilities, and open space.
   (8) Facilities for the transfer and disposal of solid waste,
including transfer stations and vehicles.
   (c) Any district which constructs dwelling units shall set aside
not less than 20 percent of those units to increase and improve the
community's supply of low- and moderate-income housing available at
an affordable housing cost, as defined by Section 50052.5 of the
Health and Safety Code, to persons and families of low- and
moderate-income, as defined in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety
Code.

53395.4.  (a) A district may not include any portion of a
redevelopment project area which is or has been previously created
pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with Section 33000) of Division 24 of
the Health and Safety Code, whether the creation is or was proper or
improper. A redevelopment project area may not include any portion of
a district created pursuant to this chapter.
   (b) A district may finance only the facilities or services
authorized in this chapter to the extent that the facilities or
services are in addition to those provided in the territory of the
district before the district was created. The additional facilities
or services may not supplant facilities or services already available
within that territory when the district was created but may
supplement those facilities and services as needed to serve new
developments.
   (c) A district may include areas which are not contiguous.

53395.5.  It is the intent of the Legislature that the area of the
districts created be substantially undeveloped, and the establishment
of a district should not ordinarily lead to the removal of existing
dwelling units. If, however, any dwelling units are proposed to be
removed or destroyed in the course of private development or public
works construction within the area of the district, the legislative
body shall do all of the following:
   (a) Within four years of the removal or destruction, cause or
require the construction or rehabilitation, for rental or sale to
persons or families of low or moderate income, of an equal number of
replacement dwelling units at affordable housing cost, as defined in
Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code, within the territory
of the district if the dwelling units removed were inhabited by
persons or families of low or moderate income, as defined in Section
50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (b) Within four years of the removal or destruction, cause or
require the construction or rehabilitation, for rental or sale to
persons of low or moderate income, a number of dwelling units which
is at least one unit but not less than 20 percent of the total
dwelling units removed at affordable housing cost, as defined in
Section 50052.5 of the Health and Safety Code, within the territory
of the district if the dwelling units removed or destroyed were not
inhabited by persons of low or moderate income, as defined in Section
50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (c) Provide relocation assistance and make all the payments
required by Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 7260) of Division 7
of Title 1, to persons displaced by any public or private development
occurring within the territory of the district. This displacement
shall be deemed to be the result of public action.
   (d) Ensure that removal or destruction of any dwelling units
occupied by persons or families of low or moderate income not take
place unless and until there are suitable housing units, at
comparable cost to the units from which the persons or families were
displaced, available and ready for occupancy by the residents of the
units at the time of their displacement. The housing units shall be
suitable to the needs of these displaced persons or families and
shall be decent, safe, sanitary, and otherwise standard dwellings.

53395.6.  Any action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside,
void, or annul the creation of a district, adoption of an
infrastructure financing plan, including a division of taxes
thereunder, or an election pursuant to this chapter shall be
commenced within 30 days after the enactment of the ordinance
creating the district pursuant to Section 53395.23. Consistent with
the time limitations of this section, such an action or proceeding
with respect to a division of taxes under this chapter may be brought
pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 860) of Title 10 of
Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except that Section 869 of the
Code of Civil Procedure shall not apply.

53395.7.  An action to determine the validity of the issuance of
bonds pursuant to this chapter may be brought pursuant to Chapter 9
(commencing with Section 860) of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Code of
Civil Procedure. However, notwithstanding the time limits specified
in Section 860 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the action shall be
commenced within 30 days after adoption of the resolution pursuant to
Section 53397.6 providing for issuance of the bonds if the action is
brought by an interested person pursuant to Section 863 of the Code
of Civil Procedure. Any appeal from a judgment in that action or
proceeding shall be commenced within 30 days after entry of judgment.

53395.8.  (a) This section applies only to the City and County of
San Francisco. For the purposes of this chapter, the City and County
of San Francisco is a city.
   (b) In addition to the findings and declarations in Section 53395,
the Legislature further finds and declares that consolidating in a
single public agency the responsibility to administer waterfront
lands in the City and County of San Francisco that are subject to the
public trust and the ability to capture property tax increment
revenues to finance needed public infrastructure improvements in
those areas will further the objectives of the public trust and
enjoyment of those trust lands by the people of the state.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 53395.1, for the
purposes of this section,"debt" includes commercial paper and
variable rate demand notes.
   (d) In addition to the purposes provided in subdivision (a) of
Section 53395.3, a district subject to this section may finance the
environmental remediation of any real or tangible property that the
district may finance pursuant to Section 53395.3. The district may
also finance planning and design work that is directly related to the
improvement, seismic retrofit, or environmental mediation of that
property. The district may not finance routine nonstructural repair
work.
   (e) In addition to the public capital facilities of communitywide
significance that a district may finance pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 53395.3, a district subject to this section may finance
all of the following:
   (1) Seismic and life-safety improvements to existing buildings and
other structures.
   (2) Rehabilitation, restoration, and preservation of structures,
buildings, or other facilities having special historical,
architectural, or aesthetic interest or value and that are either
eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places,
both individually or because of their location within an eligible
registered historic district, or are locally designated landmarks.
   (3) Structural repairs and improvements to piers, seawalls, and
wharves.
   (4) Remediation of hazardous materials.
   (5) Storm water management facilities, other utility
infrastructure, or public access improvements.
   (f) Notwithstanding Section 53395.4, a district subject to this
section may include tidelands and submerged lands, including filled
lands, subject to the public trust for commerce, navigation, and
fisheries, and the applicable statutory trust grant or grants. Where
a district includes tidelands and submerged lands, whether filled or
unfilled, and finances facilities located on these tidelands and
submerged lands, these facilities shall serve and promote uses and
purposes consistent with the public trust and applicable statutory
trust grants. These facilities shall be public trust assets subject
to the administration and control of the legislative trust grantee of
the public trust lands on which they are constructed. However, if
these facilities are among the public capital facilities listed in
paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section
53395.3 or paragraph (5) of subdivision (e) of this section and are
not owned by the public agency administering the public trust lands,
but are owned and operated by another entity pursuant to a license
from or an agreement with the public agency administering the public
trust lands, then these facilities are not required to become public
trust assets. The district shall maintain accounting procedures in
accordance, and otherwise comply, with Section 6306 of the Public
Resources Code.
   (g) Notwithstanding Section 53395.5, nothing in this chapter shall
prohibit the formation of a district on urban waterfront property,
nor the financing of needed public infrastructure projects located on
public trust lands, pursuant to this section.
   (h) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 53395.14,
infrastructure improvements that increase public access to, or use or
enjoyment of, public trust lands pursuant to this section shall be
deemed to satisfy the requirements of that subdivision.
   (i) Notwithstanding Section 53395.20 or any other provision of
law, if all of the land in a district subject to this section would
be publicly owned, no election shall be required to form the
district, and the legislative body may, by ordinance, adopt the
infrastructure financing plan and create the district, upon
recommendation of the public agency with jurisdiction over the land.
   (j) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
legislative body may amend an infrastructure financing plan subject
to this section to extend the time limitations for receipt of
property tax increment beyond the 30-year period from adoption of the
ordinance for the district for a period not to exceed 10 years to
pay bonded indebtedness, if the district does all of the following:
   (A) Includes an amendment, if necessary, to increase the total
number of dollars to be allocated to the district.
   (B) Prepares an analysis of the projected fiscal impact on each
affected taxing entity.
   (C) Sets a time and date for a public hearing on the matter.
   (2) The amendment to the infrastructure financing plan shall be
mailed by the clerk to each affected taxing entity for its review.
Each affected taxing entity shall review and consent to or disapprove
the amended infrastructure financing plan within 60 days of the
receipt thereof.
   (k) (1) The legislative body shall hold a public hearing regarding
the amendment to the infrastructure financing plan within 60 days
after each affected taxing entity has approved the extension.
   (2) The public hearing, and notice thereof, shall be conducted in
accordance with Sections 53395.17 and 53395.18. At the conclusion of
the hearing, the legislative body may adopt an ordinance adopting the
infrastructure financing plan, as modified, or it may abandon the
proceedings.

53395.85.  If a city that is a member of the Orangeline Development
Authority establishes an infrastructure financing district pursuant
to this chapter for the purpose of providing funding for public
transit facilities, that city may provide some or all of this funding
to the Orangeline Development Authority for the purposes of
furthering public transit facilities within the jurisdiction of the
authority, including facilities related to magnetic levitation.

53395.9.  (a) The Salton Sea Authority, a joint powers authority
formed by the County of Imperial, the County of Riverside, the
Coachella Valley Water District, and the Imperial Irrigation
District, may use the provisions of this chapter to form an
infrastructure financing district for the purpose of funding the
construction of, and purchasing electrical power for, projects for
the reclamation and environmental restoration of the Salton Sea. To
the extent of any conflict, the provisions of this section shall
prevail over any other provision of law. Any district formed pursuant
to this section shall be known as "The Salton Sea Infrastructure
Financing District."
   (b) For purposes of this chapter, the Salton Sea Authority is a
"city."
   (c) The Salton Sea Infrastructure Financing District may exist for
up to 40 years from the date of its formation.
   (d) No public funds accruing to the Salton Sea Authority pursuant
to this section shall be utilized for purposes of treating or making
potable, agricultural tailwaters flowing into the Salton Sea.