PURPOSE

Staff requests that City Council adopt an ordinance to amend Article 19, Chapter 14 of the Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) pertaining to the City�s Transient Parking Tax (TPT). The amended code will provide that fees charged by duly licensed Tow Operators for the impound or storage of vehicles incidental to services performed by such Tow Operators shall be exempt from the Transient Parking Tax.

BACKGROUND

Under Article 19 of Chapter 14 of the Burbank Municipal Code (the TPT Ordinance), every transient occupant occupying parking space in a parking facility shall be required to pay the taxes to the operator along with the parking fee for occupancy.  

ANALYSIS

Exemptions currently exist for the following:

1. Any person as to whom or any occupancy as to which it is beyond the power of the City to impose the tax herein provided

2. The parking fee for any occupancy of parking space in a parking facility which is paid by the deposit of a coin or coins in a parking meter owned or operated by the City and located adjacent to said parking space.

3. The parking fee for any occupancy of parking space in a parking facility which is part of a hospital.

4. The parking fee for any occupancy of parking space in a parking facility which is part of a hospital facility provided (1) the parking facility exclusively serves such medical facility and (2) the medical facility has been certified by the Tax Administrator as a medical facility.

Tow Operators who store vehicles for the impound or storage of vehicles as part of the services of the tow operator where parking fees are not collected, should be considered exempt from the Transient Parking Tax. 

The proposed ordinance would clarify that storage facilities associated with tow operations are exempt from its provisions. Although the parking tax was not intended to apply to this type of storage facility, the language of the current code could be interpreted to apply. Tow storage is typically involuntary.

FISCAL IMPACT

Currently, there are no taxes being collected from Tow Operators and the added exemption would not affect current revenue.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends that City Council introduce the proposed ordinance entitled: AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AMEDING ARTICLE 19, CHAPTER 14, SECTION 14-1906 OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE TO EXEMPT IMPOUD OR STORAGE FEES CHARGED BY TOW OPERATORS FROM THE TRANSIENT PARKING TAX.  

Derek Hanway

DH:SL

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