ORDINANCE NO. XXXX
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ADDING CHAPTER 3.10 TO TITLE
3 (FINANCE) OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE
RELATING TO COLLECTION OPTIONS FOR UNPAID TRANSIENT
OCCUPANCY TAX IN THE CITY AND FINDING THE SAME EXEMPT
FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
WHEREAS, the City of Laguna Beach, California (“City”) is a municipal corporation, duly organized under the constitution and laws of the State of California; and WHEREAS, like many other jurisdictions throughout the State, the City imposes a transient occupancy tax on properties in the City offering, among other things, rentals for a period of thirty days or less via Laguna Bech Municipal Code Chapter 5.05 (“City TOT”); and WHEREAS, from time to time, some operators subject to the City TOT fail to pay the required tax – despite collecting this tax from transients in the City; and WHEREAS, at present failure to remit the City TOT is a misdemeanor and/or is subject to a civil action brought by the City to collect unpaid and delinquent City TOT; and WHEREAS, the existing legal remedies for the City are time consuming and costly processes that require substantive staff time and resources which makes pursing these remedies for the varying amounts overly burdensome; and
WHEREAS, the proposed addition of Chapter 3.10 to the Laguna Beach Municipal Code would authorize the City to record a lien on real property in the event operators of these properties fail to timely remit payment of the City TOT that they have collected from their patrons, providing a strong incentive for timely payment of the City TOT to avoid this lien on title of the property; and
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WHEREAS, certain properties in the City that were subject to the City TOT have gone multiple quarters without paying the City TOT, despite collecting from patrons and these same properties may be subject to foreclosure or other legal mechanisms that could result in a change of ownership; and
WHEREAS, it is imperative that the City’s interest in ensuring the collection of City TOT that was paid by individuals in the City is protected.
NOW, THEREFORE THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH DOES ORDAIN, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The recitals above are each incorporated by reference and adopted as findings by the City Council.
SECTION 2. Environmental Review. This Ordinance is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section (15378(b)(5)).
SECTION 3. Laguna Beach Municipal Code Amendment. Title 3 of the Laguna Beach Municipal Code is amended to add Chapter 3.10 to read in full as follows:
Chapter 3.10
COLLECTION OF UNPAID TAX
3.10.010 Purpose.
The purpose of this Chapter is to establish one possible procedure for the collection of unpaid taxes due under Chapter 5.05 of the Laguna Beach Municipal Code related to transient uses (“City TOT”) and any assessments under the Laguan Beach Tourism Marketing District that the City is responsible for collecting. Specifically, this Chapter is established to allow, among other remedies, the City to record liens against real property used in the operation of transient occupancies for unpaid City TOT, penalties, and interest. This Chapter shall not be the exclusive remedy of the City and any and all other legal means to recover unpaid City TOT shall remain available to the City.
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3.10.020 Lien for Unpaid City TOT.
(a) If any amount required to be paid to the city under the ordinance codified in Chapter 5.05 is not paid when due, or any assessment under the Laguan Beach Tourism Marketing District that the City is responsible for collecting is not paid when due, the City Manager, or their designee, upon expiration of any applicable time period and appeal found in sections
5.05.110 and 5.05.120 of this Code, may, within four years after the amount is due, record in the office(s) of the county recorder(s) of any county in the State of California a certificate specifying the amount of tax, penalties, and interest due, the name and address of the operator (as defined by section 5.05.020) liable for the same, and the fact that the City Manager, or their designee, has complied with all provisions of this Code and any other legal requirement in the determination of the amount required to be paid. From the time of the recording, the amount required to be paid, together with penalties and interest, shall constitute a lien upon any and all real property in any county owned by the operator or thereafter acquired by the operator. The lien shall have the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien, and shall continue for ten years from the time of filing of the certificate unless sooner released or otherwise discharged. The lien may be renewed in the same manner as the renewal of judgment liens under state law. (b) Priority and Lien of Tax. The amounts required to be paid by any operator under this Code with penalties and interest shall be satisfied first in any of the following cases:
(1) Whenever the person is insolvent;
(2) Whenever the person makes a voluntary assignment of his or her assets; (3) Whenever the estate of the person in the hands of executors, administrators, or heirs is insufficient to pay all the debts due from the deceased; or (4) Whenever the estate and effects of an absconding, concealed, or absent person required to pay any amount under this Code are levied upon by process of law.
This chapter does not give the city a preference over any recorded lien which is attached prior to the date when the amounts required to be paid became a lien or any other liens that take priority by virtue of other State of Federal law.
3.10.030 Warrant for collection of tax
At any time after any operator is delinquent in the payment of any amount herein required to be paid off after recording a certificate of lien under section 3.10.020, the City Manager, or their designee, may issue a warrant directed to any sheriff or marshal for the enforcement of any liens and for the collection of any amount required to be paid to the city under this Code. The warrant shall have the same effect as a writ of execution, and be executed in the same manner and with the same effect as a levy and sale pursuant to a writ of execution. The City Manager, or their designee may pay or advance to the sheriff or marshal such fees, commissions, and expenses for services as are provided by law for similar services pursuant to a writ of execution. 4 -4- Ord. XXXX
3.10.040 Seizure and sale.
At any time after any operator is delinquent in the payment of any City TOT amount, the City Manager, or their designee, may forthwith collect the amount in the following manner: The City Manager, or their designee, shall seize any property, real or personal, of the operator and sell the property, or a sufficient part of it, at public auction to pay the amount due, together with any penalties and interest, imposed for the delinquency and any costs incurred on account of the seizure and sale. Any seizure made to collect occupancy taxes due shall be only of property of the operator not exempt from execution under the provisions of the California Code of Civil Procedure or any other applicable law.
3.10.050 Successor's and Assignee's Responsibility and Liability. (a) If any operator, while liable for any amount under this Code, sells, assigns, or otherwise transfers the subject property or quits the subject property, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, the operator's subsequent successor, assign, other transferee, or other person or entity obtaining ownership or control of the subject property, shall satisfy any transient occupancy tax liability owed to the city associated with the property. Failure to do so for the benefit of the city will result in the successor operator, assign, purchaser, transferee, or other person or entity obtaining ownership or control of the subject being personally liable to the city for the full amount of the transient occupancy tax liability, which includes interest and penalties.
(b) The successor operator, assign, purchaser, transferee, or other person or entity seeking to obtain ownership or control of the subject property shall notify the City Manager, or their designee, of the date of transfer at least thirty days prior to the transfer date; or if the agreement to sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of the subject property was made less than thirty days prior to the date of transfer, notice shall be provided immediately. (c) The successor operator, assign, purchaser, transferee, or other person or entity who obtains ownership or control of the subject property shall be deemed to have complied with the requirement of this section to satisfy the unpaid transient occupancy tax liability, if that person or entity complies with the requirements of California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7283.5 by withholding from the purchase price an amount sufficient to cover the tax liability, or by otherwise paying the tax liability until the City Manager, or their designee, provides a transient occupancy tax clearance certificate showing that it has been paid and stating that no amount is due through the date of transfer. (d) The City Manager, or their designee, within ninety days of receiving a written request from a successor operator, assign, purchaser, transferee, or other person or entity who obtains or attempts to obtain ownership or control of the subject property, may issue a transient occupancy tax clearance certificate stating either the amount of tax liability due and owing for the property, or stating that there is no tax liability due and owing for the property. The City Manager, or their designee, may also request financial records from the current or former owner or operator to conduct an audit of the transient occupancy tax that may be due and owing. After completing the audit within ninety days after the date that the records were made available, the City Manager, or their designee, may issue a tax clearance 5 -5- Ord. XXXX
certificate within thirty days of completing the audit, stating the amount of the tax liability owed, if any. If the city determines that the records provided for an audit are insufficient, the City Manager, or their designee, may rely on the facts and information available to estimate any transient occupancy tax liability associated with the property. The City Manager, or their designee, may issue a tax clearance certificate stating the amount of the tax liability, if any, based on such facts and information available. A written application for a hearing on the amount assessed on the tax clearance certificate must be made within ten days after the serving or mailing of the certificate. The hearing provision of section
5.05.120 shall apply. If an application for a hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the tax clearance certificate shall serve as conclusive evidence of the tax liability associated with the property as of the date specified on the certificate.
SECTION 4. Certification. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this ordinance and, within 15 days after its adoption, shall cause it to be published in accordance with California Law.
SECTION 5. Custodian of Records. The custodian of records for this Ordinance is the City Clerk and the records comprising the administrative record are located at 505 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, CA 92651.
SECTION 6. Severability. If any provision of this Ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity has no effect on the other provisions or applications of the Ordinance that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this extent, the provisions of this Ordinance are severable. The City Council declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance irrespective of the invalidity of any portion thereof.
SECTION 7. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take thirty days after its passage and adoption pursuant to California Government Code section 36937.
ADOPTED this 28th day of October, 2025.
Alex Rounaghi, Mayor
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Ann Marie McKay, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Megan Garibaldi, City Attorney
I, Ann Marie McKay, City Clerk of the City of Laguna Beach, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. XXXX was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council on October 28, 2025, and was finally adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of said City held on _______________, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
NOES: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
City Clerk, City of Laguna Beach, CA
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