The following definitions are applicable to this article:
"Hotel"
shall mean any structure, or any portion of any structure,
which is occupied or intended or designed for occupancy by transients
for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes, and includes any inn,
tourist home or house, motel, studio, bachelor hotel, lodging house,
rooming house, apartment house, dormitory, public or private club,
mobile home or house trailer at a fixed location or other similar
structure or portion thereof. "Hotel" does not mean any hospital,
convalescent home or sanitarium.
"Occupancy"
shall mean the use or possession or the right to the use
or possession of any room or rooms or portion thereof in any hotel
for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes.
"Operator"
shall mean the person who is proprietor of the hotel, whether
in the capacity of owner, lessee, sublessee, mortgagee in possession,
licensee or any other capacity. "Operator" includes a managing agent,
a resident manager, a resident agent or any other individual acting
in a management capacity. Where the operator performs the function
of booking or charging for a room through an agent of any type or
character other than an employee, the agent shall also be deemed an
operator for the purposes of this article and shall have the same
duties and liabilities as the principal.
"Person"
shall mean any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture,
association, social club, fraternal organization, joint stock company,
corporation, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, trustee, syndicate
or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
"Qualifying rental agreement"
shall mean and is limited to a written contract signed by
both the operator and tenant, legally enforceable by either party,
for a rental period of not less than 31 consecutive days. "Qualifying
rental agreement" shall expressly exclude: (1) any agreement regardless
of length of the rental term that may be terminated for any reason
by either party or by mutual consent prior to the thirty-first (31st)
consecutive day of the tenancy; or (2) any agreement that would constitute
a violation of law. Any person who has a written agreement with the
operator, entered into within the first 30 days of the person's occupancy,
that states that the person will stay for more than 30 consecutive
calendar days, must pay TOT for the first 30 days of the person's
stay in accordance with this chapter.
"Rent"
shall mean the consideration charged to the transient, whether
or not received, for the occupancy of space in a hotel, valued in
money, whether to be received in money, goods, labor or otherwise,
including all receipts, cash, credits and property and services of
any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom whatsoever and
any: (1) unrefunded advance rental deposits; or (2) separate charges
levied for items or services which are part of such occupancy including,
but not limited to, furniture, fixtures, appliances, linens, towels,
non-coin-operated safes, energy surcharges and maid service. Charges
for parking to hotel guests are considered to be part of the room
rent in computing the charges subject to the occupancy tax. Charges
for products or services that are subject to tax under sales and use
tax laws, such as food or beverages, will not be subject to the occupancy
tax.
"Successor to operator"
shall mean any person who acquires the right to operate a
hotel from a preceding operator, by whatever means, including purchase,
foreclosure, operation of lease, or by any other means. A transfer
of an ownership or management interest in a hotel, wherein the facility
continues to operate as such, either continuously or for business
interruption not exceeding 30 days, shall constitute a succession
for purposes of this article.
"Transient"
shall mean any person who exercises occupancy or is entitled
to occupancy by reason of concession, permit, right of access, license
or other agreement for a period of 30 consecutive calendar days or
less, counting portions of calendar days as full days. Any such person
so occupying space in a hotel shall be deemed to be a transient until
30 consecutive days have expired or until such date that a person
has entered into a qualifying rental agreement.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12; Ord. No. 2021-07, § 6, 8-11-21)
The tax administrator may promulgate reasonable rules, interpretations
and regulations to implement and enforce the provisions of this article.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) Before
commencing business or following a change in hotel ownership, each
operator renting to transients shall register with the tax administrator
and shall obtain a transient occupancy registration certificate. The
certificate shall at all times be posted in a public visible place
on the premises such that transients may read the certificate during
the registration process.
(b) The
certificate shall, among other things, state the following:
(1) The name of the operator;
(3) The date upon which the certificate was issued.
(c) A
transient occupancy registration certificate signifies that the operator
understands the requirements of this article, has registered with
the tax administrator for the purpose of collecting transient occupancy
tax and acknowledges the procedures for remitting such tax to the
tax administrator each month. The certificate is not assignable and
is nontransferable and shall be surrendered immediately to the tax
collector upon cessation of business at the location named or upon
the sale or transfer of the business or the real property on which
the business is located.
(d) A
transient occupancy registration certificate does not authorize any
person to conduct any unlawful business, to conduct any lawful business
in an unlawful manner, or to operate a hotel without strictly complying
with all local applicable laws.
(e) To
insure compliance with transient occupancy tax payment requirements,
the tax administrator may require a security deposit, equal to one
month's estimated transient occupancy tax, from a new operator before
issuing a transient occupancy registration certificate. The tax administrator
may release the security deposit following 12 months of timely remittance
of all required transient occupancy tax and associated returns.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) For
the privilege of occupancy in any hotel, each transient is subject
to and shall pay a transient occupancy tax in the amount of 10% of
the rent charged by the operator. The tax imposed pursuant to this
article constitutes a tax owed by each transient to the city which
is extinguished only by payment to the operator at the time the rent
is paid or to the city. If the rent is paid in installments, a proportionate
share of the tax shall be paid with each installment.
(b) A
person who begins occupancy in any hotel as a transient and later
signs a qualifying rental agreement owes the transient occupancy tax
for each day of occupancy prior to the effective date of the qualifying
rental agreement.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) All
taxes collected by an operator shall be held in trust for the City
of Escondido until submitted to the tax administrator. An operator
shall maintain records as required by the tax administrator to ensure
the proper amount of tax is collected and remitted. An operator shall
not commingle any funds from personal or other business sources with
financial accounts containing hotel income.
(b) Each
operator shall collect the tax imposed by this article at the same
time as the rent is collected from every transient. The amount of
tax shall be separately stated from the amount of the rent charged
and the operator shall maintain records documenting every occupancy
whether transient or not. A qualifying rental agreement shall document
every non-transient occupancy. Each transient shall receive a receipt
for the tax payment from the operator and the operator shall maintain
a duplicate receipt in accordance with this article.
(c) If
the operator collects the rent but fails to collect the transient
occupancy tax for any reason, the operator shall pay the transient
occupancy tax.
(d) No
operator of a hotel shall advertise or state in any manner, whether
directly or indirectly, that the tax or any part thereof will be assumed
or absorbed by the operator, or that it will not be added to the rent,
or that, if added, any part will be refunded except in the manner
hereinafter provided.
(e) An
operator who collects transient occupancy taxes and fails to remit
the taxes collected pursuant to this chapter may be subject to prosecution
under section 424 of the
Penal Code of the State of California.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) All
operators shall remit monthly the full amount of taxes collected for
transient occupancies for the preceding month along with the required
transient occupancy tax return on a form approved by the tax administrator.
(b) Taxes remitted shall include the appropriate tax return form and must be actually received by the tax administrator on or before the last day of the month that follows the reporting month; otherwise the taxes are delinquent and subject to the penalties authorized by section
25-82. When City Hall is closed on the last day of the month, the tax submission deadline shall be extended to the next business day.
(c) Upon
cessation of business or change in ownership, all tax due and the
associated tax return shall be immediately remitted to the tax administrator.
(d) When
required by the tax administrator to protect the funds held in trust,
the operator shall submit tax returns and payments at an increased
frequency. The tax administrator may also order the operator to segregate
transient occupancy taxes collected into a separate trust account
maintained on behalf of the City of Escondido in a financial institution
acceptable to the tax administrator.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) The purpose of this article is to regulate the collection of taxes collected by operators and held in trust for the City of Escondido. Violation of any provision of this article shall be treated as a strict liability offense. Any operator or other person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable therefor as provided by Escondido Municipal Code section
1-13.
(b) It
is unlawful to operate a hotel without a transient occupancy registration
certificate.
(c) It
is unlawful for any operator to fail to collect transient occupancy
taxes as required by this article.
(d) It
is unlawful to fail to remit the transient occupancy taxes collected
or owed on the date due to the City of Escondido.
(e) It
is unlawful to fail to submit the required transient occupancy tax
return on the date due to the City of Escondido.
(f) It
is unlawful for any operator to make, render, sign or verify any report
related to transient occupancy tax collection or to make any false
or fraudulent report or claim.
(g) It
is unlawful to fail to retain records related to the transient occupancy
tax collection or amount due as required by this article.
(h) It
is unlawful to refuse to provide or allow timely access to required
transient occupancy tax records after a lawful demand by the tax administrator.
(i) It
shall not be a defense to violations of this article that the operator
had forwarded any return due or tax collected to its principal or
corporate headquarters, nor that any failure to file or remit taxes
was based on the direction or inaction of such principal or corporate
headquarters.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) Delinquency.
An operator who fails to fully remit the tax due and the associated
tax return by the due date shall pay a penalty equal to 10% of the
amount of the tax. The penalty is due on the first day the tax remittance
is delinquent.
(b) Continued
Delinquency. Any Operator who fails to remit any delinquent remittance
on or before a period of 30 days following the date on which the remittance
first became delinquent, shall pay an additional delinquency penalty
of 10% of the amount of the tax due for each delinquent month, or
portion thereof, in addition to the amount of the tax and the 10%
penalty first imposed. Such penalty shall not accrue to more than
100% of the tax.
(c) Interest.
In addition to the penalties imposed and upon demand of the tax administrator,
an operator who fails to remit any tax collected or owed, including
any merged penalties and prior interest, imposed by this article shall
pay interest on the amount owed from the date on which the remittance
first became delinquent. The annual interest rate shall be 7%.
(d) Merger.
Every penalty imposed, any interest accrued and any assessment made
under the provisions of this article shall immediately become a part
of the tax herein required to be paid.
(e) Fraud.
If the tax administrator determines that the nonpayment of any remittance
due under this article is due to fraud, an additional penalty of 25%
of the amount of the tax shall be added thereto in addition to any
mandatory penalties.
(f) Relief
from Penalties. Upon showing of good cause and when in the public
interest, the tax administrator may waive penalties assessed pursuant
to this article.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
All remedies prescribed by this article or any other provisions
of law and the use of one or more remedies by the city shall not bar
the use of any other remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions
of this chapter.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) If
any operator shall fail to collect or remit the required transient
occupancy tax or any completed report required by this article, the
tax administrator shall obtain facts and information upon which to
base the assessment of the tax imposed by this article and owed to
the City of Escondido. The tax administrator shall give a notice of
the amount so assessed including penalties and interest via first
class mail to the address provided on the transient occupancy registration
certificate. In no manner does this assessment excuse the operator
from the requirement to submit the actual amount of tax collected
and the associated tax return for the assessment period.
(b) Following
receipt of an assessment, the operator may, within seven days of the
postmarked notice date, make application in writing to the tax administrator
for a hearing to dispute the amount assessed. If a complete application
by the operator for a hearing is not made within the time provided;
the tax, penalties and interest determined by the tax administrator
shall become immediately due and payable.
(1) Upon completed application, the tax administrator shall promptly
schedule a hearing and provide notice to the operator to show cause
at a time and place fixed in said notice why said amount specified
therein should not be fixed for such tax, penalties, and interest.
(2) The operator may appear and offer evidence why such specified tax,
interest and penalties should not be so fixed. After such hearing,
the hearing officer shall determine the proper tax to be remitted
and shall thereafter give written notice to the person in the manner
prescribed herein of such determination and the amount of such tax,
interest and penalties. The amount determined to be due shall be payable
immediately.
(c) Payment
of all tax, penalties, interest and the submission of the associated
tax returns are required conditions precedent to seeking administrative
review of any liability related to the provisions of this article
and shall accompany any application for a hearing.
(d) If
the operator succeeds at an assessment hearing, the city shall promptly
refund any overpayment of transient occupancy tax, penalty and interest.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) An
operator may appeal any hearing decision to the city manager by filing
a notice of appeal with the city clerk within seven days of the hearing
decision. Payment of all tax, interest and penalties is a required
condition precedent to seeking administrative or judicial review of
any liability related to the provisions of this article.
(b) The
city manager shall appoint an appeal hearing officer and shall fix
a time and place for hearing such appeal, and the city clerk shall
give notice in writing to such operator at the address provided on
the transient registration occupancy certificate. The findings of
the appeal hearing officer shall be final and conclusive and shall
be served upon the appellant in the manner prescribed above for service
of notice of hearing.
(c) No
injunction or writ of mandate or other legal or equitable process
shall issue in any suit, action or proceeding in any court against
the city or an officer thereof, to prevent or enjoin the collection
of taxes sought to be collected pursuant to this chapter and payment
of all tax, interest and penalties shall be required as a condition
precedent to seeking judicial review of any tax liability.
(d) If
the operator succeeds following an appeal hearing, the city shall
promptly refund any overpayment of transient occupancy tax, penalty
and interest.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) If
an operator is delinquent more than one time in any 12 month period
or fails to comply with any regulation authorized by this article,
the tax administrator may order a security deposit or may revoke the
operator's transient occupancy registration certificate.
(1) The tax administrator shall give the operator written notice of the
revocation of the registration certificate.
(2) The operator may request a hearing or appeal by following the same procedures as outlined in sections
25-84 and
25-85.
(b) The
tax administrator shall not issue a new registration certificate after
a revocation until satisfied that the operator will comply with the
provisions of this chapter relating to the occupancy tax and regulations
of the tax administrator.
(c) During
any period of time during which a transient occupancy registration
certificate has not been issued or revoked or otherwise not validly
in effect, the tax administrator may require that the hotel be closed
to transients.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) Records.
It shall be the duty of every operator liable for the collection and
payment to the city of any tax imposed by this article to keep and
preserve, for a period of four years, all records as may be necessary
to determine the amount of such tax as he or she may have been liable
for the collection of and payment to the city. An operator shall create
and retain financial records that account for all hotel bank deposits
and all receipts that explain any discrepancies between gross hotel
income and rent income that is subject to the transient occupancy
tax. Further an operator shall create and retain records to allow
reconciliation between income reported on state or federal tax returns
with rent income reported on transient occupancy tax returns. The
tax administrator and authorized agents shall have the right to inspect
at all reasonable times and to apply auditing procedures necessary
to determine the amount of tax due to the city.
(b) Inspection.
It shall be the duty of every operator responsible for the collection
of transient occupancy taxes to cooperate with any lawful records
inspection. The tax administrator and authorized agents in the exercise
of duties imposed by this article shall have the right to inspect
such records at all reasonable times and to apply auditing procedures
necessary to determine the amount of tax due to the city. Access to
all transient occupancy tax records, including qualified rental agreements,
shall be made available within one business day of a lawful demand.
(c) Travel.
If the tax administrator or designate agent must travel beyond the
City of Escondido city limits to conduct a records inspection or audit
pursuant to this article, the tax administrator shall assess the transient
occupancy tax operator for any additional costs incurred as a result
of performing the audit outside of the City of Escondido. Before incurring
travel related costs, the tax administrator shall notify the operator
and allow a reasonable opportunity for the operator to produce the
records within the city.
(d) Audit
Deficiency. If, upon audit or records inspection by the city, an operator
is found to be deficient in his or her return or his or her remittance,
or both, the tax administrator shall immediately invoice the operator
for the amount of the net deficiency plus a penalty of 10% of the
net deficiency. Failure to pay the deficiency and penalty shall subject
the amount owed to the penalty, interest, hearing and appeal procedures
provided in this article.
(e) Cost
Recovery.
(1) In addition to the penalties and interest provided in this section,
the operator shall reimburse the city for the cost an audit or records
inspection if an audit or inspection identifies a 5% or greater discrepancy
between the amount of annual transient occupancy tax due to the city
and the amount paid by the operator. Such reimbursement shall be paid
by the operator within 30 days of the date the city notifies the operator
in writing of the amount of city's costs.
(2) If any operator shall fail or refuse to collect the tax required
by this chapter or fail to provide, within the time provided in this
article, any report and remittance of said tax, of any portion thereof,
required by this article, the tax administrator may order an inspection
of the records of the operator to determine the proper amount of any
tax owed. The entire cost of the inspection shall be assessed against
the operator.
(3) Any discrepancy between state or federal tax records or gross hotel
receipts and rent income reported on transient occupancy tax returns
or the lack of adequate records to explain any discrepancy shall result
in the operator reimbursing the city for the cost of the audit, in
addition to any tax, penalties or interest that may be owed.
(f) Failure
to reimburse the city for audit or inspection related expenses may
result in revocation of the operator's transient occupancy registration
certificate.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) Whenever the amount of any tax, interest or penalty has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the city under this article, it may be refunded as provided in subsections
(b) and
(c) of this section provided a claim in writing therefor, stating under penalty of perjury the specific grounds upon which the claim is founded, is filed with the tax administrator within three years of the date of payment. The claim shall be on forms furnished by the tax administrator.
(b) An
operator may claim a refund or take as credit against taxes collected
and remitted the amount overpaid, paid more than once or erroneously
or illegally collected or received when it is established in a manner
prescribed by the tax administrator that the person from whom the
tax has been collected was not a transient; provided, however, that
neither a refund nor a credit shall be allowed unless the amount of
the tax so collected has either been refunded to the transient or
credited to rent subsequently payable by the transient to the operator.
(c) A transient may obtain a refund of taxes overpaid or paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received by the city by filing a claim in the manner provided in subsection
(a) of this section, but only when the tax was paid by the transient directly to the tax administrator, or when the transient having paid the tax to the operator, establishes to the satisfaction of the tax administrator that the transient has been unable to obtain a refund from the operator who collected the tax.
(d) No
refund shall be paid under the provisions of this section unless the
claimant establishes his or her right thereto by written records showing
entitlement thereto.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) Actions.
Any tax required to be paid by any transient under the provisions
of this article shall be deemed a debt owed by the transient to the
city. Any tax collected by an operator which has not been paid to
the city shall be deemed funds held in trust for the account of the
city which are due and payable by the operator to the city pursuant
to the provisions of this article. Any person, including an operator,
owing money to the city under the provisions of this article shall
be liable to an action brought in the name of the city for the recovery
of such amount, including applicable penalties and interest.
(b) Recording
of a Certificate of Lien. If any amount required to be paid to the
city under this article is not paid when due, the tax administrator
may record in the office of the San Diego County recorder a certificate
which specifies the amount of tax and penalties and interest due,
the name and address of the operator liable for the same, a statement
that the tax administrator has complied with all provisions of this
article in the determination of the amount required to be paid and
a legal description of the real property owned by the operator. From
the time of the recording of the certificate, the amount required
to be paid together with penalties and interest, constitutes a lien
upon all the real property in the county owned by the operator or
thereafter acquired before the lien expires. The lien has the force,
effect and priority of a judgment lien and shall continue for 10 years
from the filing of the certificate unless sooner released or otherwise
discharged.
(c) Warrant for Collection of Tax. At any time within three years after the recording of a certificate of lien under subsection
(b) of this section, the tax administrator may issue a warrant directed to any sheriff or marshal for the enforcement of the lien and the collection of any tax and penalties required to be paid to the city under this article. 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 tax administrator 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.
(d) Seizure and Sale. In lieu of issuing a warrant under subsection
(c) of this section, at any time within the three years after an assessment was issued or a certificate of lien was recorded under subsection
(c) of this section, the tax administrator may collect the delinquent amount by seizing or causing to be seized any property, real or personal, of the operator and sell any noncash or nonnegotiable property or a sufficient part of it at public auction to pay the amount of tax due together with any penalties and any cost incurred on account of the seizure and sale. Any seizure made to collect taxes due shall only be of property of the operator not exempt from execution under the provisions of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
(e) Notice of Provisions for Seizure. Prior to seizure of the transient occupancy tax renting occupancy to transients, the tax administrator shall give a notice of such proposed action, which will include the amount assessed, by serving the notice personally or by depositing it in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the operator assessed at his or her last known place of address, provided such operator is still the operator of record of such transient occupancy tax. Such operator may, within 10 days after the serving or mailing of such notice, make application in writing to the tax administrator for a hearing on the proposed seizure. The city manager shall appoint an independent hearing officer. If application by the operator for a hearing is not made within the time prescribed, the tax administrator may seize the transient occupancy tax as soon as practicable, but no earlier than the eleventh (11th) day after mailing the notice. If such application is made, the tax administrator shall give not less than five days' written notice in the manner herein to the operator to show cause at a time and place fixed in said notice why said seizure should not take place. At such hearing, the operator may appear and offer evidence only as to why such seizure is not an appropriate remedy for the delinquency. After such hearing, the tax administrator shall make a determination concerning the seizure and shall thereafter give written notice to the operator in the manner prescribed herein of such determination and the proposed date of seizure, if any. Such seizure shall not be earlier than five days from the date of the notice of the determination of seizure. Within five days from the date of the notice, an appeal may be taken as provided in section
25-85, provided that such appeal is only taken for the determination concerning the seizure and not concerning the amount of the assessment.
(f) Any
person owing money to the city under the provisions of the chapter
shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the city for the
recovery of such amount plus attorneys' fees and costs.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) Change
of Ownership. An operator who is transferring, selling, terminating
its business or who has received any legal notice that could impact
the operator's interest in the property shall immediately notify the
tax administrator in written form. The operator shall, at the same
time, notify the successor to operator of their responsibility for
any unpaid collected taxes. The operator shall further certify in
writing to the tax administrator that the operator has provided a
copy of this article to the successor to operator.
(b) Cessation
of Business. Upon change of ownership or cessation of business, all
transient occupancy taxes collected are due, though penalties shall
not accrue until the first day of the following month. The operator
shall immediately file the tax return for the last reporting period.
After filing the final return and remitting the balance due, the operator
shall make his or her records of account available for a closeout
inspection by the tax administrator or authorized agent.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) A
successor to operator shall promptly notify the tax administrator
of a change in ownership or operator. For property sales, the successor
to operator shall notify the tax administrator of the date of sale
immediately and shall withhold a sufficient portion of the purchase
price to equal the amount of such tax obligations as directed by the
tax administrator. If the operator does not remit all transient occupancy
taxes collected or owed, the successor to operator shall deposit the
withheld amount with the tax administrator.
(b) If
the successor of operator fails to withhold a portion of the purchase
price as required, it shall be responsible to the city for the payment
of the amount required to be withheld. The tax administrator may withhold
issuance of a transient occupancy registration certificate to the
successor to operator until the operator's transient occupancy tax
obligations have been cleared.
(c) A
successor to operator may request a tax clearance certificate from
the tax administrator and the tax administrator may charge an administrative
fee to cover the costs in issuing the certificate pursuant to the
California Revenue and Tax Code section 7283.5.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
(a) Returns
filed with the city pursuant to this chapter, and information regarding
the amount of gross receipts, adjustments, credits, over collections,
tax, penalty and interest, are confidential records.
(b) No
person having an administrative duty under this chapter shall make
known in any manner whatever the business affairs, operations, or
information obtained by an investigation or audit of the records of
any operator or any other person visited or examined in the discharge
of official duty, or the amount or source of income, profits, losses,
expenditures, of the operator, set forth or to knowingly permit any
return or any abstract, or copy of the return to be seen or examined
by any person, except this section shall not apply to any disclosures
made in connection with any hearing, appeal, or any civil action or
proceeding relating to the determination or recovery of the tax; any
prosecution of any person for violation of any provision of this chapter;
or any criminal or civil proceeding pertaining to the tax.
(c) This
section shall not prohibit, nor be construed to prohibit, disclosure
of statistical or cumulative information derived from tax returns,
when the information disclosed does not identify or relate to any
particular operator nor be construed to prohibit, any disclosure of
tax returns or information when disclosure is compelled by an order
of court or other judicial process.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
Any notice required to be given pursuant to this chapter, shall
be deemed given if personally served on the operator or the operator's
representative, or if deposited in the United States mail, first class
postage prepaid, and addressed to the operator at the address shown
on the transient occupancy registration certificate.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)
If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence,
clause or phrase of this article or any part thereof is for any reason
held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity
of the remaining portions of this article or any part thereof. The
city council hereby declares that it would have passed each section,
subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase thereof,
irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections,
subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared
unconstitutional.
(Ord. No. 2012-19, § 1, 12-12-12)