(Amended by Ord. No. 175,397, Eff. 9/21/03.)
(a) The Board shall establish rules and regulations for the filing, review and determination of adjustments and exemptions, and consistent with the terms of this section, for any appeals to the Board from determinations pursuant to this section.
(b) The Board shall have the power to provide for adjustments determined by the Board, which reflect, as reasonably as possible, the receipt from a premises into the storm drain system of quantities of storm drainage that may be substantially different from average storm drainage, as this term is used in this section. In addition the Board shall have the power to provide for exemptions.
(c) Where a determination or adjustment or exemption has become final as provided in this section, future tax bills shall reflect the adjustment unless otherwise determined by the Board.
(d) Any user may apply in writing for an adjustment to the office designated by the Board within 30 days from the date the tax bill is mailed or delivered with respect to the period for which the user seeks adjustment.
(e) The Board shall provide for action to be taken and determination to be made upon each application for adjustment or exemption within 30 days from the date the application is filed, whenever reasonably possible, and shall cause the applicant to be immediately notified in writing of any determination on the application for adjustment. The City may request production of additional information from the applicant, and if the applicant fails to produce the requested information within 30 days from the date of mailing of the request, proceedings may be terminated or other action may be taken by the Board as it deems appropriate.
(f) Any person who has filed an application for adjustment or exemption and received a determination, and who has complied with the procedures of this section, may appeal the determination to the Board pursuant to procedures, rules and regulations adopted by the Board for that purpose. An appeal must be filed within ten days following the date of mailing notice of the determination on the request for adjustment or exemption. The Board shall set a time for hearing the matter, and shall mail written notice of the hearing no fewer than ten days prior to the date of the hearing to the person who has filed. The notice shall be mailed postage prepaid to the address designated on the appeal, and also to the address shown on the original application for adjustment if that address is different.
(g) A hearing upon an appeal shall be set, whenever reasonably possible, no later than 30 days after the date of filing the appeal. The Board may continue the hearing from time to time in its discretion, and shall make a written determination upon the appeal within 15 days from the conclusion of the hearing and provide a copy of the determination to the person who filed the appeal.
(h) Any person who has complied with the procedures of this section, may, within ten days of the mailing date of the Board’s written determination, referred to in (h) above, appeal the decision to the City Council by filing a notice of appeal with the City Clerk. This notice of appeal shall be in writing and set forth specifically where the appellant believes there was an error or abuse of discretion on the part of the Board. The Council may then set a time for hearing the matter, and shall mail written notice of that hearing no fewer than ten days prior to the date of the hearing to the person who has so filed. The notice shall be mailed as provided in (f) above. If the City Council fails to act within 30 days after the day of the filing or the appeal with the City Clerk the appeal shall be deemed denied.
(i) An adjustment or exemption determination shall become final upon the termination of time for filing an appeal to the City Council as provided for in this section where no appeal has been filed. In the event an appeal has been timely filed, the City Council’s ruling on the appeal shall be final and the City Council shall notify the Board of its determination. In either event, the Board shall cause written notice of the final adjustment determination to be immediately given to the City Clerk.
The filing of an application for adjustment or exemption, or of an appeal to the Board or City Council from a determination, shall not stay the continued and further billing of SPAC during the course of time consumed in the proceedings, but any billing during this time may be adjusted, if appropriate, at the termination of the proceedings pursuant to and in conformance with the determination made on the matter. However, acceptance of any payment by the Los Angeles County Tax Collector on behalf of the City subsequent to an application for adjustment shall not preclude billing and collection of a sum different from, or in excess of, the payments and in conformance with the final determination.
(j) Upon the discovery of any mistake or error pertaining to the application of the Use Code, Area, or Run-Off Factor that affects the amount of SPAC for a parcel as calculated by the Los Angeles County Tax Collector, the City shall request that the County make the appropriate adjustments for future billings. The City shall have authority to issue any refund due to the property owner(s).
(k) Any refunds or adjustments authorized by this Section are subject to the following:
If the amount to be refunded or adjusted does not exceed $10,000, the Director or the designated head of the Bureau of Sanitation or designee is authorized to adjust the billing or submit the appropriate refund to the property owner(s).
If the amount to be refunded or adjusted is greater than $10,000, the Board of Public Works must approve authorization for the refund or adjustment.
If the amount to be refunded or adjusted exceeds the intra-departmental transfer limit pursuant to City Charter Section 343(a), (b) and (c), the City Council must approve authorization for the refund or adjustment.