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HomeMy WebLinkAboutordinance.council.020-79RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ORDINANCE NO. 20 (Series of 1979) AN ORDINANCE IMPOSING A REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAX UPON THE TRANSFER OF INTERESTS IN REAL PROPERTY AND PAYABLE BY THE GRANTEE; REQUIRING THE COLLECTION OF SUCH TAX BY THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE OR HIS AGENTS; EXEMPTING CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS FROM THE TAX IMPOSED AND ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR ACQUIRING A CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION; PROVIDING FOR THE APPLICATION OF FUNDS TO LIMITED USES; ESTABLISHING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ORDINANCE AND FOR THE CREATION OF A LIEN ON THE PROPERTY TRANSFERRED FOR THE AMOUNT OF THE TAX UNPAID; AND, ~KING THIS ORDINANCE EFFECTIVE ON JANUARY 1, 1980, ON APPROVAL OF THE SAME BY THE ELECTORATE WHEREAS, the City of Aspen has acquired the Wheeler Opera House and taken the necessary steps to have the property listed on the National Register of Historic Structures; and WHEREAS, the Wheeler Opera House has twice suffered fire damage; and WHEREAS, the Wheeler Opera House has been condemned three times for fire and safety code violations within the last three years; and WHEREAS, the Wheeler Opera House desperately needs extensive renovation and reconstruction; and WHEREAS, the City of Aspen, with input from the community and professional consultants, has adopted a renovation Master Plan for the Wheeler Opera House; and WHEREAS, the City of Aspen has exhausted every available source of funding to make the necessary renovation and recon- struction, but has only been able to obtain federal grants for minor structural repair and renovation; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires toimpose a Real Estate Transfer Tax to provide sufficient funds to make such renovation and reconstruction; to provide for the maintenance of the Wheeler Opera House; and, subordinate thereto, to provide for the support of the visual and performing arts; and WHEREAS, such a tax must be ratified and approved by the electorate prior to its enforcement all as required by Section 12.1 of the Charter of the City of Aspen, RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORADINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO: Section 1. Real Estate Transfer Tax. There is hereby imposed a Real Estate Transfer Tax on every document in writing, wherein or whereby title to real property situated in the City of Aspen is transferred, which tax shall be measured by the consideration paid or to be paid for such grant or conveyance and shall be due and payable by the grantee at the time of transfer and contemporaneously therewith. No document shall be recorded whereby or wherein title to real property situated in the City of Aspen is transferred until the real estate transfer tax has been paid. Section 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this ordinance certain words are defined as follows: (a) Document. "Document" means and includes any deed, instrument or writing by which real property located within the City of Aspen is transferred. (b) Transfer. "Transfer" means and includes any conveyance of the ownership of a title to real property and is evidenced by any deed or instru- ment or writing wherein or whereby title to real property situated in the City of Aspen is granted or conveyed, subject to the exclusions provided in this ordinance. "Conveyance of ownership" for the purpose of this ordinance means and includes the transfer of more than fifty percent of the authorized and issued shares of a corporation which has as its principal asset real property situated in the City of Aspen. (c) Real Property. "Real property" means and includes all lands or interests in lands within the City of Aspen to which title or the right to title has been acquired from or ratified by the govern- RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ment of the United States or the State of Colorado. (d) Consideration. "Consideration" means and includes the actual cash paid and/or value of the property delivered, or contracted to be paid or delivered, in return for the transfer of ownership or title to real property and shall include the amount of any lien, mortgage, contract indebtedness, or other encumbrance, either given to secure the purchase price, or any part thereof, or remaining unpaid on the property at the time of sale. The term does not include the amount of any outstanding lien or encumbrance in favor of the United States, the State of Colorado, or of a municipal or quasi-municipal governmental corporation or district for taxes, special benefits or improve- ments. Section 3. Amount of Tax. The amount of Real Estate Transfer Tax payable shall be computed at the rate of one-half of one percent (1/2 of 1%) of the consideration paid in return for the transfer of ownership or title. Section 4. Lands Affected. When a document subject to the ordinance includes property located within the City of Aspen and property located within another city or in Pitkin County or other counties, the tax imposed under the authority of this ordinance shall be computed only with respect to property located within the City of Aspen and the tax shall be assessed on that part of the consideration fairly attributable to the part of such property located within this City. Section 5. Director of Finance to Enforce. (a) The Director of Finance of the City of Aspen is charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this ordinance and is hereby authorized and empowered to prescribe, adopt and promulgate -3- RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS and enforce rules and regulations pertaining thereto. (b) At the time of any transfer upon which a tax is imposed by this ordinance there shall be made a report to the Director of Finance on forms prescribed by him, setting forth the true, complete and actual consideration for the transfer, the names of the parties thereto, the location of the real estate transferred, and such other information as he may require. (c) For the purpose of collection of the taxes imposed by this ordinance, the Office of the Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder, together with all banks, title companies, escrow companies, building and loan institutions and real estate agencies permitted as such to do business under the laws of the State of Colorado and maintaining offices within the City of Aspen for the collection of said tax. The Director of Finance is authorized to negotiate with such appointed agents to allow them to retain a reasonable amount of the sum collected to cover their expense in the collection and remittance of said tax. Section 6. Exemptions. The Real Estate Transfer Tax imposed by this ordinance shall not apply to: (a) Any document wherein the United States, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, the State of Colorado, any County, City and County, Municipality, District or other political subdivision of this State, is either the grantor or grantee. (b) Any document wherein the grantee corporation, association or trust has been organized, operated and maintained solely and exclusively for chari- table or religious purposes. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS (c) Any document granting or conveying title to real property in consequence of a gift of such property, where no consideration other than love and affection, charitable donation or nominal compensation is evidenced by the terms of the instrument of transfer. (d) Any document terminating or evidencing termination of a joint tenancy in real property except where additional consideration of value is paid in connection with such termination, or a decree or agreement partitioning real property held under common ownership unless a consideration of value is paid in connection therewith. (e) The transfer of title or change of interest in real property by reason of death, will or decree of distribution. (f) Transfers made pursuant to mergers or consolida- tions of corporations, or by a subsidiary to a parent corporation for no consideration other than cancellation or surrender of the subsidiary's stock. (g) Any deed or conveyance made and delivered without consideration for the purpose of confirming, correcting, modifying, or supplementing a transfer previously recorded; making minor boundary adjustments, removing clouds on titles; or granting easements, rights-of-way or licenses. (h) Any decree or order of a court of record deter- mining or resting title, including a final order awarding title pursuant to a condemnation pro- ceeding. (i) Any deed granting or conveying title to cemetery lots. -5- RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS (j) Any lease of any real property (or assignment or transfer of any interest in any such lease) provided such lease by its terms does not con- stitute a de facto conveyance of the subject property. In the latter event the Real Estate Transfer Tax shall be based upon the capitalization at 5% of the average annual rental over the entire term of the lease, including any renewal term, plus the actual consideration, other than rent, paid or to be paid. ~hen the average annual rental cannot be determined, or at the election of the Director of Finance, the tax shall be based upon the assessed value of the property covered by the lease. (k)Any mineral deed or royalty deed. (1) Transfers to secure a debt or other obligation, or transfers or release of property which is security for a debt or other obligation. (m) Any executory contract for the sale of real property under which the vendee is entitled to or does take possession thereof without acquiring title thereto, or any assignment or cancellation of any such contract. (n) Any deed or conveyance under execution, sale, or foreclosure sale under a power sale or court decree of lien foreclosure; sheriff's deed; public trustee deed or treasurer's deed. Section 7. Application for Exemption. In the event any document which is exempt from the Real Estate Transfer Tax herein imposed does not contain language clearly showing its exempt character, the grantor or grantee may apply for and obtain from the Director of Finance a Certificate of -6- RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Exemption, which may be affixed to such deed or instrument of transfer. The Certificate of Exemption shall be in substan- tially the following form: EXEMPTION FROM REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAX STATE OF ) County of ) ss. The undersigned, as grantor or grantee of a deed or instrU- ment of conveyance from (grantor) to (grantee) dated transferring the following described property situate in the State of Colorado, County of Pitkin, and City of Aspen: hereby does apply for an exemption from the payment of the Real Estate Transfer Tax imposed by Ordinance No. , Series of 1979, of the City of Aspen. The basis of such exemption is as follows: (State briefly grounds for exemption, including applicable section and subdivision of Ordinance No. (Signature) Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of , 19 (Signature) Notary Public My commission expires: CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION I hereby certify that the above-described transfer of real property is exempt from the payment of a Real Estate Transfer Tax under Ordinance No. , Series of 1979, Section ). (Signature) Any person whose claim of exemption duly applied for under the provisions of this section is denied by the Director of Finance may immediately appeal to the City Council for a deter- mination of such exemption and such appeal shall be considered by the City Council at its next regular meeting. In the event of a determination by the City Council favorable to said grantor, any amount previously deposited, or so much thereof as may be allowed by the Council, shall be promptly refunded to said grantor. Section 8. Application of Funds. (a) All funds received by the City of Aspen pursuant to this ordinance shall be deposited in the Real Estate Transfer Tax fund, which fund is hereby created. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS The fund shall be subject to appropriation by the City Council of the City of Aspen only for the purpose of renovation, reconstruction and maintenance of the Wheeler Opera House or for the payment of principal and interest on bonds issued for such purposes and for the purpose of supporting the visual and performing arts. However, the City Council cannot appropriate in excess of $100,000.00 in any single calendar year for the purpose of supporting the visual and performing arts without obtaining the approval of sixty (60%) percent of the electors voting at a regular or special election on the same. (b) The City Council, pursuant to ordinance, and without an election, may borrow money, issue bonds, or otherwise extend the credit of the City for renovation and reconstruction of the Wheeler Opera House provided that the bonds or other obligations shall be made payable from the funds derived from this ordinance. Section 9. Penalties and Liens. (a) All taxes imposed by this ordinance, if not paid when due, shall bear interest at the rate of eighteen percent (18%) per annum until so paid. The amount of the Real Estate Transfer Tax imposed by this ordinance, and interest due thereon, is hereby assessed against the property upon the transfer of which the tax is imposed, and if not paid when due, such tax and interest, if any, shall constitute a lien on the property for the amount thereof, which lien shall continue until the amount thereof is paid or until its discharge or record by foreclosure or otherwise. -8- RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS STATE OF COLORADO ) ) ss COUNTY OF PITKIN ) CERTIFICATE I, Kathryn S. Koch, City Clerk of Aspen, Colorado, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing ordinance was introduced, read in full, and passed on reading at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Aspen on%_~/~ ~ , 197~,__ and pub] ished in the Aspen Times a weekly newspaper of general circul- arian, published in the City of Aspen, Colorado, in its and approved at a regular meeting of the City Council on Ordinance No. /~ , Series provided by law. IN WITNESS W_~EREO~, and ordered published as of 197 ~, of said City, as I have hereunto the seal of said City of Aspen, Colorado, set ny hand and SEAL City Clerk