To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: STEPHANIE MEYER, FINANCE DIRECTOR
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DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE CITY'S BUSINESS LICENSE TAX COLLECTION PROCESS AND FEE STRUCTURE FOR SPECIAL EVENT VENDORS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City's business licensing requirements are established in Redondo Beach Municipal Code (RBMC) Title 6, Chapter 1. Section 6-1.06 establishes requirements, including the presumption of doing business, and Section 6-1.08 lists exemptions, including the option to request a business license waiver through written application of the City Council.
Over the past few years, the City Council has supported business license waivers for businesses participating in special events for which there is a community benefit, including those the Council has designated as Signature Events and for City-organized activities.
Council has directed staff to review the special event vendor waiver policy to simplify the process and ensure appropriate retail tracking and revenue collection. Staff initially outlined options for Council discussion in FY 2026-27 Budget Response Report (BRR) #27.
This report recommends actions to modify the business license tax ordinance to accomplish these goals and identifies other administrative changes to further improve the business license application process. It also outlines alternatives for Council consideration. As the proposed changes do not increase the tax or expand the entities required to pay the tax, the changes can be accomplished through an ordinance amendment and do not require voter approval.
Staff recommends the Council discuss and give direction on the proposed adjustments to the business license fee collection and application process for special event vendors.
BACKGROUND
Since FY 2023-24, the City Council has reviewed business license waiver requests for special event vendors as stand-alone requests, with an application required for each event. These include City-organized events.
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