California Code of Regulations › Title 23 - Waters › Division 2 - Department of Water Resources › Chapter 1.6 - Relocation Assistance Program › Article 1 - General › Section 370 - Definitions

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
The following terms shall mean:
"Average Annual Net Earnings" means one-half of any net
					 earnings of the business or farm operation, before Federal and State income
					 taxes, during the two taxable years immediately preceding the taxable year in
					 which the business or farm operation moves from the real property acquired, or
					 during such other period as the Department determines to be more equitable for
					 establishing such earnings, and includes any compensation paid by the business
					 or farm operation to the owner, his spouse or his dependents during such
					 period. The term "owner" as used in this definition includes the sole
					 proprietorship, the principal partners in a partnership, and the principal
					 stockholders of a corporation, as determined by the Department. For purposes of
					 determining a principal stockholder, stock held by a husband, his wife and
					 their dependent children shall be treated as one unit.
"Base Monthly Rent" means the lesser of the average monthly
					 rental paid by the displaced person for the three-month period prior to
					 initiation of negotiations for the parcel and 25% of the displaced person's
					 average monthly income. The economic rent may be considered the average monthly
					 rental when the displaced person was the owner-occupant of the acquired
					 dwelling or if the rental actually paid was not reasonably equal to market
					 rentals for similar dwellings. The "average monthly rental paid" shall include
					 any supplements supplied by others, except when required by law, such
					 supplement is to be discontinued upon vacation of the property.
"Business" means any lawful activity, excepting a farm
					 operation, conducted:
(1) Primarily
				  for the purchase, sale, lease or rental of personal and real property, and for
				  the manufacture, processing, or marketing of products, commodities, or any
				  other personal property; or
(2)
				  Primarily for the sale of services to the public; or
(3) Primarily by a non-profit organization;
				  or
(4) Solely for the purpose of
				  moving and related expenses under Section
				  370.15, for assisting in the
				  purchase, sale, resale, manufacture, processing, or marketing of products,
				  commodities, personal property, or services by the erection and maintenance of
				  an outdoor advertising display or displays, whether or not such display or
				  displays are located on the premises on which any of the above activities are
				  conducted.
"Comparable Replacement Dwelling" means a dwelling which
					 satisfies each of the following standards:
(1) Decent, safe and sanitary (as defined in
				  Section 370.04), and comparable to the
				  acquired dwelling with respect to number of rooms, habitable living space and
				  type and quality of construction, but not lesser in rooms or living space than
				  necessary to accommodate the displaced person. To the extent practicable and
				  consistent with this section, the replacement dwelling should be functionally
				  equivalent and substantially the same as the acquired dwelling, but not
				  excluding newly constructed housing.
(2) In an area not subjected to unreasonable
				  adverse environmental conditions from either natural or man-made sources, and
				  not generally less desirable than the acquired dwelling with respect to public
				  utilities, public and commercial facilities and neighborhood conditions,
				  including schools and municipal services, and reasonably accessible to the
				  displaced person's present or potential place of employment; provided that a
				  potential place of employment may not be used to satisfy the accessibility
				  requirement if the displaced person objects for a reasonable cause.
The Act and these regulations do not require the
					 replacement dwelling be generally as desirable as the acquired dwelling with
					 respect to environmental characteristics. Though a displaced person does not
					 have to accept a dwelling subject to unreasonable adverse environmental
					 conditions, neither is the Department required to duplicate environmental
					 characteristics, such as scenic vistas or proximity to the ocean, lakes,
					 rivers, forests or other natural phenomena.
If the displaced person so requests, every reasonable
					 effort shall be made to relocate such person within or near to his existing
					 neighborhood. Whenever practicable, the replacement dwelling shall be
					 reasonably close to relatives, friends, services or organizations with whom
					 there is an existing dependency relationship.
(3) Available on the private market to the
				  displaced person and available to all persons regardless of race, color, sex,
				  marital status, religion, or national origin in a manner consistent with Title
				  VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
(4) Within the financial means of the
				  displaced person. A replacement dwelling is within the financial means of the
				  displaced person if the monthly housing costs (including payments for mortgage,
				  insurance and property taxes) or rental cost (including reasonably comparable
				  utility and recurring expenses such as gardening, garaging, and similar
				  necessary fees) minus any replacement housing payment available to the person
				  under the provisions of these regulations does not exceed twenty-five percent
				  (25%) of the person's average monthly income. A replacement dwelling is within
				  the financial means of a displaced person also if the purchase price of the
				  dwelling, including related increased interest costs and other reasonable
				  expenses, does not exceed the amount of just compensation provided for the
				  acquired dwelling and the replacement housing payments available to the person
				  under these regulations.
"Conventional Loan" means a promissory note secured by a
					 trust deed or mortgage made by a bank or savings and loan association. A
					 conventional loan is not insured or guaranteed by an agency of the State or
					 Federal government.
"Counted Room" means that space in a dwelling unit
					 containing the usual quantity of household furniture, equipment and personal
					 property. It shall include such space as a recreation room, living room,
					 library, study, dining room, kitchen, laundry room, basement, bedroom, and
					 garage. Rooms or storage areas which contain substantial amounts of personal
					 property equivalent to one or more rooms may be counted as additional
					 rooms.
"Date of Initiation of Negotiations for the Parcel" means
					 the date of the first written offer to purchase the real property.
"Department" means the Department of Water
					 Resources.
"Director" means the Director of the Department of Water
					 Resources.
"Displaced Person" means any person who moves from real
					 property, or who moves his personal property from real property, either as a
					 result of the acquisition of such real property, in whole or in part, by the
					 Department or by any person having an agreement with or acting on behalf of a
					 public entity, or as the result of a written order from the Department to
					 vacate the real property for public use.
A displaced person may or may not qualify as an "eligible
					 person," as defined in these regulations.
"Dwelling" means the primary residence of a person,
					 including any single-family residence, a single-family unit in a two-family,
					 multi-family or multipurpose building, a unit of a condominium or cooperative
					 housing project, a nonhousekeeping unit, a mobilehome, or any other residential
					 unit considered to be part of the real property acquired. A residence need not
					 be decent, safe and sanitary to be a dwelling. A second home shall be
					 considered to be a dwelling only for the purpose of establishing eligibility
					 for payment of moving expense benefits.
"Economic Rent" means the reasonable rental expectancy if
					 the property were available for rent or lease on the open market based on the
					 rent or lease payment being paid for comparable space as distinguished from
					 actual or contract rent or lease payment paid for the acquired property.
"Effective Rate of Interest" means the annual percentage
					 rate paid on the debt of a mortgage as a result of including debt service
					 charges in the total interest to be paid on the mortgage debt, as an incident
					 to the extension of credit, when such debt service charges are normal to the
					 market.
"Elderly Household" means a household in which the head of
					 household or spouse is 62 years or older.
"Eligible Person" means any displaced person who is, or
					 becomes, lawfully entitled to any relocation payment under these
					 regulations.
"Existing Patronage" means the net annual average dollar
					 volume of business transacted during the two taxable years immediately
					 preceding the taxable year in which the business is relocated.
"Family" means two or more individuals, one of whom is the
					 head of a household, plus all other individuals regardless of blood or legal
					 ties who live with and are considered a part of the family unit. Where two or
					 more individuals occupy the same family dwelling with no identifiable head of a
					 household, they shall be treated as one family for replacement housing payment
					 purposes.
"Farm Operation" means any activity conducted solely or
					 primarily for the production of one or more agricultural products or
					 commodities, including timber, for sale or home use and customarily producing
					 such products or commodities in sufficient quantity to be capable of
					 contributing materially to the operator's support.
"Gross Income" means the total annual income of an
					 individual, or where a family is displaced, the total annual income of the
					 adult members of the household, irrespective of other expenses and voluntary or
					 involuntary deductions and including, but not limited to, salaries, wages,
					 public assistance payments, tips, commissions, unemployment, rents, royalties,
					 dividends, interest, profits, pensions and annuities, less the
					 following:
(1) A deduction of $500 for
				  each dependent in excess of three.
(2) A deduction of ten percent (10%) of the
				  total annual income for an elderly or handicapped household.
(3) A deduction for recurring, extraordinary
				  medical expenses (defined for this purpose to mean medical expenses in excess
				  of three percent of total annual income) where not compensated for or covered
				  by insurance or other sources, such as public assistance or tort
				  recovery.
(4) A deduction of
				  reasonable amounts paid for the care of children or sick or incapacitated
				  family members when determined to be necessary to employment of the household
				  head or spouse, except that the amount deducted shall not exceed the amount of
				  income received by the person thus released.
Gross income is divided by twelve (12) to ascertain the
					 average monthly income. Relocation and property acquisition payments are not to
					 be considered as income for determination of financial means.
"Handicapped Household" means a household in which any
					 member is handicapped or disabled.
"Mobilehome" means a structure, transportable in one or
					 more sections which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as
					 a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the
					 required utilities and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and
					 electric systems contained therein. A self-propelled vehicle is not a
					 mobilehome.
"Mortgage" means such classes of liens, including Deeds of
					 Trust as are commonly given to secure advances on, or the unpaid purchase price
					 of, real property, under the laws of the State of California, together with the
					 credit instruments, if any, secured thereby.
"Moving Expense" means the costs necessary to pack, crate,
					 disconnect, dismantle, load, insure, temporarily store, remove, transport,
					 unpack, uncrate, reassemble, reconnect, reinstall, and unload machinery,
					 equipment, or other personal property (including goods and inventory kept for
					 sale) not acquired by the Department, including connection charges imposed by
					 public utilities for starting utility service and necessary temporary lodging
					 and transportation of eligible persons. Moving expense shall not
					 include:
(1) The cost of construction
				  or improvement at the new location to replace property for which compensation
				  was paid in the acquisition;
(2)
				  Any loss of, or damage to, personal property caused by the fault or negligence
				  of the displaced person, his agent, or employee in the process of moving where
				  insurance to cover such loss or damage was available;
(3) Any payment for moving personal property
				  where such property is purchased as part of the acquisition;
(4) Additional expenses incurred because of
				  living in a new location;
(5) Cost
				  of moving structures, improvements or other real property in which the
				  displaced person reserved ownership;
(6) Interest on loans to cover moving
				  expenses;
(7) Loss of
				  goodwill;
(8) Loss of business or
				  profits;
(9) Loss of trained
				  employees;
(10) Personal
				  injury;
(11) Payments for search
				  costs in connection with locating a replacement dwelling.
"Nonprofit Organization" means a corporation, partnership,
					 individual or other public or private entity, engaged in a business,
					 professional or institutional activity on a nonprofit basis, necessitating
					 fixtures, equipment, stock in trade, or other tangible property for the
					 carrying on of the business, profession or institutional activity on the
					 premises.
"Owner." A person "owns a dwelling" if he:
(1) Holds fee title, a life estate, a fifty
				  (50) year lease, or a lease with not less than twenty (20) years to run from
				  date of acquisition of the property for the project;
(2) Holds an interest in a cooperative
				  housing project which includes the right of occupancy of a dwelling unit
				  therein;
(3) Is the contract
				  purchaser of any of the foregoing estates or interests;
(4) Has a leasehold interest with an option
				  to purchase;
(5) Owns a mobile unit
				  which under State law is determined to be real property, not personal
				  property;
(6) Who has succeeded to
				  any of the foregoing interests by devise, bequest, inheritance or operation of
				  law. In the event of acquisition of ownership by any of the foregoing methods,
				  the tenure of ownership, not occupancy, of the succeeding owner shall include
				  the tenure of the preceding owner.
"Owner-Occupant" means an owner who occupies the
					 residential dwelling being acquired by the Department as his primary
					 residence.
"Person" means any individual, family, partnership,
					 corporation or association.
"Prepaid Expenses" means items paid in advance by the
					 seller of real property and prorated between such seller and the buyer of such
					 real property at the close of escrow including, but not limited to real
					 property taxes, fire insurance, homeowners' association dues and assessment
					 payments.
"Primary Residence" means a residential dwelling which is
					 occupied as the occupant's domicile. A dwelling will qualify as a primary
					 residence when:
(1) The occupant has
				  lived in the dwelling to be acquired for more than 50% of the time in the year
				  prior to the State's first written offer; and
(2) The occupant officially acknowledges the
				  residential dwelling as his primary residence by voter registration, address on
				  tax returns, home owners exemption, mailing address, proximity to occupant's
				  work, schools, etc.
"Purchase" as used in connection with claiming replacement
					 housing payments with respect to:
(1)
				  Real property means the close of escrow by which the title to replacement
				  property was conveyed to the claimant of a relocation payment; or if no escrow
				  was used, "purchase" means the delivery to such claimant of the deed to the
				  replacement property or the delivery of a completely executed installment
				  contract for purchase.
(2) Mobile
				  homes means the registration of the vehicle with the California Department of
				  Motor Vehicles in the name of the claimant.
(3) For purpose of this Article, the leasing
				  of a condominium or other suitable dwelling for a fifty (50) year period, or
				  for a term which exceeds the life expectancy of the displaced person as
				  determined from the most recent life tables in Vital Statistics of the United
				  States, as published by the Public Health Service of the Department of Health,
				  Education and Welfare, shall be deemed a purchase of a condominium or other
				  dwelling.
"Relocation Payment" means any payment made under the
					 provisions of this Article; including, but not limited to, payments for: actual
					 or reasonable moving expense, payments made in-lieu of moving expense, purchase
					 differential payments, rental differential payments, interest differential
					 payments, and payments covering incidental expenses of the acquisition of
					 replacement properties.
"Stated Mortgage Interest Rate" means the annual percentage
					 rate to be paid on the debt of a mortgage as set forth in the mortgage or other
					 credit instrument.
"Tenant-Occupant" means a person who rents or is otherwise
					 in lawful possession of a dwelling, including a sleeping room, which is owned
					 by another and is the displacee's primary residence.
1.
					 Renumbering of Subchapter 1.6 (Articles 1-2, Sections
					 380-390) to Subchapter 1.7 and new
					 Subchapter 1.6 (Articles 1-3, Sections
					 370-370.40, not consecutive) filed
					 1-18-80; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 80, No. 3).
Note: Authority cited: Section
						7267.8,
						Government Code. Reference: Section
						7268,
						Government Code and "Guidelines" adopted by the Commission of Housing and
						Community Development.