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A. There is hereby adopted a special tax on the square footage of all improvements in the City of Berkeley, as defined herein.

B. The tax rate for the fiscal year 2016 shall be $0.1466 per square foot of taxable improvements; provided, that this rate shall be increased or decreased annually in May pursuant to Section 7.10.020.D.

C. The tax imposed by this chapter shall be operative on July 1, 2015.

D. The tax may be increased or decreased annually in May, according to the greater of the increase or decrease in the cost of living in the immediate San Francisco Bay Area or personal income growth in the state of California, as verified by official United States economic reports.

E. For purposes of this section only the following terms shall be defined as set forth below:

1. "Building" shall mean any structure having a roof supported by columns or by walls and designed for the shelter or housing of any person, chattel or property of any kind. The word "building" includes the word "structure."

2. "Commercial," "industrial" and "institutional" shall refer to all buildings and improvements within the City that are not classified by this chapter as dwelling units.

3. "Dwelling" shall mean a building or portion of a building designed for human occupancy

4. "Dwelling unit" shall mean a building or portion of a building designed for or occupied exclusively by one family.

5. "Family" shall mean one or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption, and, in addition, any domestic servants or gratuitous guests thereof who are living together in a single dwelling unit and maintaining a common household. Family shall also mean all unrelated persons who live together in a single dwelling unit and maintain a common household.

6. "Improvements" shall mean all buildings or structures erected or affixed to the land.

7. "Square footage" shall mean the total gross horizontal areas of all floors, including usable basement and cellars, below the roof and within the outer surface of the main walls of buildings (or the center lines of party walls separating such buildings or portions thereof) or within lines drawn parallel to and two feet within the roof line of any building or portion thereof without walls (which includes, notwithstanding paragraph c. below, the square footage of all porches), and including pedestrian access walkways or corridors, but excluding the following:

(a) Areas used for off-street parking spaces or loading berths and driveways and maneuvering aisles relating thereto.

(b) Areas which are outdoor or semi-outdoor areas included as part of the building to provide a pleasant and healthful environment for the occupants thereof and the neighborhood in which the building is located. This exempted area is limited to stoops, balconies and to natural ground areas, terraces, pools and patios which are landscaped and developed for active or passive recreational use, and which are accessible for use by occupants of the building.

(c) Arcades, porticoes, and similar open areas which are located at or near street level, which are accessible to the general public, and which are not designed or used as sales, display, storage, service or production areas.

8. "Structure" shall mean anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having location on the ground.

9. "Parcel" shall mean a unit of real estate in one ownership as shown on the most current official assessment role of the Alameda County Assessor. (Ord. 7389-NS §§ 1--3, 2014: Ord. 6597-NS § 1, 2000: Ord. 6373-NS § 3, 1997)