(a) (1) Whenever the public interest or convenience requires, the legislative body may use the powers of this division to pay, or make funds available to enable the owners of lots or parcels of real property within the district to pay, for either of the following:

(A) Work deemed necessary to bring real property or buildings, including privately owned real property or buildings, into compliance with seismic safety standards or regulations. The legislative body shall declare that public loans or funds provided to owners of private buildings for seismic strengthening of unreinforced buildings or other buildings, or real property, pursuant to this section constitute a public purpose resulting in a public benefit. Only work certified as necessary to comply with seismic safety standards or regulations by local building officials may be financed. No project involving the dismantling of an existing building and its replacement by a new building or the construction of a new or substantially new building may be financed pursuant to this section, except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (B). Work on qualified historical buildings or structures shall be done in accordance with the State Historical Building Code (Part 2.7 (commencing with Section 18950) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code). Any financing for seismic strengthening of a residential structure containing units rented by households specified in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code before strengthening shall be subject to a regulatory agreement that will ensure that the number of those units in the structure will not be reduced and will remain available at affordable rents pursuant to Section 50053 of the Health and Safety Code as long as any assessments levied pursuant to this section on the parcel on which the structure is located remain unpaid.

No lot, parcel, or building shall be included in the district without the owner’s consent.

(B) Within any area that has been designated by the Governor as a disaster area or for which the Governor has proclaimed the existence of a state of emergency because of earthquake damage, work deemed necessary to repair any damage to real property directly or indirectly caused by the occurrence of an earthquake cited in the Governor’s designation or proclamation, or by aftershocks associated with that earthquake, including work to reconstruct, repair, shore up, or replace any real property or building damaged or destroyed by the earthquake or by its aftershocks. Work may be financed pursuant to this subparagraph only on real property or buildings identified in a resolution of intention to establish a district adopted within seven years of the date that the Governor designates the area as a disaster area or proclaims a state of emergency in the area.

(2) Any district created to finance seismic safety work on privately owned buildings, including repair, reconstruction, or replacement of privately owned buildings pursuant to this section, shall consist only of lots or parcels on which the legislative body finds that the buildings to be worked on, repaired, reconstructed, or replaced pursuant to this section, are located or were located before being damaged or destroyed by the earthquake that is the subject of the Governor’s designation or proclamation pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), or by the aftershocks of that earthquake.

(3) The Legislature hereby declares that the use of public funds pursuant to this section for seismic strengthening, repair, or reconstruction of privately owned real property or buildings constitutes a public purpose resulting in a public benefit. The use of funds pursuant to this section shall not be construed to be gifts of public funds in violation of Section 6 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

(4) A loan or expenditure of funds made by a district pursuant to this section and secured by a tax assessment or a lien, or both that assessment and lien, on private property shall not, when combined with existing liens on the property, exceed 80 percent of the current appraised value of the property, as determined by an independent, certified appraiser, unless existing lienholders consent in writing to a higher loan-to-value ratio. Notice of the creation of a district or the authorization for the loan or expenditure of funds for the purposes set forth in this section shall be given to lienholders of record on the property included in the district at least 30 days prior to any vote of the governing body authorizing the creation of the district or the loan or expenditure of funds that could create a lien on the property.

(b) A district created to finance seismic safety or repair work pursuant to this section may include areas of territory that are not contiguous.

(c) At any time after the passage of the resolution provided for in subdivision (a) of Section 10312, the legislative body may make changes in or modify the improvements or reduce the assessment with respect to a particular lot or parcel within an assessment district created for the purposes of this section with the written consent of the owner of that lot or parcel.

(d)  Any changes made within an assessment district created for the purposes of this section shall be made after notice and hearing, as provided in this division, except that changes may be made under any of the following circumstances:

(1) At the hearing on the report, changes that do any of the following:

(A) Eliminate a portion of the assessment district without increasing the amount of any assessment or substantially affecting the distribution of benefits from the improvements.

(B) Exclude territory that will not be benefited by the remaining improvements without increasing the amount of any assessment.

(C) Modify the improvements or the assessment with respect to a particular lot or parcel within the assessment district with the written consent of the owner and without increasing the assessments on any other real property.

(2) At any time after the improvements are ordered and during the pendency of the proceedings to establish the assessment district.

(3) At any time after the adoption of the resolution provided for in subdivision (a) of Section 10312, to modify the improvements or reduce the assessment with respect to a particular lot or parcel within the assessment district with the written consent of the owner.

(e) An action to determine the validity of any assessments, bonds, bond anticipation notes, contracts, or improvements for the purposes of this section may be brought by the legislative body, or by any person designated by the legislative body, pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 860) of Title 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure. For this purpose, an improvement shall be deemed to be in existence upon its authorization and an assessment upon its confirmation.

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the powers conferred by this section shall be in addition and supplemental to, and not exclusive of, the powers conferred by any other law.

(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 183, Sec. 340. Effective January 1, 2005.)