Barber, Camille - 80265 Cedar Crest - 2024 Settlement Agrmt & STVR AgrmtSETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND RELEASE
This Settlement Agreement and Release (hereinafter the "Agreement") is entered by and
between the CITY OF LA QUINTA, a California municipal corporation ("City") and CAMILLE
BARBER, and individual ("Barber") and is binding and effective as of the Effective Date (defined
below). The City and Barber are referred to jointly hereinafter individually as a "Party" and
collectively as the "Parties." The Parties enter into this Agreement with reference to the following:
RECITALS
A. WHEREAS, Barber is the owner of certain residential property located at 80265
Cedar Crest, La Quinta, California (the "Property"); and
B. WHEREAS, Chapter 3.25 of the La Quinta Municipal Code (the "STVR
Regulations") requires the owner of any residential property, including Barber as the owner of the
Property, that is used as a short-term vacation rental ("STVR") to obtain a short term vacation
rental permit ("STVR Permit") from the City; furthermore, if any residential property has applied
for and received a STVR Permit, the residential property must comply with, among other
applicable laws, the STVR Regulations for use and operation of the property as a STVR;
furthermore, if any residential property has a STVR Permit, it may be suspended or revoked, in
accordance with the STVR Regulations, if there is a violation of the STVR Regulations while
holding a STVR Permit; and
C. WHEREAS, the City, through its Code Enforcement Office, investigated and
determined that there was a violation of the STVR Regulations at the Property, on more than one
separate occasions; and
D. WHEREAS, as a result of the City's investigations under Code Compliance Case
No. 23-0531, the City issued two (2) Administrative Citations, specifically identified as Citation
Nos. LQ200401 and LQ200464 (collectively, the "Citations"). Barber submitted separate
administrative appeals pursuant to the La Quinta Municipal Code ("LQMC") for the Citations,
which were decided separately by an administrative hearing officer (collectively, the
"Administrative Hearings"). Barber filed separately, in the Riverside County Superior Court
pursuant to applicable rules, judicial appeals of the hearing officers' decisions on the
Administrative Hearings, which were assigned the following case numbers: Riverside County
Superior Court Case Nos. CVPS2303039 and CVPS2303950 (the "Superior Court Cases"), which
were decided separately. City filed, in the Riverside County Superior Court Appellate Division,
pursuant to applicable rules, an appeal of Superior Court Case No. CVPS2303039, which was
assigned Appellate Division Case APRI No. 2300108 (the "Appellate Division Case").
Collectively, the Citations, Administrative Hearings, Superior Court Cases, and Appellate
Division Case are referred to as the "Barber Cases"; and
E. WHEREAS, the disputes that arose in the Barber Cases, in general, resulted from,
on the one hand, the City's position that Barber did not have a valid STVR Permit (among another
required license) while operating a STVR on the Property, and, on the other hand, Barber's position
that she had written leases for the Property for 31 days or more and thereby removed the Property
from the STVR Regulations (and permitting requirements therein) notwithstanding any actual use
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or occupancy periods of persons on the Property (referred to as the "Written Lease Argument");
and
F. WHEREAS, as of the date of this Agreement: (i) Barber had paid (subject to appeal
rights) all amounts owed to the City from the Citations, (ii) City had refunded to Ms. Barber the
amount of $4,100, sent November 9, 2023, as a refund per the Court's order in Riverside County
Superior Court Case No. CVPS2303039, and (iii) City has the amount of $3,100 prepared to refund
to Barber based upon the "second offense" violation (as set forth in Section 3.25.090 of the STVR
Regulations in effect at the time of the violation) being reduced to "first offense" violations
attached to Citation No. LQ200464; and
G. WHEREAS, the Parties have engaged in good faith settlement negotiations, such
that Barber agreed not to pursue an Appellate Division Appeal of Superior Court Case No.
CVPS2303950, and City agreed not to pursue its Appellate Division Case, so that a global
settlement may be reached for the Barber Cases, as more particularly set forth herein.
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the Recitals above, which are a substantive part
of this Agreement and incorporated by this reference, and the mutual covenants set forth herein,
the Parties agree as follows:
1. Settlement Terms
In consideration of the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, the Parties agree
as follows:
a) Concurrently with Barber's delivery to City of this executed Agreement,
Barber shall deliver to City a countersigned copy of the "Agreement
Relating to Short -Term Vacation Rental Usage" in the form attached to this
Agreement as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by reference;
b) Within fifteen (15) days of full execution of this Agreement and delivery of
same to City, City shall deliver to Barber via refund check the amount of
$3,100 (the "Refund Payment");
c) Within five (5) days of City's delivery to Barber of the Refund Payment,
the Parties shall dismiss their respective pending Superior Court Cases and
Appellate Division Case;
d) Barber shall deliver to City any and all requested information and
documents, such as Barber's W-9 issued by the Internal Revenue Service,
necessary or proper for facilitating the implementation of this Agreement.
2. No Admission of Fault
Upon full performance by the Parties to this Agreement of their respective obligations set
forth above, this Agreement is intended to be and is a compromise between the Parties for the
Barber Cases, and nothing in this Agreement shall be interpreted, used, or construed as an
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admission of fault or wrongful conduct of any kind by any of the Parties. All such liability and
wrongdoing alleged against one Party is denied by the other Party.
3. Release
a. Full and General Release. In consideration for the agreements as set forth
herein, and except for the respective rights of the Parties expressly retained under this Agreement
and the Agreement Relating to Short -Term Vacation Rental Usage, Barber and City, on behalf of
themselves and their respective successors, assigns, officials, directors, officers, employees,
insurers, lenders, lien holders, attorneys, agents, and other representatives, do hereby release the
other Party from any and all claims, actions and causes of action, obligations, liabilities,
indebtedness, breaches of duty, claims for injunctive and other equitable relief, suits, liens, losses,
costs or expenses, including attorney's fees, of any nature whatsoever, known or unknown, fixed
or contingent as of the date of execution of this Agreement relating to the Barber Cases (the
"Release"). The Release expressly does not include, and nothing in this Agreement does or shall
be deemed as, a release of any claims, actions and causes of action, obligations, liabilities,
indebtedness, breaches of duty, claims for injunctive and other equitable relief, suits, liens, losses,
costs or expenses or both, not arising under the operative facts of the Barber Cases; in further
explanation of the preceding sentence, the Release does not include any future violations or alleged
violations on or after the Effective Date of this Agreement for violations at the Property of the
City's STVR Regulations, including any future violations or alleged violations at the Property that
are alleged to involve a written rental/lease agreement for 31 days or more.
b. Civil Code Section 1542: By releasing and forever discharging claims both
known and unknown as above provided in the Release, the Parties expressly waive any rights under
California Civil Code section 1542, which provides:
"A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS
WHICH THE CREDITOR DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT
TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF
EXECUTING THE RELEASE WHICH IF KNOWN BY HIM
OR HER MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR
HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR."
Except for the administrative appeals and respective rights of the Parties expressly retained under
this Agreement and the Agreement Related to Short -Term Vacation Rental Usage, Barber and City
waive and relinquish any rights and benefits that they have or may have under section 1542 of the
Civil Code of the State of California with respect to the Barber Cases. Barber and City have
performed a full and complete investigation of the facts pertaining to this Agreement, and Barber
and City acknowledge and agree that they are aware that they may hereafter discover facts in
addition to or different from those which they now know or believe to be true with respect to the
subject matter of the Release, but it is their intention hereby to fully and finally forever settle and
release any and all matters, disputes and differences, known or unknown, suspected and
unsuspected, which now exist, may exist or heretofore have existed, as against each other, relating
to the Barber Cases.
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4. Effective Date of Agreement
This Agreement shall be binding and deemed effective as of the later date of signature for
the respective Parties, which date shall be the "Effective Date" of this Agreement.
5. Entire Agreement
This Agreement forms the entire agreement of the Parties relating to the subject matter
herein and supersedes any and all prior agreements or understandings relating thereto, if any,
between them pertaining to the subject matter herein, and shall not be modified or altered except
by a subsequent written agreement signed pursuant to Section 12 below. This Agreement shall be
binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the Parties, their respective successors, assigns,
officials, directors, officers, employees, insurers, lenders, lien holders, attorneys, agents, and other
representatives.
6. Representations and Warranties
Barber hereby expressly represents and warrants that it has not transferred or assigned or
attempted to transfer or assign any of the released claims that are subject to this Agreement and
are included in the Release. No claim of subrogation may be brought against the City under any
of the other released claims, and Barber expressly agrees to waive any subrogation rights against
the City related to any of the released claims. The persons signing this Agreement hereby represent
and warrant that they have the power and authority to bind any Party on whose behalf this
Agreement is signed. Barber acknowledges and agrees that the City is materially relying upon the
representations and warranties of Barber set forth in this Agreement, and only those set forth
specifically in this Agreement. If any of Barber's representations and warranties made herein are
found to be untrue or inaccurate either at the signing of this Agreement or with the passage of time,
or both, then such untrue or inaccurate representation and warranty shall be a material default and
the basis for a breach of this Agreement.
7. Controlling Law
This Agreement shall be interpreted and construed in accordance with the laws of the State
of California without regard to conflict of law principles.
8. Attorneys' Fees and Costs
The Parties shall bear all of their own respective costs and attorneys' fees incurred relating
to this Agreement. In the event that a Party is required to initiate or defend any litigation relating
to or arising out of this Agreement, the prevailing Party shall be entitled to recover from the other
Party its reasonable attorneys' fees in addition to any costs to which such prevailing Party shall be
entitled to recover pursuant to applicable law.
9. Severability
If any provision or part of this Agreement is held, determined, or adjudicated to be invalid,
unenforceable or void for any reason, each such provision shall be severed from the remaining
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provisions of the Agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of such remaining
provisions.
10. Review of Agreement
The Parties each acknowledge and represent that they have read this Agreement, that they
have had the opportunity to consult with their respective attorneys concerning its contents, that the
Agreement is being executed solely in reliance on their respective judgment, belief, and knowledge
of the matters set forth herein and on the advice of their respective attorneys (if any), and that they
enter this Agreement freely and voluntarily.
11. Neutral Interpretation
The Parties agree that all parts of this Agreement shall in all cases be construed as a whole
according to their fair meaning and shall not be construed strictly for or against any Party hereto.
12. Modification
This Agreement shall not be modified, amended or supplemented unless such
modifications, amendments or supplements are in writing and signed by the Party to be charged.
13. Counterparts
This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and by facsimile, electronic mail or other
electronic delivery, each of which shall be deemed an original and all of which together shall
constitute one and the same instrument.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Agreement on the date set forth
below.
Date: _ ce. b (p , 2024
Date:
ATTEST (for City):
CAMILLE BARBER, an individual
By le Barber
, 2024 CITY OF LA QUINTA, a California
municipal corporation
SIGNED IN COUNTERPART
Monika Radeva
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM (for City)
By:
SIGNED IN COUNTERPART
William H. Ihrke
City Attorney
Rutan & Tucker, LLP
69Ii 01561042199
202111462.5 '6022 115/24
SIGNED IN COUNTERPART
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By: Jon McMillen
Its: City Manager
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Agreement on the date set forth
below.
Date: , 2024 CAMILLE BARBER, an individual
SIGNED IN COUNTERPART
Date:
By: Camille Barber
_024 CITY OF LA QUINTA, a California
municipal corporation
By:
ATTEST (for City):
Monika Radeva
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM (for City)
By:
William H. Ihrke
City Attorney
Rutan & Tucker, LLP
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ts: City Manager
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EXHIBIT A
Agreement Relating to Short -Term Vacation Rental Usage
(attached)
Exhibit A
AGREEMENT RELATING TO SHORT-TERM VACATION RENTAL USAGE
This Agreement Relating to Short -Term Vacation Rental Usage (hereinafter the
"Agreement") is entered by and between the CITY OF LA QUINTA, a California municipal
corporation ("City") and CAMILLE BARBER, and individual ("Barber") and is binding and
effective as of February 7 , 2024 ("Effective Date"). The City and Barber are referred
to jointly hereinafter individually as a "Party" and collectively as the "Parties." The Parties enter
into this Agreement with reference to the following:
RECITALS
A. WHEREAS, Barber is the owner of certain residential property located at 80265
Cedar Crest, La Quinta, California (the "Property"); and
B. WHEREAS, Chapter 3.25 of the La Quinta Municipal Code (the "STVR
Regulations") requires the owner of any residential property that is used as a short-term vacation
rental ("STVR") to obtain a short term vacation rental permit ("STVR Permit") from the City;
furthermore, if any residential property has applied for and received a STVR Permit, the residential
property must comply with, among other applicable laws, the STVR Regulations for use and
operation of the property as a STVR; furthermore, if any residential property has a STVR Permit,
it may be suspended or revoked, in accordance with the STVR Regulations, if there is a violation
of the STVR Regulations while holding a STVR Permit; and
C. WHEREAS, the City, through its Code Enforcement Office, investigated and
determined that there was a violation of the STVR Regulations at the Property, on more than one
separate occasions; and
D. WHEREAS, the Parties entered into that certain Settlement Agreement and Release
of or about even date as this Agreement (the "Settlement Agreement"), which, among other terms
and conditions, settled specified judicial disputes between the Parties that were based, in general,
on the following: On the one hand, the City taking the position that Barber did not have a valid
STVR Permit (among another required license) while operating a STVR on the Property, and, on
the other hand, Barber taking the position that she had written leases for the Property for 31 days
or more and thereby removed the Property from the STVR Regulations (and permitting
requirements therein) notwithstanding any actual use or occupancy periods of persons on the
Property (referred to hereafter as the "Written Lease Argument"); and
E. WHEREAS, in accordance with the Settlement Agreement, the Parties have entered
into this Agreement to memorialize that the Property, and any other residential property in the City
of La Quinta that Barber may own now or in the future, shall comply with the STVR Regulations,
as more particularly set forth herein.
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the Recitals above, which are a substantive part
of this Agreement and incorporated by this reference, and the mutual covenants set forth herein,
the Parties agree as follows:
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1. The Property, and any and all "dwellings" (as defined in the STVR Regulations)
within the City that Barber owns, controls, manages, or otherwise uses (collectively, "Barber's
Residential Properties") as a STVR falling within the definition of "short-term vacation rental
unit" in the STVR Regulations shall not be used or operated, or allowed or advertised to be used
or operated, as a STVR without a validly issued STVR Permit.
2. Notwithstanding the Written Lease Argument, none of Barber's Residential
Properties shall be used as a STVR without a valid STVR Permit.
3. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and by facsimile, electronic mail
or other electronic delivery, each of which shall be deemed an original and all of which together
shall constitute one and the same instrument.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Agreement on the date set forth
below.
Date: 1'e b 1 , 2024
Date:
ATTEST (for City):
CAM1 BA' B
By: ' c Barber
R, an ' divid al
, 2024 CITY OF LA QUINTA, a California
municipal corporation
SIGNED IN COUNTERPART
Monika Radeva
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM (for City)
By: SIGNED IN COUNTERPART
William H. Ihrkc
City Attorney
Rutan & Tucker, LLP
698 015610-0199
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SIGNED IN COUNTERPART
By: Jon McMillen
Its: City Manager
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Agreement on the date set forth
below.
Date: , 2024 CAMILLE BARBER, an individual
SIGNED IN COUNTERPART
Date:
By: Camille Barber
7.2024 CITY OF LA QUINTA, a California
municipal corporation
ATTEST (for City).
Monika Radeva
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM (for City)
By:
William H. Ihrke
City Attorney
Rutan & Tucker, LLP
B cMillen
Its: City Manager
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