The cost of watering the landscape
Here’s one piece of good news for Yorba Lindans facing increased water, sewer and trash collection fees: the amount due to support the city’s lighting and landscape district won’t go up this year.
But maintenance of up to 50 currently landscaped areas might be reduced or eliminated to save as much as $687,211 when City Council acts on a widely praised report by Assistant City Manager Mark Stowell and Assessment District Manager Bruce Carleton.
The two officials suggested the land be allowed to return to natural conditions or have maintenance assumed by property owners, homeowners associations or newly created assessment zones to save watering, maintenance and aging infrastructure costs.
The city-administered district maintains 5,665 streetlights, the citywide and six specific-benefit landscape zones and three traffic signal zones with 62 signalized intersections. It was created in 1979 under the state’s 1972 Landscaping and Lighting Act.
Annual assessments on 2009-2010 property tax billings will raise nearly $5.6 million for the district’s $7.6 million budget with the remainder coming from the city’s general fund and other taxes.
The general fund contribution will increase to $796,995 from $639,254 last year, mostly to fill a deficit in the budget to maintain landscaping along 14 major streets—arterials—running through the city.
Last year, property owners turned down an arterial fee increase with a 75 percent “no” vote. The current rates, with yearly Consumer Price Index boosts when warranted, were approved in 1997 with an 83 percent “yes” vote, after 1996’s Proposition 218 mandated stakeholder input on certain tax and fee increases.
Owners of all of the city’s properties—21,258 single-family homes, 1,115 multi-family units, 288 mobile home spaces and 1,570 acres of commercial, industrial, school, park and rural land—will pay $1.27 for arterial lighting, $47.86 for arterial landscaping and $2.88, $5.68 or $6.98 for traffic signals, the same as last year.
Fees paid by owners of 12,080 single-family homes, 524 multi-family units and 917 acres of commercial, industrial, school, park and rural land in the specific-area landscape zones also will remain the same.
These special “benefit zone” fees range from $41.89 to $299.79, in addition to the arterial lighting and landscaping and traffic signal payments. Some properties in Vista Del Verde pay fees for two landscaping zones, $263.27 and $170.70.
A local lighting zone with 17,301 parcels adds $16.36 in fees, bringing the highest annual total fee to $505.14 for some landowners. The lowest yearly total fee is $54.81.
But maintenance of up to 50 currently landscaped areas might be reduced or eliminated to save as much as $687,211 when City Council acts on a widely praised report by Assistant City Manager Mark Stowell and Assessment District Manager Bruce Carleton.
The two officials suggested the land be allowed to return to natural conditions or have maintenance assumed by property owners, homeowners associations or newly created assessment zones to save watering, maintenance and aging infrastructure costs.
The city-administered district maintains 5,665 streetlights, the citywide and six specific-benefit landscape zones and three traffic signal zones with 62 signalized intersections. It was created in 1979 under the state’s 1972 Landscaping and Lighting Act.
Annual assessments on 2009-2010 property tax billings will raise nearly $5.6 million for the district’s $7.6 million budget with the remainder coming from the city’s general fund and other taxes.
The general fund contribution will increase to $796,995 from $639,254 last year, mostly to fill a deficit in the budget to maintain landscaping along 14 major streets—arterials—running through the city.
Last year, property owners turned down an arterial fee increase with a 75 percent “no” vote. The current rates, with yearly Consumer Price Index boosts when warranted, were approved in 1997 with an 83 percent “yes” vote, after 1996’s Proposition 218 mandated stakeholder input on certain tax and fee increases.
Owners of all of the city’s properties—21,258 single-family homes, 1,115 multi-family units, 288 mobile home spaces and 1,570 acres of commercial, industrial, school, park and rural land—will pay $1.27 for arterial lighting, $47.86 for arterial landscaping and $2.88, $5.68 or $6.98 for traffic signals, the same as last year.
Fees paid by owners of 12,080 single-family homes, 524 multi-family units and 917 acres of commercial, industrial, school, park and rural land in the specific-area landscape zones also will remain the same.
These special “benefit zone” fees range from $41.89 to $299.79, in addition to the arterial lighting and landscaping and traffic signal payments. Some properties in Vista Del Verde pay fees for two landscaping zones, $263.27 and $170.70.
A local lighting zone with 17,301 parcels adds $16.36 in fees, bringing the highest annual total fee to $505.14 for some landowners. The lowest yearly total fee is $54.81.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 AM
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