HomeMy WebLinkAboutDist 41_Info_2019.pdfCITY OF DIAMOND BAR
Ka. LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT No. 41-2019
Why Did You Receive This Ballot?
Your property in the Diamond Bar High Country
neighborhood lies within Landscape Assessment District
No. 41 as established by the original developer in 1985. The
District was set up to fund maintenance services on private
property that include fire brush clearing, shrub and ground
cover care, weed abatement, pest and vector control, and
litter and debris removal. Funds go to the City of Diamond
Bar, who in turn manages all the landscaping services.
Essentially, the City is acting as a homeowner's association.
You currently pay $220.50 per year (on your property
tax bill) for maintenance of these improvements. This
maximum amount has not increased for 30 years and,
as a result, revenues have not kept pace with the costs.
For more than 10 years the City has made up the funding
shortfall using the General Fund to ensure these critical
maintenance service levels are adequate.
The District was created to be self-sustaining by having
assessments increase annually to match increases in costs.
However, the law was changed in 1996 (Proposition 218)
to require all future increases be approved by property
owners through a ballot process. The City deferred a ballot
measure at first by exhausting financial reserves, then later
by subsidizing the work with the General Fund. Property
owners are now being asked to bring revenues in line with
expenses so the District is self-supporting once again by
increasing annual assessments.
The enclosed ballot is how you, as a property owner, can
vote on the proposed increase in the assessment from
the current $220.50 to the new amount listed on your
ballot (ranging from $461.00 to $501.09). The proposed
increase will include a mechanism to allow future annual
adjustments for inflation, based on actual costs and
approved by the City Council, not to exceed 3% per year.
This ballot measure will create a new District (No. 41-2019)
that will replace the old District No. 41.
What Does This Funding Provide?
Daily: Every day, City contractors inspect district areas and
carry out a variety of maintenance work that includes debris
and litter removal, irrigation system checkup and repairs.
Weekly or Bi-Weekly: Every week April through November,
City contractors mow, edge and trim landscaping
that includes turf, shrub and ground cover areas. Work
frequency switches to bi-weekly December through March.
Annually or As -
Needed: Once a year
or as needed, City
contractors perform
fire - preventive
brush clearance
that includes cutting
down and removing
overgrown weeds
and dead vegetation
on hillsides and
canyons close to
homes. Rodent,
insect and disease
control within
landscaped areas is handled when necessary.
Maintaining irrigated slopes keeps the neighborhood
looking healthy and well groomed
Continued from front page
How Was the New Assessment
Determined?
The total annual cost of maintenance and servicing of
improvements within the Landscape Assessment
District No. 41-2019 to be funded by the assessments
is allocated to each property based on the special
benefit received. The benefit to each parcel was
estimated based on the property type and location.
An Engineer's Report describing the proposed services
and improvements, method of assessment, special
benefits, budgets, and proposed assessment for each
parcel is available for review from the Diamond Bar City
Clerk's Office or at www.diamondbarca.org/districts.
How Much Is the Proposed Assessment?
The proposed assessment is printed on the Official Ballot
included with this notice and information guide. For single-
family homes the annual assessment is $501.09, and for
condominiums the annual assessment is $461.00. If the
measure is approved, the total amount collected through
assessments will be approximately $271,389 in Fiscal Year
2019-20. For a detailed breakdown of the revenue sources
and specific expenses, refer to the Engineer's Report for FY
19-20, which can be obtained from the Diamond Bar City
Clerk's Office or online at www.diamondbarca.org/districts.
Keeping brush on rear -area slopes trimmed benefits the whole
neighborhood by maintaining fire -safe zones
Will This Assessment Increase in the
Future?
If approved, the proposed assessment will continue
annually. After Fiscal Year 2019-20, the assessment can
only be adjusted based on actual costs, not to exceed
3% per year. This annual adjustment, which must be
reviewed and approved annually at a public meeting
of the City of Diamond Bar City Council, will help
keep the assessment revenues in line with the cost of
providing landscaping maintenance in future years.
Public Hearing
A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 16, 2019,
at 6:45 p.m. in the SCAQMD Auditorium located at 21865
Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California. You are invited
to attend the public hearing. Tabulation of the returned
ballots will commence after the close of the public input
portion of the hearing, and the results of the tabulation are
expected to be announced later that evening.
Ballot Instructions
Your ballot on this matter is important because only
returned ballots will be counted. To complete the enclosed
ballot, mark the oval next to either Yes or No, sign the
ballot, fold it in half, place it in the provided postage -paid
return envelope, and place it in the mail so it is received
on or before the public hearing date of July 16, 2019.
Only official ballots which are signed and marked with the
property owner's support or opposition, and are received
before the end of the public input portion of the public
hearing on Tuesday, July 16, 2019, will be counted.
If you lose your ballot, require a replacement ballot, or want
to change your vote, call the Diamond Bar City Clerk's office
at (909) 839-7000 for another ballot. See the enclosed
ballot for additional instructions. Ballots are weighted by
the proposed amount of assessment and will be tabulated
accordingly. The assessment shall not be imposed if, upon
the conclusion of the public hearing, ballots submitted in
opposition to the assessment exceed the ballots submitted
in favor of the assessment, with ballots weighted according
to the proportional financial obligation of the affected
property.
Additional Detailed Information Available
An Engineer's Report describing the proposed improvements,
method of assessment, budgets and proposed assessments
is available for review at the Diamond Bar City Clerk's office
located at 21810 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, California,
at (909) 839-7000, or online at www.diamondbarca.
org/districts. The City's website also provides answers to
frequently asked questions regarding the District and the
proposed increased assessment.
Irrigation systems are repaired year-round as needed
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