Special assessment district for subdivision assistance

[Streck]

Does anyone have a program similar to this to assist smaller subdivisions and city appearances?



Creation of Special Assessment for Maintenance of Bradford Place Subdivision entrances:Concept:

We would like for the city to consider creating a Special Assessment District of our subdivision for the purpose of collecting $50 per lot (house) annually to be used strictly for the maintenance of landscaping at our two main entrances.

Justification:

It has been difficult for the homeowner association to obtain enough voluntary contributions for maintenance of our entrances.

Homeowner association dues are not mandatory in our covenants.

Only about half of the homeowners contribute to the financial upkeep of the entrances, which is not fair.

It has not been possible in the past for us to get a majority of home owners to amend the three separate covenants for the three parts of our subdivision to require mandatory dues.

We have traditionally asked for $50 per year from each of our 89 households. We normally get half of those to contribute.

Renters do not see the need, and absentee landlords do not care about the appearance of the entrances.

Association members do not have authority to file liens on property owners who do not pay.

Other considerations:

It would be in the interest of the city to assure that all entrances are maintained in an attractive manner.

We would like for the city to consider using Bradford Place as a pilot project for perhaps forming Special Assessment Districts for other subdivisions in the city as a uniform policy.

The city already has a Landscape Department that could oversee the administration of the Special Assessment District.

Fees should be assessed on a per-lot basis so that it is not a cost to the city.

City could oversee a lien process to assure that all homeowners contribute their fair share.

City could have better control over appearance, and lighting and prevention of glare at entrances.

[Raf]

Yes. Most Cities in California have them. Caution, they end up costing a lot more in staff time to maintain and keep going. However these fees are locked in with subdivision approvals, so it makes them mandatory. I would assume you would need a vote of the subdivision to tax themselves, or even better, have the HOA hold a vote to tax themselves and change their by-laws. That way, you stay out of it, because this will eat up staff time very quickly.

[Tarf]

I've heard them most often referred to as Community (or County) Service Areas (CSAs). And yes, they are very common (particularly in certain jurisdictions, such as Riverside County). CSAs vary in terms of purpose, but the most common is for landscape and streetlight maintenance, though they can be set up to do other things as well. Occasionally they also will maintain parks, though that tends to be undesirable as park maintenance really should be left to a parks district if possible (due to efficiencies associated with one consolidated park district for maintenance vs. any number of individual CSAs providing the same function).

Here is Riverside County's web site for CSAs: http://www.rivcoeda.org/Departments/...4/Default.aspx

Hope that helps. I'm not sure the process for forming (or annexing into) one though. Probably varies state to state. I think in CA it may involve the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO), but like I said, I'm not sure.

[Cardinal]

Our state statutes allow for the establishment of a Neighborhood Improvement District (NID) similar to a Business Improvement District (BID).