Fremont City Council Meeting: 03/14/23 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Community Services
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Fees & Rates
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 4817) DOC ID: 4817 A
Updated: 3/9/2023 10:19 AM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 1 PROPOSED ANNUAL ASSESSMENT FISCAL YEAR 2023/24 CITY OF FREMONT LANDSCAPING ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 88 - Adopt Resolutions ordering the preparation and filing of the annual engineer's report and declaring the intent to levy and collect assessment for Fremont Landscaping Assessment District 88 for fiscal year 2023/24
Contact Persons:
Name: Andrew Freeman Suzanne Wolf
Title: Business Manager Community Services Director
Div/Dept: Community Services Community Services
Phone: 510-494-4757 510-494-4329
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: Each year, the City of Fremont (“City”) levies annual assessments within Landscaping Assessment District 88 (“District”) for public landscape maintenance.
This District currently consists of 47 zones. These zones encompass subdivision tracts that were approved by the City without requiring the formation of homeowners associations (HOA).
The District maintains public landscaped areas benefiting these subdivisions. Each of the 47 zones in District 88 has an established maximum assessment. Four years ago, more than half of the zones managed by the City were at maximum assessment or within $2 of the maximum assessment. Presently, 68% of the District 88 zones managed by the City are at maximum assessment or within $2 of the maximum assessment. On pages 17 and 18 of the preliminary 2023-24 Annual Engineers Report the difference between current assessments and maximum assessments are shown for each zone. Maximum assessments are not keeping pace with District 88 service costs. The City is prohibited from assessing District 88 property owners above the established maximum assessments without first gaining property owners’ approval through a Proposition 218 ballot procedure. In spring/summer 2021, the City along with Harris and Associates completed a Proposition 218 property owner ballot process to restructure and reassess District 88 to support the cost of on-going services. The Proposition 218 proposal for District 88 was unsuccessful. Any additional work such as another Proposition 218 property owner ballot and restructuring of the District will require a new Request for Proposal.
State law requires two Council meetings to complete the annual assessment process. At this first meeting, staff recommends the City Council adopt resolutions ordering the preparation and filing of the enclosed annual Preliminary Engineer’s Report detailing calculations of the annual assessments and declaring intent to levy and collect annual assessments. The resolution sets a public hearing on the proposed levy for May 9, 2023. If the City Council approves the levy at the May meeting, the approved assessments will be forwarded to Alameda County for inclusion on property tax bills in July.
BACKGROUND: Levies of ongoing annual assessments and establishment of new landscaping assessment districts are governed by the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 (the ”LLA”). The LLA allows the City to levy and collect assessments for the purpose of Council Staff Report (ID # 4817) Meeting of March 14, 2023 Updated: 3/9/2023 10:19 AM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 2 funding installation and maintenance of public landscaping and lighting improvements. The amount of the assessments levied on each parcel of land is calculated based upon the special benefit the parcel receives from the improvements.
The County collects the assessment with property taxes and transfers the funds to the City.
The City Council formed the Fremont Landscaping Assessment District 88 in December 1988. This is a citywide district allowing for the creation of individual landscape maintenance zones within the District as a condition of approval of residential subdivision maps. The assessments ensure ongoing maintenance of public landscaping improvements in or adjacent to the subdivisions which improves the appearance of the subdivisions and the City overall. The District currently consists of 47 Zones of which the City manages 41, encompassing subdivision tracts that were approved by the City and did not require the formation of homeowners’ associations (HOA).
On June 24, 1997, the property owners in District Zones 1 through 37 (except for Zones 18 and 22) authorized maximum assessment amounts to be established. In subsequent years, property owners authorized forming Zones 38 through 47 and authorized maximum assessments for them as well. The current 41 active District 88 Zones are 1 through 1 7, 19 through 21, and 23 through 47. The current 6 inactive District 88 Zones are 18 and 22 as property owner’s majority protests in 1997 and Zones 2, 6, 12, and 16 which are not assessed because City Council approved the homeowners request to maintain the landscaping. The assessment of these 4 zones can be imposed again if in the future homeowners fail to provide adequate maintenance.
The Zone Budgets and maximum assessments are shown in the Preliminary Annual Engineer’s Report on pages 5 through 9. All proposed assessment amounts for Fiscal Year 2023/24 are at or below the maximum established assessments approved by the property owners.
Presently, 68% of the zones managed by the City are at or within $2.00 of the established maximum assessment to maintain the landscaping. With the unsuccessful passing of the restructure and reassessment of District 88, additional zones will eventually reach their maximum assessment, meaning more and more zones will become under-funded and decisions about maintenance service level changes will need to be made to keep costs within the capped or available budgets for each zone. Additionally, capital improvement projects or replacements will be minimal, as assessment revenue will be used to cover regular maintenance service levels. As costs continue to rise due to inflation, the existing maximum assessments will be unable to match costs.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: Annual Assessments for Existing Zones in District 88: To start proceedings for levying the annual assessment of District 88 for Fiscal Year 2023/24, the City Council must adopt two resolutions. The first resolution orders preparation of an Engineer’s Report detailing the calculation of the proposed annual assessments. The second resolution: (1) accepts and approves the Engineer’s Report, which the City Council has received prior to this meeting and which the City Council may modify before approving; (2) states the City Councils’ intent to levy and collect annual assessments; and (3) sets a public hearing date of May 9, 2023, for final approval of the proposed assessment amounts for Fiscal Year 2023/24.
Engineer’s Report: Each year since the inception of Landscaping Assessment District 88, Council Staff Report (ID # 4817) Meeting of March 14, 2023 Updated: 3/9/2023 10:19 AM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 3 staff has prepared and submitted an Engineer’s Report to the City Council. For each zo ne, the Engineer’s Report lists the expected costs (including a reasonable contingency) for the new fiscal year and a carryover cost. The carryover cost is sufficient to pay for the first six months of maintenance since assessments are not collected by the County until property tax bills become due. The City’s and County’s administrative costs are also included. The total is shown on the gross assessment line of the District budgets. A credit may be applied to each zone, which consists of the projected zone balance as of the end of the current fiscal year, less a reserve fund. The gross assessment less the credit for each zone is divided among its property owners to establish the annual net assessment (Total Balance to Assessment) for each property. Forty-one zones will be assessed in Fiscal Year 2023/24.
The annual assessments per lot vary considerably among the zones because of the difference in size and character of the landscaped areas, and because of the number of lots in the zone. In previous years, the City Council took special action on Zone 2 (nine lots in Tract 5847), Zone 6 (eight lots in Tract 5950), Zone 12 (nine lots in Tract 5558), and Zone 16 (seven lots in Tract 6121) to allow the homeowners in these zones to take responsibility for the landscape maintenance themselves. This action foregoes assessing these zones as long as the homeowners are properly maintaining the landscaping.
Currently, the homeowners in these four zones are maintaining the landscaping in a satisfactory manner.
Historical Annual Assessments, shown on pages 11 through 16 of the Report, list the assessment amounts for each of the previous years for the 41 Zones being assessed. This table also shows the maximum allowable assessment for each Zone.
The notice of public hearing with a Resolution of Intent must be posted and published in a local newspaper, one time, at least 10 days prior to the public hearing according to the Landscape and Lighting Act. At the public hearing, the Council must consider oral and written protests to the assessment. However, the proposed zone assessments for the existing District do not exceed the maximums established for Zones 1 through 47, so a majority protest will be merely advisory to the City Council and will not automatically defeat the proposed assessments.
New Zones: There are no new Zones proposed for the 2023/24 fiscal year.
LLMD funding reserves were allocated in Fiscal Year 2018/19 to hire a consultant, Harris and Associates, to prepare an updated report and other tasks, including the following:
• Review and update the overall program to ensure it continues to meet the requirements of the Landscape and Lighting Act of 1972 and Proposition 218; • Review and determine the public and private benefit of each lot in LLMD 88; • Conduct community outreach to share the results;
• Provide updates to each LLMD zone;
• Support changes to the current assessment process (proposed restructure and reassessment); and
• Assist with the mailed ballot process and community outreach for the proposed restructuring.
Council Staff Report (ID # 4817) Meeting of March 14, 2023 Updated: 3/9/2023 10:19 AM by Alberto Quintanilla A Page 4 The majority of the scope of work with Harris and Associates has concluded except for the Annual District Administrative Consulting Services work. This work will continue through June 30, 2024. Any additional work will require a new Request for Proposal.
FISCAL IMPACT: The 2023/24 annual LLMD assessments are charged to property owners for the City of Fremont to maintain and administer landscaping services within each zone.
Contract costs will continue to be paid by District funding reserves.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The recommended action is exempt from and not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because, without limitation, it is not a “project” as defined in CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2) and/or 15378(b)(5) and as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity may have significant effect on the environment per CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), each as a separate and independent basis for CEQA compliance.
ATTACHMENTS:
• 2023-24 Intent Resolution Annual Assessment
• 2023-24 Ordering the Preparation and Filing of Annual Engineer's Report Draft Resolution
• Fremont Preliminary Eng Rpt FY 23-24
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Adopt a resolution ordering the preparation and filing of the annual Engineer’s Report for Landscaping Assessment District 88 for Fiscal Year 2023/24.
2. Adopt a resolution stating the intent of the City Council of the City of Fremont to levy and collect assessments for Fremont Landscaping Assessment District 88 for Fiscal Year 2023/24.