RESOLUTION NO. 2024-41
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GONZALES
CONDUCTING A PUBLIC HEARING, CONSIDERING ALL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT PROTESTS, APPROVING THE ENGINEER’S REPORT, AND CONFIRMING THE LEVY
OF THE CALIFORNIA BREEZE PARKS AND OPEN SPACE ASSESSMENT DISTRICTS NOS. 1, 2 AND 3 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024-2025
WHEREAS, Proposition 218 was adopted on November 6, 1996, adding Articles XIIIC and XIIID to the California Constitution which allows for the establishment of Assessment Districts whereby such assessments are not considered a tax; and
WHEREAS, Articles XIIIC and XIIID of the State Constitution impose certain procedural and substantive requirements relating to the imposition of assessments and the City has previously met those procedural and substantive requirements for formation of an Improvement District and imposition of assessments on those lands specially benefited from those assessments proportional to the benefits conveyed to the public; and
WHEREAS, The California Breeze Assessment Districts were established in the early 1990’s as the Final Maps for the three phases of the California Breeze Subdivision were approved by the Gonzales City Council. The Assessment Districts were the first assessment districts formed by the city and the formation documents for these districts did not include an annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment to the Maximum Annual Assessment amount; and WHEREAS, the assessment districts are designated by the following distinctive names:
California Breeze Parks and Open Space District No. 1, California Breeze Parks and Open Space District No. 2, and California Breeze Parks and Open Space District No. 3. The assessment districts are generally described as follows:
• California Breeze Parks and Open Space District No. 1 - a district bounded on the east by Herold Parkway, on the west by US Route 101, on the south by a line approximately 3200 feet south of Fifth Street, and on the north by Fifth Street. • California Breeze Parks and Open Space District No. 2 - a district bounded on the east by Herold Parkway, on the west by US Route 101, on the south by a line approximately 4300 feet south of Fifth Street, and on the north by California Breeze Phase I. • California Breeze Parks and Open Space District No. 3 - a district bounded on the east by Herold Parkway, on the west by US Route 101, on the north by a line approximately 4300 feet south of Fifth Street, and on the south by a line approximately 5100 feet south of Fifth Street; and
WHEREAS, the annual assessments for the California Breeze Districts have not kept up with inflation and the City’s General Fund has been subsidizing the district expenses for the last several years; and
WHEREAS, on February 20, 2024, the City Council of the City of Gonzales authorized a contract with Harris and Associates to prepare an Engineer’s Report for the California Breeze Parks and Open Space District No. 1, 2 and 3 (the “Districts”) that would contemplate an increase in the annual assessments that would be commensurate with the actual costs of operating and maintaining district improvements and include a new annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment to the Maximum Annual Assessment; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Act, Harris & Associates, the designated Engineer of Work of the City of Gonzales (the “City”) filed an Engineer’s Report (the “Report”) with the City Clerk for the Districts; and
WHEREAS, the Engineer’s Report calculated the amount to be assessed per parcel in a manner that fairly distributes the amount among all assessable parcels; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Gonzales initiated a Proposition 218 proceeding to increase the maximum annual assessments of the Districts in conformity with Government Code Section 53753 and Article XIIID of the California Constitution to fully fund the annual operations and maintenance activities; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Gonzales, at their June 3, 2024 meeting, adopted Resolution 2024-30 Approving The Engineer’s Report, declaring its intention to increase the maximum annual assessment and include an annual inflationary adjustment for the Districts and set the Public Hearing for the matter for July 22, 2024; and WHEREAS, the written mailed public notice of the public meeting contained the following information: (a) the total amount of assessments proposed to be levied within the Assessment for fiscal year 2024-2025; (b) the assessment chargeable to each owner’s parcel; (c) the reason for the assessment; (d) the basis upon which and how the amount of the proposed assessment was calculated; (e) the date, time and place of the public hearing as specified in this resolution; and (f) a summary of the voting procedures and the consequences of a majority protest against the assessment increase; and
WHEREAS, the form of the written mailed public notice also included an Assessment Ballot by which each property owner could express their support or opposition to the proposed assessment. The ballot indicated that it must be returned before the conclusion of the public hearing on July 22, 2024, in order to be valid and counted, and that all assessment ballots received by the City would be tabulated after the conclusion of the public hearing where any protest could be heard, and any other additional public testimony would be received and fully considered at the July 22, 2024 hearing; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of California Constitution Article XIII-D, an opportunity for protest has been afforded, public testimony allowed, and the assessment ballots mailed to owners of assessable real property in the Assessment District have been received and publicly tabulated by the City’s Consulting Assessment Engineer, with assessment ballots weighted according to the proportional financial obligation of each affected parcel.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Gonzales as follows:
1. The above recitals are true and correct and are fully incorporated herein; and
2. The tabulation of the assessment ballots submitted by property owners is complete and certified by the City Clerk of the City Gonzales, and the votes cast are as follows:
Total Number of Valid Ballots Processed: _______
Total Assessment Amount of Valid Ballots: $______
Total Number of “Yes” Votes Processed: _______
Total Assessment Amount of “Yes” Votes Processed: $______ Percentage of “Yes” Votes, unweighted: ___%
Total Percentage of “Yes” Ballots, Weighted by Assessment: ___% Total Number of “No” Votes Processed: ________
Total Assessment Amount of “No” Votes Processed: $_______ Percentage of “No” Votes, unweighted ___%
Total Percentage of “No” Ballots, Weighted by Assessment: ___% Total Number of “Invalid” Ballots Processed: ______
Total Assessment Amount of “Invalid” Ballots Processed: $______
3. ____ assessment ballots were returned and received prior to the close of the public hearing on July 22, 2024. This represents a _____% ballot return rate on the 330 ballots mailed. Of the assessment ballots returned, _____ assessment ballots were declared invalid, in that they were either not marked with a “Yes” or “No”, were marked with both a “Yes” and a “No”, were not signed, or the property ownership and barcode information was illegible.
As determined by ballots cast, on an unweighted basis, ____% of the property owners cast ballots in support of the measure. As determined by ballots cast, as weighted according to the amount of assessment for each parcel, ____% of the property owners cast ballots in support of the increase to the maximum annual assessment.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Gonzales, that:
1. The Final Engineer’s Report for California Breeze Parks and Open Space District Nos. 1, 2, and 3, together with the diagram and boundary map of the Assessment contained therein, and the proposed assessment roll for fiscal year 2024-2025 are hereby confirmed and approved; and
2. That based on the oral and written evidence, specifically including the Engineer’s Report, presented at the public hearing, the City Council expressly finds and determines that: (a) each of the assessed lots within the Assessment will be specially benefited by the Improvements (as described in the Engineer’s Report) in at least the amount of the Assessment apportioned against such lots and parcels of land, respectively; and (b) that there is substantial evidence to support these findings and to determine that the special benefits provided to the properties within the Assessment District are fair and reasonable and proportional to the general benefits conveyed to the; and
3. That assessments shall be levied at the as presented in this table:
Subdivision
Phase
Current
Assessment
FY 2023/24
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2024/25
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2025/26
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2026/27
Proposed
Assessment
FY 2027/28
Phase 1 $227.00 $325.00 $406.26 $507.82 $574.94
Phase 2 $227.00 $325.00 $406.26 $507.82 $574.94
Phase 3 $271.76 $325.00 $406.26 $507.82 $574.94
4. A certified copy of this resolution shall be filed with the Auditor of the County of Monterey (“County Auditor”). Upon such filing, the County Auditor shall enter on the County assessment roll opposite each lot or parcel of land the amount of assessment thereupon as shown in the Assessment. The assessments shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as County taxes are collected and all laws providing for the collection and enforcement of County taxes shall apply to the collection and enforcement of the assessments. After collection by the County, the net amount of the assessments, after deduction of any compensation due the County for collection, shall be paid to the City of Gonzales; and
5. The collected monies representing the annual assessments shall be deposited in a separate fund established under the distinctive designation of the California Breeze Parks and Open Space Districts No. 1, 2, and 3 and not in any way comingled with other funds. Funds collected from this Assessment District shall be expended only for the special benefit of parcels within the California Breeze Parks and Open Space Districts No. 1, 2, and 3; and PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Gonzales duly held on the 22nd day of July, 2024, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
Jose L. Rios, The Honorable Mayor
I, the undersigned Deputy City Clerk, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly and regularly adopted and passed by the City Council of the City of Gonzales, California, at a regular meeting thereof held on the 22nd day of July, 2024, by the above-stated vote of the members thereof, a majority being present.
Dated: July 22, 2024
Mary Villegas, Deputy City Clerk