STAFF REPORT
City of Lancaster
PH 5
7/14/2026
TN
Date:July 14, 2026
To: Mayor Parris and City Council Members
From: Patti Garibay, Director – Community Development
Nicole Jones, Manager – Community Development
Subject:Lancaster Lighting Maintenance District Annual Assessment for Fiscal Year 2026/27
Recommendation:
Open the public hearing on the Fiscal Year 2026/27 annual assessment for the Lancaster Lighting Maintenance District, receive testimony, and adopt Resolution No. 26-____, continuing the public hearing to Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at 1:30 p.m., and directing publication of the Resolution of Intention.
G.C. Section 84308: No
Fiscal Impact:
Each benefit unit will be assessed $135.06, which includes a 2.93% CPI adjustment ($45 in zones that voted “no” during the 2003 election). An estimated preliminary total of $6,774,049.30 will be assessed against the benefiting properties, which will be used for maintenance expenses.
Background:
On March 11, 2003, the City Council directed that an election be held asking the property owners within the LLMD to approve an increase in the annual street lighting assessment to $70 per lighting unit, including a Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflator. LLMD was formed, including subsequent annexations thereto, for the purpose of financing maintenance operations and installation of public lighting facilities, including, but not limited to street lights, public parking lot lights, and highway safety lights (public lighting facilities) (as defined in § 22525 of the California Code) within the City of Lancaster, and assessing those properties which benefit from this service their proportionate share of the cost. Each year, the City Council must, by law, order 2 4
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the preparation of an Engineer’s Report describing the existing and proposed maintenance services, and conduct a public hearing to establish and order the amount of assessment for the next fiscal year.
Funds collected through the Lighting Maintenance District are used to operate, maintain, and repair streetlights throughout the District.
Assessment Rates for Fiscal Year 2026/27
• Standard Assessment
◦ The approved CPI adjustment for FY 2026/27 is 2.93%.
◦ The annual assessment increases from $131.22 to $135.06 per lighting unit. • Zones That Voted “No”
◦ Parcels located within zones that voted “No” during the original district formation are not subject to CPI adjustments.
◦ These parcels will continue to be assessed $45.00 per lighting unit.
Streetlight Ownership
• In 2017, the City purchased approximately 18,000 streetlights from Southern California Edison. • The purchase was financed through bonds.
• Annual Lighting Maintenance District assessments help fund the operation and maintenance of the streetlights and repay the bonds until they are fully retired.
Notice of the public hearing is required to be published before the hearing may be concluded. So that publication may be completed, staff recommends that the City Council open the public hearing, receive testimony, and continue the hearing, without closing it, to the City Council’s regular meeting of August 11, 2026, at 1:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers. The Resolution of Intention adopted on June 23, 2026 will be published prior to the continued hearing as provided in the attached resolution. The resolution confirming the diagram and assessments and ordering the levy will be presented for adoption at the continued hearing on August 11, 2026.
Attachments:
1. Resolution No. 26-____ — continuing the public hearing to August 11, 2026 and directing publication of the Resolution of Intention.
2. Final Engineer’s Report.