City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JUNE 27, 2023 FROM: FINANCE DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING – RESOLUTION CONFIRMING DIAGRAM AND ASSESSMENT FOR STREET LIGHTING ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 1 DIAGRAM AND LEVYING ASSESSMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2023/24 ISSUE:
Conduct a Public Hearing for the purpose of receiving comments relative to the FY 2023/24 Street Lighting Assessment District No. 1 Assessments and adopt a resolution authorizing the City of Riverside to confirm the diagram and assessment for the Street Lighting Assessment District No. 1 and levying assessments on all assessable lots and parcels of land therein for the FY 2023/24.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Conduct a Public Hearing for the purpose of receiving comments relative to the FY 2023/24 Street Lighting Assessment District No. 1 assessments; and Adopt a resolution authorizing the City of Riverside to confirm the diagram and assessment for the Street Lighting Assessment District No. 1 and levying assessments on all assessable lots and parcels of land therein for the FY 2023/24.
BACKGROUND:
The Street Lighting Assessment District No. 1 was formed in July 1988 under the provisions of the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972. Passed by the voters in June 1997, Measure EE approved the continuation of the assessments at the same rates as originally established. The Engineer’s Report apportions a portion of the annual cost of maintaining and operating City Street Lights to the parcels within the various lighting zones (including residential, rural, and non-residential zones) through annual assessments. The boundaries upon formation included the entire territory within the corporate boundaries of the City of Riverside, as they existed on September 1, 1987. Since the formation of the Street Lighting District, the City has authorized annexations of property to the District. The annexed areas are included in the attached Engineer’s Report.
The Street Lighting Assessment District uses a unit of benefit formula to determine streetlight assessments for individual properties. The first unit of benefit is the first 199 feet of street frontage. An additional unit of benefit is added for each additional 100 feet of street frontage. Residential properties on corner parcels are assessed based on street frontage along one side. Non-residential properties on corner parcels are assessed based on all street frontages.
On February 7, 2023, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 23952, ordering the preparation of the attached Preliminary Annual Engineer’s Report for the City of Riverside Street Lighting District No. 1 (District). The attached report outlines the proposed cost of maintaining and operating streetlights citywide for FY 2023/24, as well as the method of apportioning those costs to the property owners within the District.
On May 23, 2023, the City Council adopted Resolution 23990 approving the Preliminary Annual Engineer’s Report for the Street Lighting Assessment District No. 1 and setting a public hearing for June 27, 2023, to approve the Final Annual Engineer’s Report for the Street Lighting Assessment District No. 1 and authorizing the levy of special assessments within the District.
DISCUSSION:
The following table outlines the proposed FY 2023/24 Street Lighting Assessment District No. 1 assessments per unit of benefit.
In Rural zones, the District set a cap of 3 units of benefit per parcel. For FY 2023/24, this will result in a General Fund subsidy of approximately $13,502. In addition, because there was no adjustment based on CPI set at formation, the proposed level of assessments will currently recover approximately 70% of the estimated streetlight operation cost, with the General Fund subsidizing the shortfall. For FY 2023/24, the General Fund subsidy for this is estimated to be approximately $1,661,366. Increasing assessments to account for increased operations and maintenance costs will require a majority vote of all property owners and renters paying assessments within the District in accordance with Proposition 218.
In order to pay for costs associated with providing services in newly developed areas of the City, including increased street lighting, the City Council of the City of Riverside approved a services component with the formation of two new Community Facilities Districts (CFD). City Staff will continue to recommend the inclusion of service components in future new developments to ensure full cost recovery related to new development costs. The streetlights maintained within such a CFD will be excluded from Street Lighting District No. 1, and property owners will pay the cost of their streetlight maintenance through a Special Tax – which is not capped at the same rate as originally established in the District. The first such CFD formed with a streetlight maintenance component is Community Facilities District No. 2021-3 (Bridle Ridge).
Street Lighting Assessment District No. 1 procedures require the adoption of a Resolution approving the 2023- 2024 Preliminary Engineer's Report and the proposed assessments. Due to the size of the proposed assessment roll referred to in the Engineer's Report, it is listed under a separate cover and is on file with the City Clerk.
Amounts and parcels listed in the Final Assessment Roll referred to in the Final Assessment Engineer’s Report are based on current data available. The rates will not change, but the overall revenue collected is subject to slight modification when the County of Riverside releases its final accepted parcel configuration data at the end of June 2023.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item contributes to Strategic Priority 5 – High Performing Government and Goal 5.3 – Enhance communication and collaboration with community members, to improve transparency, build public trust, and encourage shared decision-making.
This item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – The preparation of an annual engineer’s report and levy process complies with the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972, under which the Street Lighting Assessment District No. 1 was formed. This process provides transparency for community members to whom the assessments are levied each year.
Equity – In order to maintain improvements within the Street Lighting Assessment District, the annual maintenance cost is funded through an annual levy calculated based on the special benefit shared between each parcel within the district.
Fiscal Responsibility – The assessments are levied annually to pay the costs associated with maintaining enhanced improvements within the district. This ensures the additional cost of maintaining enhanced street light improvements is borne primarily by the property owners that benefit from them.
Innovation – Utilizing a Street Lighting Assessment District is an innovative way to offset the cost to maintain street light improvements within the City and assess property owners who receive the benefit.
Sustainability & Resiliency – The formation of a Street Lighting Maintenance District provides a transparent and equitable way to fund and report on maintenance of enhanced street light improvements within the City. The annual engineer’s report and levy process helps to ensure transparent reporting to all members of the community, and within the district.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of this action is approximately $5,249,667. The FY 2023/24 Street Lighting Maintenance District assessment levy will collect approximately $3,574,798, which will cover approximately 70% of the estimated streetlight maintenance and operations costs. The General Fund subsidy for FY 2023/24 is estimated to be $1,674,869 and is incorporated within the FY 2023/24 proposed budget.
Prepared by: Karen Hessell, Interim Debt & Treasury Manager Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Interim Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
Approved by: Edward Enriquez, Interim Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
Resolution
Preliminary 2023-2024 Street Light Assessment District No. 1 Engineer’s Report Preliminary 2023-2024 Street Light Assessment District No. 1 Assessment Roll Preliminary 2023-2024 Street Light Assessment District No. 1 Engineer’s Diagrams Resolution 23990 declaring intention to levy and collect assessments for FY 2023 – 2024 Presentation
Street Lighting Assessment District Round 3ηPage 2