City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2025-00747 5/13/2025 Item 6.
Neighborhood Landscaping District - Initiate Annual Proceedings for Fiscal Year 2025/26 File ID: 2025-00747
Location: District 1; District 2; District 5; District 6; District 7; District 8 Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution: 1) approving the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/26 Engineer’s Annual Report for the Neighborhood Landscaping District (District); 2) declaring the intention to levy and collect assessments for maintenance of landscaping improvements for FY2025/26 for the District; and 3) setting the time and place for a Public Hearing for May 27, 2025.
Contact: Brent Mueller, Senior Development Project Manager, (916) 808-5715, [email protected]; Eric Frederick, Special Districts Manager, (916) 808-5129, [email protected],; Department of Finance Presenter: None
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Background
3-Schedule of Proceedings
4-Resolution
5-Exhibit A (District Map)
6-Exhibit B (Proposed FY2025/26 Subdivision Budgets & Parcel Assessments) 7-Exhibit C (FY2025/26 Engineer’s Annual Report)
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The District is a special assessment district formed under the California Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 (California Streets and Highways Code § 22500 et seq.) (Landscaping and Lighting Act). Subdivisions included in the District are levied an annual assessment to fund the maintenance of landscaping improvements located adjacent to and/or along the frontage of those subdivisions.
Pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act and City Code Chapter 3.124, an Engineer’s Annual Report (Annual Report) for the District is required to be prepared for Council review and approval.
The Annual Report describes the improvements to be maintained by the District and recommends the
File ID: 2025-00747 5/13/2025 Item 6.
assessments to be collected to fund such maintenance. The Annual Report has been prepared and, on March 25, 2025, Council directed that such Annual Report be filed with the City Clerk (Resolution 2025-0073). Council approval of the Annual Report is now required before the City can collect assessments to provide funding for the maintenance of the landscaped areas adjacent to the 34 subdivisions in this District for FY2025/26.
Council must also adopt a Resolution of Intention for its levy and collection of assessments for the District and then hold a hearing at a future date to formally confirm the assessments. Additional information on the District is provided in the Background section of this report.
Policy Considerations: The actions in the recommended Resolution are required by the Landscaping and Lighting Act and City Code Chapter 3.124 for annual proceedings of an existing district.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): Under the CEQA Guidelines, continuing administrative activities of an assessment district and creation of government funding mechanisms or other government fiscal activities which do not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment do not constitute a project and are therefore exempt from CEQA review (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15378(b)(2), (b)(4)).
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
Rationale for Recommendation: Approval of the Annual Report (Attachment 3) supports funding, via property-based assessments, for maintenance of landscaping improvements located adjacent to or along the frontage of residential subdivisions within the District.
The recommended Council action is necessary to allow staff to notify the public of the proposed hearing, which has been set for May 27, 2025. At the conclusion of the public hearing, staff will recommend Council adopt the budget and levy the assessments.
Financial Considerations: The total District assessment is projected to be $362,783 for FY2025/26 in support of a projected operating budget of $386,743, with the difference being paid from available fund balance. This equates to a weighted average proposed assessment of $120.90 per single family parcel, which is an increase of $3.79 or 3.24% over the weighted average actual assessment levied
File ID: 2025-00747 5/13/2025 Item 6.
in FY2024/25. The assessments and the method by which they were derived are detailed in the Annual Report.
The 34 subdivisions in the District each have assessments that vary based on their operational needs, and for each subdivision the assessments proposed to be levied are at or below their FY2025/26 maximum authorized amounts. As discussed in more detail in the Background section of this report, the maximum authorized assessment varies for each subdivision. In 16 of the 34 subdivisions the maximum authorized assessment does not increase. In the remaining 18 subdivisions the maximum authorized assessment is subject to an annual increase determined by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) - San Francisco All Urban Consumers for the previous year, but not to exceed either 3% or 4% depending on the subdivision. For each subdivision in the District, the FY2025/26 costs and a breakdown of the maximum authorized assessment and proposed actual assessment per single-family lot is provided in Exhibit B to the Resolution.
It is projected that three subdivisions will end FY2024/25 with a negative fund balance. Infrastructure Finance staff continues to work with the Department of Public Works (who manages performance of the maintenance work) to develop funding and maintenance solutions for these subdivisions. The FY2025/26 Proposed Budget reflects a plan to continue to balance the budget of those three subdivisions and ensure each subdivision in the District stays within budget.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
ATTACHMENT 2
BACKGROUND
On July 23, 1991, the City Council approved formation of the Neighborhood Landscaping District (District), formerly known as the Subdivision Landscaping Maintenance District. At the time of formation, the initial District included the Laguna Verde and Laguna Parkway subdivisions, located in Council District 8. Since then, the City Council has annexed 32 additional subdivisions to the District for a total of 34 subdivisions. A map showing the location of all 34 subdivisions is included as Exhibit A to the Resolution.
District services include the maintenance of landscaping improvements located adjacent to and/or along the frontage of residential subdivisions. The annual assessments fund the costs for the maintenance of these improvements and costs for the District’s administration activities, including billing. For 18 of the subdivisions, at the time the subdivisions were annexed to the District, the City Council authorized a provision to mitigate cost increases by automatically increasing the maximum annual assessment each year based on the annual average increase in the CPI, San Francisco Area - All Urban Consumers. However, this automatic increase cannot exceed 3% in four of these subdivisions and cannot exceed 4% in the other 14 subdivisions. For FY2025/26, the change in the prior year annual average CPI was 2.76%. Therefore, the annual maximum assessments for all 18 subdivisions subject to the automatic increase will be increased by 2.76%. The remaining 16 subdivisions do not have an automatic CPI increase provision and their maximum annual assessment does not increase above the amount set forth at the time the subdivision annexed to the District.
Each year, the City Council must order the Supervising Engineer or designee to file an Engineer’s Annual Report for the District with the City Clerk. City Council must then adopt the Engineer’s Annual Report, which includes the total proposed cost of providing improvements for that year and the amount of the proposed assessment on each parcel for that year. City Council also adopts a Resolution of Intention to levy and collect assessments for the District. The last step is the City Council’s confirmation of the levy and collection of assessments for the District following a public hearing.
ATTACHMENT 3
SCHEDULE OF PROCEEDINGS
NEIGHBORHOOD LANDSCAPING DISTRICT
FY2025/26 SCHEDULE
March 25, 2025 Council Directed Filing of Engineer’s Report May 13, 2025 Council Considers Approval of Engineer’s Report and Resolution of Intention and Sets Date for Public Hearing May 16, 2025 Publish Notice of Public Hearing
May 27, 2025 Hold Public Hearing
Council Orders Annual Levy
August 2025 Assessments to County for Placement on Tax Roll RESOLUTION NO.
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
Resolution Approving Engineer’s Annual Report and Intention to Levy and Collect Assessments for Maintenance of Landscaping Improvements for the Neighborhood Landscaping District for Fiscal Year 2025/26 (Pursuant to Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972)
BACKGROUND
A. The Neighborhood Landscaping District (the District), as depicted in Exhibit A, was established by the City Council and approved by the property owners on July 29, 1991.
B. The City Council established the District under the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 (California Streets and Highways Code § 22500 et seq.) (the 1972 Act) and City Code Chapter 3.124, and has previously levied assessments on property in the District to pay for landscaping maintenance services and related services to be provided within the District, all in accordance with the 1972 Act and City Code Chapter 3.124.
C. The District has 34 subdivisions with different assessment amounts based on the operational needs of each subdivision. A total of 26 subdivisions will be assessed the maximum allowed amount for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/26, and the remaining 8 will be assessed below their maximum allowed amount. The weighted average increase in actual assessments in all 34 subdivisions is 3.24% from the current FY2024/25 weighted average actual assessments. In no case does the maximum allowable assessment for any subdivision increase more than the permissible change that was established for the subdivision at the time it annexed into the District.
D. On March 25, 2025, the City Council directed the Supervising Engineer of the Department of Public Works, designated by the City Council as the Engineer of Work for the District, to file an annual report in accordance with the provisions of the 1972 Act (Resolution No. 2025-0073).
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council finds and determines that the background statements A through D are true and correct.
Section 2. The City Council hereby approves the Engineer’s Annual Report for FY2025/26 attached as Exhibit C to this resolution.
Section 3. The City Council hereby authorizes the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to make any necessary budgetary adjustments associated with the approval of the Engineer’s Annual Report for FY2025/26.
Section 4. The City Council intends to levy and collect assessments within the District during FY2025/26. The area of land to be assessed is in the City of Sacramento, Sacramento County and depicted on the map attached hereto as Exhibit A.
Section 5. The maintenance of improvements to be made in this District is generally described as follows:
The maintenance or servicing, or both, of any of the landscaping, water irrigation and masonry walls, including: (a) repair, removal or replacement of all or part of any improvement; (b) the provision for the life, growth, health and beauty of landscaping, including cultivation, irrigation, trimming, spraying, fertilizing or treating for disease or injury; (c) the removal of trimmings, rubbish, debris and other solid waste; and (d) the furnishing of water for the irrigation of any landscaping, the operation of any fountains, or the maintenance of any other improvements.
Section 6. In accordance with the City Council’s resolution directing the filing of an Engineer’s Annual Report, the Engineer of Work has filed the report required by the 1972 Act with the Infrastructure Finance Division. All interested parties are referred to that report for a full and detailed description of the improvements, the boundaries of the assessment district, and the proposed assessments upon assessable lots and parcels of land within the assessment district.
Section 7. At 5:00 pm on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, the City Council will conduct a public hearing on the question of the levy and collection of the proposed annual assessment for the District. The public hearing will be held at the City Council Chambers, New City Hall, 915 I Street (first floor), Sacramento, California.
Section 8. The maximum authorized assessments for some of the subdivisions within the District will be increasing for FY2025/26 according to the annual increase methodology previously adopted by the City Council. The table in Exhibit B attached hereto shows the proposed assessments for FY2025/26. In 17 of the subdivisions, the proposed assessments for FY2025/26 are higher than the actual assessments levied in FY2024/25, however in all cases the proposed assessments are at or below their maximum authorized amounts.
Section 9. The City Clerk is authorized and directed to give the notice of hearing required by the 1972 Act.
Section 10. Exhibits A, B, and C are part of the resolution.
Table of Contents:
Exhibit A – District Map
Exhibit B – Proposed FY2025/26 Subdivision Budgets & Parcel Assessments Exhibit C – FY2025/26 Engineer’s Annual Report
EXHIBIT A
EXHIBIT A-1
NEIGHBORHOOD LANDSCAPING DISTRICT
LOCATION MAP LEGEND
1 9
Arlington Park #1 Villa Palazzo
Arlington Park Creekside #2
Arlington Park Creekside #3 10
Arlington Park Creekside #4 Windemere Estates
Wickford Square
2 11
Jacinto Village #3 East Land Park Village
Shasta Meadows
12 3 Del Paso Nuevo #1 & #3
Laguna Vista
13 4 Chardonnay
Cameron 5
Laguna Vega 14
Sheldon Farms Kelton
Sheldon Whitehouse
15 5 Sunrise 94
Laguna Verde #1
Laguna Verde #2 16
Laguna Parkway Jones Ranch
Newport Cove
17 6 Elder Place
Regency Place
Stonewood 18
Zorba Court
7 Brookfield Meadows #2 19
Colony Brookfield Evergreen Phase I
Liberty Lane
20 8 66th Street Subdivision
Carriage Estates
EXHIBIT B
NEIGHBORHOOD LANDSCAPING DISTRICT SUBDIVISION BUDGET AND PARCEL ASSESSMENTS FUND 2205, FOR FY2025/26
The annual budget for each individual subdivision is as follows:
EXHIBIT B (Continued)
The following is a breakdown of the actual cost per single-family lot in each subdivision.