OVERVIEW OF
LANDSCAPE AND LIGHTING ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 79-2
In 1979, LLAD 79-2 was formed by City Council pursuant to the State 1972 Landscape and Lighting Act. LLAD 79-2 consolidated several existing 1911 Act Maintenance Districts into one Assessment District.
Restructuring the district into 35 landscape benefit zones and six lighting benefit zones was accomplished in 1996 (four additional landscape benefit zones have been added since then). A property owner ballot proceeding was conducted in 1998 pursuant to Proposition 218, with about 65 percent, by assessment value, of ballots returned voting in favor of landscaping assessments, and approximately 80 percent voting in favor of street light assessments. A three percent or Consumer Price Index (CPI) per year assessment inflation factor (whichever is greater) was also approved. Of approximately 43,600 parcels within the City limits, about 19,000 (43 percent) are in the landscape district and about 36,000 (82 percent) are in the lighting district. The City maintains roughly 17.5 million square feet of landscaping throughout Thousand Oaks in highly visible public areas such as arterial street medians, slopes adjacent to streets, open spaces, and public buildings. The City also maintains over 27,000 street trees, nearly 8,000 street lights, 136 traffic signals, and 25 lighted pedestrian crossings along public streets. Funding for LLAD 79-2 is derived entirely from assessments and ad valorem tax revenue.
Assessments are based on a weighting factor (Equivalent Benefit Unit, or EBU) to identify the parcel’s proportionate special benefit. A typical single-family residential property is assigned an EBU of 1.00, and all other property types are assigned EBU’s proportionate to the special benefits they receive as compared to a single-family residential property.
The Proposed FY 2023-24 budget for landscape maintenance is about $8.5 million, with $4.2 million funded through LLAD 79-2 assessments, $249,000 from ad valorem revenues, and $4.3 million from the General Fund.
The Proposed FY 2023-24 budget for street lighting and traffic signal electrical, maintenance and capital costs is about $2.1 million, with $539,000 funded through LLAD 79-2 assessments, and $1.73 million from ad valorem revenues. Proposed annual assessments for landscaping range from $53.48 to $569.40 per EBU. For FY 2023-24, the annual assessment for lighting was increased by 5.77 percent to $19.08 per EBU.
DPW: 830-40\jt\ev\H:\Council\2023\050923\ LLAD 79-2 Initiate Proceedings Att 1.docx ATTACHMENT #1