cc 2025 AR 03/25 intention to form street and lighting maintenance assessment districts

ACTION:

____________________________
Clerk/Secretary

Department: Finance Item No: C8
Prepared by: Mike Sylvia, Director/Treasurer Meeting Date: March 25, 2025 Approved by: John Conley, City Manager Agenda Location: Consent Calendar

RECOMMENDATION:

1. Adopt City Council Resolution No. 2025- , initiating proceedings and declaring its intention to form the City of Vista Citywide Street Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-1 as well as preliminarily approving the Engineer’s Report.

2. Adopt City Council Resolution No. 2025- , setting a time and place for the Public Hearing for May 13, 2025, and ordering the initiation of assessment ballot proceedings for the City of Vista Citywide Street Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-1.

3. Adopt City Council Resolution No. 2025- , initiating proceedings and declaring its intention to form the City of Vista Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-2 as well as preliminarily approving the Engineer’s Report.

4. Adopt City Council Resolution No. 2025- , setting a time and place for the Public Hearing for May 13, 2025, and ordering the initiation of assessment ballot proceedings for the City of Vista Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-2.

CORRELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS: Fiscal Responsibility.

PRIOR ACTION: On October 10, 2023, adopted City Council Resolution No. 2023-174, awarding a contract to NBS for assessment engineering consulting services; adopted City Council Resolution No. 2023-175, amending the Operating Budget for Fiscal Years 2023/24 and 2024/25 (Vote: 5-0).

On March 28, 2023, adopted City Council Resolutions No. 2023-38, ordering than an Engineer prepare a report of the assessments to be levied for the maintenance of improvements of the City of Vista Landscaping and Lighting District No. 1; adopted City Council Resolution No. 2023-39, ordering that an Engineer prepare a report of the assessments to be levied for the maintenance of improvements of City of Vista Street Maintenance District No. 1; and adopted City Council Resolution No. 2023-40, ordering that an Engineer prepare a report of the assessments of the South Melrose Landscape Maintenance District (Vote: 5-0).

STATEMENT ON THE SUBJECT: The two current assessment districts which provide 1) street maintenance and street sweeping, and 2) landscaping and lighting maintenance, were established in 1991 and 1992, respectively. These districts were established to provide an ongoing source of funding for the

AGENDA
REPORT

CITY COUNCIL

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

SUCCESSOR AGENCY

BUENA SANITATION DISTRICT

JOINT POWERS FINANCING AUTHORITY
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MEETING DATE: March 25, 2025 PAGE 2

SUBJECT: INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS AND DECLARATION OF INTENTION TO FORM CITYWIDE STREET MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 2025-1 AND CITYWIDE LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 2025-2 operation, maintenance, and servicing of the City’s streets, street trees and landscaping, street lighting, traffic signals, and street sweeping, specific to each district’s original scope of services and consist with California state code. However, while the districts’ costs have continued to increase due to multi-decade inflation, there has not been an increase in the two districts’ assessment rates and thereby aggregate revenue since 1997, due to legal requirements of Proposition 218, which was approved by California voters in November 1996, as well as subsequent court case outcomes which affect how assessment districts operate. Compounding the revenue/cost imbalance, neither district has an inflation factor within the current districts’ methods of assessment.

Given that the existing assessment districts do not provide adequate revenue for the services and maintenance of the improvements, staff proposes to form new assessment districts that are intended to provide sufficient revenue to fund ongoing annual maintenance, operation, and servicing of the improvements; reserve funds for replacement and repair of the improvements; administrative expenses; and an allowance for an annual inflation factor so the assessment rates may be increased over time as costs increase, without conducting a new ballot proceeding, consistent with prior unanimous City Council direction in May 2023. The proposed assessment districts are the City of Vista Citywide Street Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-1, and Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-2. The approval of this agenda item and its associated City Council resolutions will establish May 13, 2025, as the date for the required Public Hearing and tabulation of assessment ballots for both new assessment districts. If these two new assessment districts are approved by a majority of effected property owners who return ballots by the conclusion of the Public Hearing (weighted by financial obligation), the two new districts will replace the existing Street Maintenance District No. 1 (SMAD), and Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District No. 1 (LLMAD).

FISCAL IMPACT: If the two new assessment districts are approved, the direct fiscal impact to the City’s General Fund is twofold, per district: 1) a general benefit contribution, and 2) City-owned parcels’ assessments. The estimated Fiscal Year 2025/26 general benefit contributions are $77,129 and $305,125, and the City-owned parcels’ assessments are $3,297 and $22,653 for the SMAD and LLMAD, respectively.

EXHIBITS:

1. City Council Resolution No. 2025- , initiating proceedings and declaring its intention to form the City of Vista Citywide Street Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-1 as well as preliminarily approving the Engineer’s Report.

2. City Council Resolution No. 2025- , setting a time and place for the Public Hearing for May 13, 2025, and ordering the initiation of assessment ballot proceedings.

3. Citywide Street Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-1 Preliminary Engineer’s Report

4. City Council Resolution No. 2025- , initiating proceedings and declaring its intention to form the City of Vista Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-2 as well as preliminarily approving the Engineer’s Report.

5. City Council Resolution No. 2025- , setting a time and place for the Public Hearing for May 13, 2025, and ordering the initiation of assessment ballot proceedings.

6. Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-2 Preliminary Engineer’s Report
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00029213 7
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF

VISTA, CALIFORNIA, INITIATING PROCEEDINGS FOR THE FORMATION OF

THE VISTA CITYWIDE STREET MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 2025-1 AND LEVY AND COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025/2026
The City Council of the City of Vista does resolve as follows:

1. Findings. The City Council hereby finds and declares the following:

A. The City Council (herein referred to as the “City Council”) of the Vista Citywide Street Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-1 (hereafter referred to as the “District”) does resolve as follows:

B. The City Council desires to form and levy annual assessments for the District, pursuant to the provisions of the Benefit Assessment Act of 1982, Division 2 Part 1 of the California Government Code (commencing with Section 54703) (hereafter referred to as the “Act”) that provides for the levy and collection of assessments to pay the maintenance, operation and servicing of all improvements and facilities related thereto; and, C. The City Council has determined that the property owners will receive special benefit from the improvements within the proposed District; and, D. The City Council has retained NBS for the purpose of assisting with the formation and annual levy of the District, and to prepare and file a report with the City Clerk in accordance with the Act.

2. Action.

A. Proposal: The City Council hereby proposes the formation of the District and the levy and collection of assessments.

B. Formation and Annual Levy Report: The City Council hereby orders NBS to prepare and file with the City Clerk the Engineer’s Formation and Annual Levy Report concerning the formation of the District and the levy and collection of assessments for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026 in accordance with Chapter 6.4, Article 4, Section 54716 of the Act.

C. Proposed improvements: The improvements within the District may include, but are not limited to: the maintenance, operation, and servicing of pavement repair and rehabilitation, re-striping, slurry sealing, overlay and street sweeping A detailed description of the improvements can be found in the Engineer’s Formation Report and Annual Levy Report.

D. District designation: The proposed District is designated as: Vista Citywide Street Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-1.
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EXHIBIT 1
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-

CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA
PAGE 2
00029213 7EXH 01 Resolution Initiating Proceedings - SMAD No. 2025-1.docx

3. Adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a meeting of the City Council of the City of Vista held on March 25, 2025, by the following vote:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSTAIN:

APPROVED AS TO FORM:

WALTER CHUNG, CITY ATTORNEY

By:

APPROVED
Walter C. Chung
20250317115023

JOHN B. FRANKLIN, MAYOR

ATTEST:

KATHY VALDEZ, CITY CLERK

By:

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00029213 7
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF

VISTA, CALIFORNIA, FOR THE VISTA CITYWIDE STREET MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 2025-1, DECLARING ITS INTENTION TO

PROVIDE FOR THE FORMATION, ANNUAL LEVY AND COLLECTION OF

ASSESSMENTS FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF IMPROVEMENTS, AND

CALLING AN ASSESSMENT BALLOT PROCEEDING TO SUBMIT TO THE

QUALIFIED PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN SUCH DISTRICT THE QUESTION

OF THE LEVY OF THE PROPOSED ASSESSMENTS FOR THE DISTRICT, FISCAL YEAR 2025/2026
The City Council of the City of Vista does resolve as follows:

1. Findings. The City Council hereby finds and declares the following:

A. The City Council desires to form and levy annual assessments for the Vista Citywide Street Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-1 (hereafter referred to as the “District”), pursuant to the provisions of the Benefit Assessment Act of 1982, Division 2 Part 1 of the California Government Code (commencing with Section 54703) (hereafter referred to as the “Act”) that provides for the levy and collection of assessments to pay the maintenance, operation and servicing of all improvements and facilities related thereto; and, B. The City Council has retained NBS for the purpose of assisting with the Formation and Annual Levy of the District, and to prepare and file a report with the City Clerk in accordance with the Act

2. Action.

A. Intention: The City Council hereby declares that it is its intention to order the levy of assessments of the District and seek the Annual Levy of the District pursuant to the Act, over and including the land within the District boundary, and to levy and collect assessments on all such land to pay the annual costs of the services and improvements. The City Council has determined at this time to call an assessment ballot proceeding therein to authorize the levy of assessments (which are more particularly outlined in the Engineer’s Report) to pay the costs and expenses of the services improvements described in Section 5 of this Resolution. The City Council finds that the public’s best interest requires such levy and collection.

B. Calling a special ballot proceeding: Pursuant to Proposition 218, Section 4, Sub- Section 4 (c), now California Constitutional Articles XIIIC and XIIID, (hereafter referred to as the “Proposition 218”) approved by the California voters in November 1996, an assessment ballot proceeding is hereby called on behalf of the District on the proposition of levying the assessments and the assessment range formula to allow for reasonable increases within the District.

C. The assessment ballot proceeding for the District on the proposition of authorizing the assessments and the assessment range formula to allow for reasonable increases, pursuant to Section 4, Sub-Section 4 (c and d) of Proposition 218, consists of a ballot and mailed notice, distributed to the property owners of record within the District as of the County’s last equalized roll. Each property owner’s vote is weighted by the amount of their proposed assessment and may return the ballot by mail or in person to the City Clerk not later 03/25/2025
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EXHIBIT 2
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-

CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA
PAGE 2
00029213 7EXH 02 Resolution of Intention to Form - SMAD No. 2025-1.docx than the conclusion of the Public Hearing on May 13, 2025. At the Public Hearing, pursuant to Section 4, Sub-Section 4 (e) of Proposition 218, the agency shall tabulate the ballots to determine if a majority protest exists. The ballots shall be weighted according to the proportional financial obligation of the affected property. A majority protest exists if, upon the conclusion of the Public Hearing, ballots submitted in opposition to the assessments exceed the ballots submitted in favor of the assessments.

D. District Boundaries: The boundary of the District is completely within the City of Vista and the assessment diagram is on file with the City Engineer.

E. Description of Improvements: The improvements within the District may include, but are not limited to: maintenance, operation of pavement repair and rehabilitation, re-striping, slurry sealing, overlay and street sweeping A detailed description of the improvements can be found in the Engineer’s Formation Report and Annual Levy Report.

F. Proposed Assessment Amounts: For Fiscal Year 2025/2026, the proposed assessments are outlined in the Engineer’s Formation and Annual Levy Report which details the annual assessments and formula.

G. Public Hearing(s): The City Council hereby declares its intention to conduct a Public Hearing annually concerning the formation and levy of assessments for the District in accordance with Chapter 6.4, Article 4, Section 54715 of the Act.

H. Notice: The City shall give notice of the time and place of the and Public Hearing to all property owners within the District by mail and causing the publishing of this Resolution once in the local newspaper for two consecutive weeks not less than ten (10) days before the date of the Public Hearing, and by posting a copy of this resolution on the official bulletin board customarily used by the City Council for the posting of notices. Property owners will be provided an assessment ballot to approve or protest the proposed assessment and the assessment range formula to allow for reasonable increases. Ballots must be received prior to the conclusion of the Public Hearing, at which they will be tabulated. At the Public Hearing, all interested persons shall be afforded the opportunity to hear and be heard.

I. Notice of Public Hearing: Notice is hereby given that a Public Hearing on these matters will be held by the City Council on May 13, 2025 or as soon thereafter as feasible at 200 Civic Center Drive, Vista, California.

J. The City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to give notice of such hearing as provided by law.

K. The City Manager is hereby authorized and directed to cast the ballots for City- owned parcels within the District.
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RESOLUTION NO. 2025-

CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA
PAGE 3
00029213 7EXH 02 Resolution of Intention to Form - SMAD No. 2025-1.docx

3. Adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a meeting of the City Council of the City of Vista held on March 25, 2025, by the following vote:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSTAIN:

APPROVED AS TO FORM:

WALTER CHUNG, CITY ATTORNEY

By:

APPROVED
Walter C. Chung
20250317115724

JOHN B. FRANKLIN, MAYOR

ATTEST:

KATHY VALDEZ, CITY CLERK

By:

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nbsgov.com
Preliminary Engineer’s Report For:

Vista Citywide Street Maintenance Assessment
D
istrict No. 2025-1
November 2024
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EXHIBIT 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 District History ........................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Legislative Context .................................................................................................... 1

1.3 Court Rulings ............................................................................................................. 2

2. Improvements ................................................................................................................ 4

2.1 Streets, Roads and Pavement Areas ......................................................................... 5

3. Special Benefits .............................................................................................................. 7

3.1 Improved Accessibility ............................................................................................... 7

3.2 Improved Emergency Response Ingress ................................................................... 7

3.3 Improved Economic Activity ..................................................................................... 8

4. Separation and Quantification of General Benefits .......................................................... 9

4.1 General Benefit ......................................................................................................... 9

5. Special Benefit Distribution ........................................................................................... 12

5.1 Assessment District Management Allocation ......................................................... 12

5.2 Parcel Characteristics .............................................................................................. 12

5.3 Land Use Classifications .......................................................................................... 13

5.4 Total Benefit Points ................................................................................................. 15

6. Budget .......................................................................................................................... 16

6.1 Maximum Amount to Be Assessed ......................................................................... 16

6.2 FY 2025/26 Maximum Assessment Rate ................................................................. 17

6.3 Annual Maximum Assessment Rate Inflation ......................................................... 18

6.4 Future Changes to Parcel Characteristics ................................................................ 18

6.5 Data for Annual Assessment Calculations ............................................................... 18

6.6 Appeals .................................................................................................................... 19

6.7 Method of Collection .............................................................................................. 19

7. Engineer’s Statement .................................................................................................... 20

8. Assessment Diagram ..................................................................................................... 21

9. Assessment Roll ............................................................................................................ 22

10. References.................................................................................................................... 23

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TABLE OF TABLES

Table 1. Average Daily Trip Generation Within the District ............................................................................. 10 Table 2. Total Vehicular Pass-Through Traffic .................................................................................................. 11 Table 3. Total Adjusted Pass-Through Percentage ........................................................................................... 11 Table 4. Land Use Benefit Points ...................................................................................................................... 14 Table 5. Fiscal Year 2025/26 Estimated Budget ............................................................................................... 16 Table 6. Breakdown of Maximum Amount to Be Assessed.............................................................................. 17 Table 7. Maximum Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate ...................................................................... 17 Table 8. Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point ....................................................................... 17

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City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide SMD No. 2025-1 Prepared by NBS – November 2024 1

1. Introduction

1.1 District History
The City of Vista (“City”) desires to fund certain street and roadway improvements as described in Section 2 of this Report through an annual assessment. The proposed assessment is subject to the substantive and procedural requirements described in Section 4, Article XIII D of the California Constitution (“Article XIII D”).

The assessment is authorized pursuant to the provisions of the Benefit Assessment Act of 1982, Division 2, Part 1 of the California Government Code of the State of California (commencing with Section 54703) (the “Act”).

The City’s pavement network is one of the most valuable and essential assets to the City. There is currently an existing assessment district in place called the City of Vista Street Maintenance District No. 1 which was established in 1991 to provide a source of funding for the on-going operation, maintenance, and servicing of public streets, roads, and pavement area improvements within the City. However, while costs have continued to increase, there has not been an increase in the assessment.

As the existing assessment district does not provide adequate revenue for the services and improvements, the City proposes to form a new assessment district that is intended to provide sufficient revenue to fund ongoing annual maintenance, operation, and servicing of public streets, roads, and pavement area improvements within the City; reserve funds for replacement and repair of the improvements; administrative expenses; and an allowance for an annual inflator so the assessment rate may be increased over time as costs increase, without conducting a new ballot proceeding. The proposed assessment district is the Vista Citywide Street Maintenance District No. 2025-1 (”District”). If approved, the proposed District will replace the existing City of Vista Street Maintenance Assessment District No. 1.

1.2 Legislative Context
In 1996, California voters adopted Proposition 218, known as the “Right to Vote on Taxes Act,” which added Articles XIII C and XIII D to the California Constitution. Article XIII D established new substantive and procedural requirements on agencies for levying assessments, being levies on real property by an agency for a special benefit conferred upon the real property. “Special benefit” is defined in Article XIII D as “a particular and distinct benefit over and above general benefits conferred on a real property located in the district or to the public at large.”
Article XIII D imposes five basic substantive requirements on assessments:
(1) All parcels that will have a special benefit conferred upon them and upon which an assessment will be imposed must be identified;
(2) The general benefits must be distinguished from the special benefits conferred on the parcels;
(3) The proportionate special benefit derived by each identified parcel must be determined in relationship to the entirety of the capital cost of a public improvement, the maintenance and operation expenses of a public improvement, or the cost of the property-related service being provided;
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(4) The amount assessed to a parcel must not exceed the reasonable cost of the proportional special benefit conferred on that parcel and must not include any costs attributable to the general benefit; and
(5) Parcels within a district that are owned or used by any agency, the State of California or the United States shall not be exempt from assessment unless the agency can demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that those publicly owned parcels in fact receive no special benefit.

Article XIII D also imposes procedural requirements on assessments, which include preparing an engineer’s report, providing written notice of the proposed assessment and public hearing to property owners, holding a public hearing, and providing for a protest ballot proceeding.

1.3 Court Rulings
Since the initial passage of Proposition 218, several court rulings have helped provide context and direction with respect to the procedures and requirements of Article XIII D for levying assessments. Several of the key concepts from these rulings are summarized below.

GENERAL BENEFIT
Article XIII D requires an agency to separate the general benefits from the special benefits conferred on the identified parcels because only special benefits are assessable.

The Court of Appeal in Golden Hills Neighborhood Assn., Inc. v. City of San Diego (2011) (“Golden Hills”) clarified this concept by stating, “Separation and quantification of general and special benefits must be accomplished by apportioning the cost of a service or improvement between the two and assessing property owners only for the portion of the cost representing special benefits.” The Court of Appeal in Beutz v. County of Riverside (2010) (“Beutz”) noted that the trial court took judicial notice of the Legislative Analyst’s Office pamphlet titled “Understanding Proposition 218” which states an agency must “estimate the amount of special benefit landowners would receive from the project or service, as well as the amount of ‘general benefit.’ This step is needed because Proposition 218 allows local government to recoup from assessments only the proportionate share of cost to provide the special benefit.” The Court in Beutz furthered this idea stating, “Separating the general from the special benefits of a public improvement project and estimating the quantity of each in relation to the other is essential if an assessment is to be limited to the special benefits.”
The Court of Appeal in Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Association Incorporated v. Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (2008) clarified that general benefits are not restricted to benefits conferred only on persons and property outside the assessment district but can include benefits both conferred on real property located in the district or to the public at large. The court defined the “public at large” as comprising all members of the public, including those who live, work, and shop within the district, and not simply transient visitors.

The Court of Appeal again reiterated the need to separate, quantify and apportion costs to general benefits from the improvements in Broad Beach Geologic Hazard Abatement District v 31506 Victoria Point LLC 03/25/2025
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(2022), stating, “The District cites no authority, and we are aware of none, suggesting that an agency’s subjective intent determines the need to account for general benefits.”

BENEFIT-BASED NOT COST-BASED
In Town of Tiburon v. Bonander (2009) (“Tiburon”), the Court of Appeal clarified the idea that assessments must be apportioned based upon benefit rather than cost. The Court stated, “Proportionate special benefit is the basis upon which a project’s total assessable costs are apportioned among parcels within an assessment district.”
The assessment on a particular property cannot be based on the relative cost of the improvements to the property, but rather on the special benefit conferred on such property. The Court in Tiburon also stated, “an assessment represents the entirety of the cost of the improvement or property-related service, less any amount attributable to general benefits (which may not be assessed), allocated to individual properties in proportion to the relative special benefit conferred on the property.”

MEASURING AND APPORTIONING SPECIAL BENEFIT
The Court in Tiburon acknowledged the difficulty of trying to precisely assign and measure special benefit, stating, “Any attempt to classify special benefits conferred on particular properties and to assign relative weights to those benefits will necessarily involve some degree of imprecision.” The Court in Tiburon went on to say that a formula assigning equal weight to different special benefits “may be a legally justifiable approach to measuring and apportioning special benefits, [but] it is not necessarily the only valid approach. Whichever approach is taken to measuring and apportioning special benefits, however, it must be both defensible and consistently applied.” 03/25/2025
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2. Improvements
The assessments will fund the following maintenance, operation, and servicing activities related to the following improvements:
 Streets, Roads and Pavement Areas
The maintenance, operation, and servicing activities listed above are collectively referred to as the “Improvements.” A general illustration of the location of the Improvements is shown below and the Assessment Diagram can be found in Section 8.

For illustration purposes only, not an official map.
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2.1 Streets, Roads and Pavement Areas
Per the January 2024 Pavement Management Program (Citywide) completed for the City, the Improvements consist of approximately 193.7 section miles of streets, for a total of 37,202,263 square feet of streets, roads and pavement areas maintained by the City and included within the District boundaries. The road network is broken down as follows:
 Approximately 85.5 section miles of arterial streets consisting of 17,821,450 square feet of pavement
 Approximately 104.9 section miles of local streets consisting of 18,871,741 square feet of pavement
 Approximately 1.4 section miles of alley consisting of 152,137 square feet of pavement.  Approximately 1.9 section miles of Park Access roads consisting of 356,935 square feet of pavement
The annual costs associated with the District's Improvements may include direct operational expenses, administration expenses, and other incidental expenses associated with the operation, maintenance, and servicing of the streets, roads, and pavement areas therein. The maintenance and servicing of the Improvements generally include, but are not limited to, pavement repair and rehabilitation, re-striping, slurry sealing, overlay and street sweeping. The estimated annual cost budgeted for providing the necessary maintenance and servicing of the street improvements may include, but are not limited to, labor, utilities such as water and electrical energy, materials, equipment, signage, contractual services, as well as administrative functions including scheduling of services, inspections, permits, noticing, preparation of reports, engineering services, legal services, San Diego County fees, or other administrative services performed by either City personnel or consultants.

To ensure that City streets are maintained in a satisfactory condition, the District includes two specific maintenance programs: street sweeping and street maintenance. The next section describes the services provided by the District maintenance programs.

STREET SWEEPING PROGRAM
Street sweeping of publicly maintained streets within the District is performed as needed throughout the City. The frequency at which this service is required and provided is determined and scheduled by City staff and may be based on, but not limited to, traffic circulation, development of properties in the area, general condition of the street, drainage control and accumulation of debris, as well as special street issues.

The City provides a basic level of street sweeping service on all public streets within the District and the scheduling and frequency of the service is determined by City staff. This basic level of service is considered a general benefit and properties within the District are not assessed for this basic level of service.

In addition to the basic level of service, the District provides a higher level of service on streets throughout the City. This higher level of service includes more regular and frequent street sweeping service and clearly provides a direct benefit to properties associated with those streets and the higher level of service. 03/25/2025
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These increased levels of service are based on regularly scheduled street sweeping, approximately two and four times per month, depending on the location and type of street. The streets that typically experience a higher traffic volume, which includes the arterial streets, require a more extensive and higher level of street sweeping than the local streets.

STREET MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
The City utilizes a diverse array of funding sources to support its street maintenance efforts. A significant portion, approximately $2.4 million, comes from the Highway Users Tax Allocation (HUTA), which is derived from state fuel taxes. Additionally, the city secures between $200,000 and $400,000 annually from the Regional Transportation Congestion Improvement Program (RTCIP). Another $400,000 is contributed through Traffic Impact Fees, which are collected from developers to mitigate the impact of new development on local infrastructure. The City also benefits from $2.9 million in funding through the San Diego County Transportation Improvement Program Ordinance and Expenditure Plan (TransNet) and Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article 3 State Grants, both administered by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). Furthermore, $2.5 million is allocated annually from SB 1’s Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account - Local Streets and Roads (RMRA-LSR) funding, ensuring consistent support for essential road repairs and improvements. This multifaceted funding approach allows Vista to maintain its roadways effectively.

The street maintenance program provides for the maintenance and servicing of the Improvements within the District. Maintenance means the furnishing of services and materials to ensure the integrity of the street pavement and as necessary any appurtenant facilities including medians, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and signage. The extent of the street maintenance and services may include, but are not limited to, slurry sealing, overlay, repair, removal or replacement of all or part of the streets, roads, and pavement areas and associated appurtenant facilities. The selected streets and scheduling of maintenance and services is part of a long-term preventive maintenance program for specific areas of the City that is based on, but not limited to, traffic circulation, the extent of the repairs or rehabilitation required, general condition of the street and appurtenant facilities, property development in the area, future street upgrades or rehabilitation plans, as well as special street or safety issues. The District’s role in the overall street maintenance program includes annual slurry sealing and crack sealing.
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3. Special Benefits
The Improvements will confer special benefits upon certain parcels within the District based upon the average daily trip generation and land use classification as described in Section 5. These benefits are summarized below:

IMPROVEMENT BENEFIT(S)
Streets, Roads and Pavement Areas
Improved Accessibility
Improved Emergency Response Ingress
Increased Economic Activity

3.1 Improved Accessibility
The Improvements will provide improved accessibility to the parcels in the District. The usefulness of a parcel cannot be realized unless it is accessible, and access is critical to a healthy, functioning community.

According to the International Labour Organization Rural Road Maintenance Report, “without physical access, rural communities face much greater obstacles in obtaining health, education, and other social services…rural roads often form the most important link in terms of providing access for the rural population. Their permanent or seasonal absence will act as a crucial factor in terms of the access of rural communities to such basic services” (Donnges et al., 2007). Improving the accessibility of a parcel through proper street maintenance efforts allows the full utilization of a parcel to be enjoyed.

Therefore, the operation, maintenance and servicing of the Improvements will improve Accessibility to properties within the proposed boundaries of the District.

3.2 Improved Emergency Response Ingress
The Improvements will provide improved ingress for emergency response vehicles. Efficient and timely response to emergencies is of paramount importance to the effectiveness of the emergency response. A fast response to emergencies depends not only on the emergency management system for dispatch and routing of emergency vehicles, but also critically on the roadway infrastructure system in place in a community. A well-maintained roadway network is foundational for ensuring fast and efficient travel times for all road users, including emergency response vehicles. As stated in the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Comprehensive Assessment of America’s Infrastructure, “poor roads mean travel times increase.” Examples of conditions resulting from inadequate roadway maintenance that can increase travel time include potholes, poorly marked roadways, and uneven road surfaces. As such, it is reasonable to conclude that improving road conditions through the maintenance and servicing of streets within the District will improve emergency response efficiency and timeliness.

Therefore, the operation, maintenance and servicing of the Improvements will improve Emergency Response Ingress to properties within the proposed boundaries of the District.

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3.3 Improved Economic Activity
There will be increased economic activity as a result of the Improvements for certain parcels within the District. Roadway systems in good condition improve transportation efficiency. They ensure the smooth transition of goods and services, reduce vehicle operating costs and increase efficiency. Conversely, according to a LinkedIn article titled “Importance of Road Network and its Regular Maintenance for the Economic Development of a Country” (Bhatti, 2023), “Neglecting road maintenance can impact the economy due to increased transportation costs and delays.” Additionally, according to Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan of the New York City Department of Transportation, “better streets attract more people and more activity, thus strengthening both communities, the businesses that serve them and the City’s economy as a whole.”
Therefore, the operation, maintenance and servicing of the Improvements will increase Economic Activity to properties within the proposed boundaries of the District.

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4. Separation and Quantification of General Benefits
As described above, only special benefits are assessable and in order to assess only special benefits, the general benefits conferred by the Improvements must be separated and quantified. This section describes the process used to separate and quantify the general benefits.

4.1 General Benefit
As detailed below, it is estimated the Improvements will confer an overall General Benefit of 18.19%. The amount of general benefit that is provided from the District’s maintenance activities cannot be funded via property owners’ assessments.

GENERAL BENEFIT: VEHICLES PASSING THROUGH THE DISTRICT
Traffic volume is utilized to help determine special benefits accruing to the District as opposed to the general benefits received by the public at large from the Improvements. As a result of the Improvements, there will be a level of general benefit conferred to pass-through vehicle traffic related to properties outside of the District whose occupants do not intend to access property within the District. As such, the benefit derived by pass-through vehicle traffic needs to be quantified. The percentage of pass-through vehicle traffic is calculated by comparing the estimated daily District generated vehicle trips to the total roadway design capacity, as detailed below.

In order to determine the average daily trips generated by parcels located within the District, the Institute of Transportation Engineer’s (ITE) Trip Generation Handbook along with the San Diego Association of Governments (the “SANDAG Guide”) (Not So) Brief Guide of Vehicular Traffic Generation Rates for the San Diego Region and the San Diego County Municipal Code Land Development Code Trip Generation Manual were utilized to estimate the average daily trip counts by land use classification for each parcel. Per the ITE Trip Generation User’s Guide and for purposes of this report, a “Trip” is defined as a “single or one-direction vehicle movement with either the origin or the destination (exiting and entering) inside a study site. For trip generation purposes, the total trips for a land use over a given period of time are the total of all trips entering plus all trips exiting a site during a designated time period.” The Average Daily Trip (ADT) rates used in this analysis are shown in the table below and came from ITE Trip Generation Manual (11th Edition), the April 2002 SANDAG Guide and the May 2003 San Diego County Trip Generation Manual. Any future changes to a parcel’s land use classifications resulting in changes to a parcel’s ADT rates will be based on the values found in the 11
th Edition of the ITE Trip Generation Manual or the SANDAG Guide or the current editions of either as may be released from time to time, or similar manual in the event the ITE Manual and SANDAG Guide are no longer published at the time of the calculation. Table 1 on the following page summarizes the average daily trips generated within the District.

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Table 1. Average Daily Trip Generation Within the District Land Use
Classification
Institute of Transportation
Engineer’s (ITE) Value(s)
Avg
Daily Trip
Rate Rate Per
Total
Parcels
Estimated Daily
District Vehicle
Trips
Residential <5 210 – Single-Family
Residential 9.43 Dwelling Unit 16,421 167,693.69
Condominiums 215 – Single-Family
Residential Attached 7.20 Dwelling Unit 3,770 27,144.00 Residential 5+
220/221/240 –
Multi-Family Residential 6.13 Dwelling Unit 315 78,476.00 252 – Senior Adult Housing 3.24 Dwelling Unit 10 3,149.28 Non-
Residential/
Industrial
100-199 – Industrial 3.68 1,000 bldg. sq.
ft. 569 37,318.33
Industrial (acres) 75 Acre 79 22,854.73
300-399 – Hotel/Motel 5.12 Room 10 3,727.36
Commercial (acres) 204.00 Acre 145 49,025.86
800-900 Commercial 34.86 1,000 bldg. sq.
ft. 611 164,657.22
Schools/
Institutional
Public/Office (acres) 50.00 Acre 105 28,362.75
500-700 – Public/Office 18.28 1,000 bldg. sq.
ft. 51 10,086.02
Park/
Agricultural
Park (acres) 5.00 Acre 43 2,113.23
Agricultural 2.00 Acre 15 60.41
Undeveloped Undeveloped 1.00 Acre 604 768.64
Utility 1.00 Acre 34 69.33
N/A No Benefit N/A N/A 514 0.00
Total: 23,296 595,506.84 (1)
(1) Does not add due to rounding.

Therefore, the number of estimated daily trips generated by the District is 595,507. In the case of parcels with a shared lot footprint, such as a condominium, mobile home or a multi-story building with different property ownership on each floor, total acreage for the lot footprint was divided equally among the benefitting parcels within that lot acreage footprint.

It should be noted that San Diego County secured roll data was missing certain datapoints in the current fiscal year data set, including lot acreage and building square footage metrics which are necessary to calculate the estimated average daily trip generation. As a result, a combination of San Diego County assessor’s maps, consultation with City staff, and GIS mapping tools were utilized to determine the missing building square footages and lot acreages.

The next step is to estimate the number of pass-through vehicle trips passing through the District. The City is currently working with CR Associates on a traffic analysis, therefore data from their analysis was utilized for this calculation. Roads classified as Major Arterial, Prime Arterial, and Collector Roads were pulled in in order to estimate the total average daily vehicular traffic flow through the District as summarized in the table on the following page.
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Table 2. Total Vehicular Pass-Through Traffic
Roadways within the District
Average Daily Trip
Generation Percentage
Major Arterial Roads 608,070
Prime Arterial Roads 477,147
Collector Roads 241,455
Total Pass-Through Traffic (1) 1,326,672
District Trips 595,507 44.89%
Pass-Through Trips (2) 731,165 55.11%
Total Vehicular Pass-Through Traffic: 55.11%
(1) Equals (Major Arterial Roads + Prime Arterial Roads + Collector Roads). (2) Equals (Total Pass-Through Traffic - District Trips).

The percentage of time spent by pass-through vehicles driving through the District is 55.11%. However, this is not yet the percentage of general benefit accruing to occupants of pass-through vehicles as a result of the Improvements. Not all pass-through vehicles will travel the full length of the District. Some may only travel within a portion of the District, while some may travel its full length. In addition, vehicles passing through the District only receive a temporary accessibility and emergency response ingress benefit, and no economic benefit. Therefore a 66% reduction factor has been applied. To recognize these reduced pass- through benefits, the adjusted total Pass-Through Percentage is calculated below.

Table 3. Total Adjusted Pass-Through Percentage
Description
Total Adjusted Pass-
Through Percentage
Total Pass-Through Percentage 55.11%
66% Reduction Factor for No Economic Benefit 33%
Adjusted Total Pass-through Percentage 18.19%

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5. Special Benefit Distribution
Once special benefits are identified, they must be assigned based on the estimated proportionate special benefit derived by each parcel. This section describes the assignment of special benefit to each parcel. To assess benefits equitably, it is necessary to relate each property’s proportional Benefits to the Benefits of all other properties within the District.

Contributing to public infrastructure is a fundamental part of being a member of a community. Road maintenance and construction are ongoing processes that require continuous funding. By contributing to these expenses, property owners are helping to ensure that infrastructure is in place to utilize now as well as to enable future development potential. Even if a property is currently undeveloped or agricultural in nature, for example, access for emergency services such as fire trucks, ambulances, and police vehicles is crucial. Maintaining roads ensures that these services can reach any part of the community efficiently and effectively.

5.1 Assessment District Management Allocation
The District will incur costs for staff time and expenses related to the management of the District itself. For example, these tasks will include oversight and coordination of both District and contractor-provided services, annual assessment roll preparation, addressing property owner questions and concerns, adherence to the Engineer’s Report, and compliance with audit/reporting requirements. These activities are directly related to the District and are allocated on a per parcel basis given the nature of the administrative services. Further, the administrative activities are specific to the District and do not confer general benefits.

The Budget for Administrative Costs is detailed in Table 5.

5.2 Parcel Characteristics
The method of apportioning benefit to parcels within the District reflects the proportional special benefit assigned to each property from the Improvements based upon the various property characteristics for each parcel as compared to other properties within the District. As part of the special benefit analysis, various property characteristics were analyzed including lot size, building size, and land use. Given that the special benefits provided by the Improvements focus on Accessibility and Emergency Response Ingress, it was determined that linear street frontage, lot acreage, and land use are the most appropriate parcel factors.

Each parcel’s average daily trip generation and land use classification have been used as the primary assessment variables for the calculation and assignment of parcel factors.

ADT FACTOR
In order to determine the average daily trip (ADT) Factor for each assessable parcel within the District, the average daily trips generated by each parcel were assigned based upon the Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual (11th Edition) and/or the SANDAG Guide as shown in Table 1. The total ADT for parcels in the District is 595,507 and the average ADT is 26.14. Each assessable parcel’s ADT was divided by the District’s average ADT of 26.14 to determine the Parcel’s ADT Factor. By way of example, if a Residential <5 parcel’s average daily trip generation is 9.43, then 9.43 would be divided by the District Average trips of 26.14 which would result in a Parcel ADT Factor of 0.36. 03/25/2025
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Parcel's
Average Trips /
District’s
Average Trips
(26.14)
= Parcel's
ADT Factor

It should be noted that in cases where San Diego County secured roll data does not provide building and/or acreage information, a combination of San Diego County parcel maps, GIS, and online searches were utilized to obtain this information. Additionally, in the case of parcels sharing a single lot footprint, such as condominiums, the total lot acreage footprint was divided by the total number of assessable lots within that lot footprint and the resulting lot acreage was assigned to each parcel.

5.3 Land Use Classifications
In addition to average daily trip generation, a parcel’s land use will also affect the special benefits received.

Following the calculation of each parcel’s characteristic factors in Section 5.1 above, Land Use Benefit Points were assigned. These benefit points correspond to the special benefits described in the Special Benefits section of this report.

Each parcel within the proposed District boundary is assigned a land use classification for purposes of determining the special benefits received. Below is a description of the land use classifications to be assessed within the District.
 Condominium Property consists of condominiums and mobile home units used exclusively for residential purposes.
 Residential <5 Property consists of single-family dwellings, duplexes, triplexes, Accessory Dwelling Units, etc. consisting of less than 5 units, used exclusively for residential purposes.  Residential 5+ Units Property consists of apartment buildings, mobile home parks, and multi- family dwellings consisting of 5 or more units, used exclusively for residential purposes.  Non-Residential/Industrial Property consists of parcels used for commercial, industrial, office and public use, for-profit or non-profit purposes and associated parking lots including, but not limited to, retail, restaurants, commercial garages, private schools, churches, gas stations, fast food restaurants, shopping plazas, hotels/motels, medical, dental, and business parks and parcels where goods are manufactured, warehoused, or distributed.  School/Institutional Property consists of parcels that have public schools and associated parking lots, recreational facilities, parks, and undeveloped and open space lands. Also includes property used for government purposes, as well as churches, worship halls and places of worship.
 Park/Agricultural Property consists of certain park parcels not being maintained by the District nor included as part of the District Improvements as well as parcels primarily used for agricultural purposes including but not limited to row crops, greenhouses, etc.  Undeveloped Property consists of parcels with no structure value, parcels identified as parking lots or parcels with utility towers, communications lines, gas and electric lines and easements, 03/25/2025
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water, sanitation and irrigation lines and towers, and other apparatus related to the operation of utility parcels.

There are currently a total of 23,296 parcels in the District. Of those parcels, 22,782 parcels have been identified as assessable parcels. Additionally, 514 parcels in the District are deemed to receive no benefit from the Improvements and are therefore non-assessable. These parcels include easements, sliver parcels, irregular parcels, parcels dedicated as open space, restricted parcels, roads, miscellaneous county use code 19 and parcels containing the improvements themselves. The non-assessable parcels also includes certain shared common area parcels, including, but not limited to: privately owned tennis courts, clubhouses, courtyards, streets, easement areas, parking lots, basins and clubhouses.

LAND USE BENEFIT POINTS
The table below summarizes the Land Use Benefit Points assigned to the various assessable land use classifications within the District:

Table 4. Land Use Benefit Points
Land Use Classification Accessibility
Emergency
Response Ingress
Economic
Activity
Total Land Use
Benefit Points
Condominiums 1 1 0 2
Residential <5 1 1 0 2
Residential 5+ 1 1 0.50 2.50
Non-Residential/Industrial 1 1 1 3
School/Institutional 0.50 0.50 0 1
Park/Agricultural 0.25 0.25 0 0.50
Undeveloped 0.25 0.25 0 0.50

Accessibility: The Accessibility Benefits conferred by the Improvements are universal benefits for all land use classifications. However, School/Institutional land use classifications are assigned 0.50 Accessibility Benefits and Park/Agricultural and Undeveloped land use classifications are assigned 0.25 Accessibility Benefits because these properties do not receive the same level of special benefits associated with Accessibility as do other properties.

Emergency Response Ingress: The Emergency Response Ingress Benefits conferred by the Improvements are universal benefits for all of the land use classifications within the District. However, School/Institutional land use classifications are assigned 0.50 Emergency Response Ingress Benefits and Park/Agricultural and Undeveloped land use classifications are assigned 0.25 Emergency Response Ingress Benefits because these properties do not receive the same level of special benefits associated with Emergency Response Ingress as do other properties.

Economic: The Economic Benefits conferred by the Improvements are benefits to the Non- Residential/Industrial and Residential 5+ land use classifications. Non-Residential/Industrial and Residential 5+ land use classifications each benefit economically from the Improvements, although to varying degrees.

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Economic Benefit Point; Residential 5+ land use classifications are estimated to benefit half that of Non- Residential land use classifications, as there are limitations on their ability to generate income. The other property types do not benefit from the Economic Benefits.

5.4 Total Benefit Points
The calculation of Total Benefit Points for each parcel takes into account each component analyzed and described above, Average Daily Trip Generation and Land Use. The formula for determining each parcel’s Total Benefit Points is as follows:
( ADT Factor x
Land Use Benefit
Points ) = Special
Benefit Points
The Total Special Benefit Points are computed for each parcel in the District and summed. The Total District Special Benefit Points are 56,121.48. These Total Special Benefit Points are used to determine the proposed assessment amounts on each parcel. The total special benefit points for each parcel have been truncated to three decimal places.
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6. Budget
The following table summarizes the estimated annual costs to fund the Improvements for Fiscal Year 2025/26:

Table 5. Fiscal Year 2025/26 Estimated Budget
Description Amount

MAINTENANCE AND SERVICING COSTS
Street Sweeping
Professional Services/Contracts $158,888
Other Operating Expenses 18,004
Allocated Costs 30,000
Contingency/Reserves 10,345
Subtotal Street Sweeping Costs $217,236
Street Maintenance
Professional Services/Contracts $150,000
Other Operating Expenses 16,996
Allocated Costs 30,000
Contingency/Reserves 9,850
Subtotal Street Maintenance Costs $206,846
Total Maintenance Costs $424,082

ADMINISTRATION COSTS
City Administration Costs $61,468
Outside Consulting Costs 8,275
Subtotal Administration Costs 69,743
Total Cost of Improvements $493,825

6.1 Maximum Amount to Be Assessed
The total maximum amount to be assessed upon the assessable parcels is the total cost of the Improvements, as detailed above, less the portion of costs attributable to General Benefit as detailed in the Separation and Quantification of General Benefits section. The calculation of the balance to be assessed is shown on the following page:

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Table 6. Breakdown of Maximum Amount to Be Assessed
Description Amount
Total Maintenance Costs $424,082
Less General Benefit Portion (18.19%) (77,129)
Plus District Administrative Costs 69,743
Plus Rounding 631
Total Amount to Be Assessed in FY 2025/26 $417,328 (1)
(1) Does not add due to rounding.

6.2 FY 2025/26 Maximum Assessment Rate
The Maximum Assessment Rate for the Administrative Allocation is calculated by dividing the total Administrative Allocation costs to be assessed by the total number of assessable parcels within the District. The following formula provides the Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate for each assessable parcel.

Table 7. Maximum Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate Total Administrative
Allocation Costs to be
Assessed
Total Number of
Assessable Parcels
Maximum Administrative
Allocation Assessment
Rate per Parcel
$69,743 (1) / 22,782 = $3.07
(1) Calculated in Table 5.
(2) The maximum administrative allocation assessment rate has been rounded up.

The Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point is calculated by dividing the total costs to be Assessed (excluding Administrative Costs) by the total Special Benefit Points assigned to the parcels within the District for the Improvements. The following formula provides the assessment rate per Special Benefit Point for the Improvements:

Table 8. Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point Total Improvement Costs to
be Assessed
Total Special
Benefit Points
Maximum Assessment
Rate per Special Benefit
Point
$346,953.68 (1) / 56,121.48 = $6.19 (2)
(1) Equals Total Maintenance Costs calculated in Table 5 less General Benefit contribution of $77,129. (2) The maximum assessment rate per Special Benefit Point has been rounded up.

The Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point is first multiplied by each parcel’s total Special Benefit Points and then summed with the Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate per parcel, as detailed in the next section.
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6.3 Annual Maximum Assessment Rate Inflation
Each parcel’s maximum assessment is determined by multiplying the Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point by the parcel’s total special benefit points and adding it to the Maximum Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate per parcel. If the total special benefit points for all assessable parcels in the District change in future years, the Maximum Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate per parcel and Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point will not be recalculated. The Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point and the Maximum Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate, will remain fixed, subject to the annual cost of living inflator defined below. The actual Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point will be calculated by dividing the fiscal year’s total cost of improvements to be assessed by the total special benefit points, not to exceed the Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point for that fiscal year. The actual Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate per parcel will be calculated by dividing the fiscal year’s total administration costs by the total number of parcels to be levied in that fiscal year, not to exceed the Maximum Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate per parcel for that fiscal year. The Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point and the Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate are escalated each year on July 1 by the annual change in the February-to-February Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers, for the San Diego-Carlsbad, CA area (“CPI”), not to exceed 3% annually, beginning July 1, 2026. Should the specified CPI cease to be published, the City will select the most appropriate replacement.

In any given year, the assessments may be at any rate sufficient to meet the estimated budget and levied without undertaking an assessment ballot proceeding, as long as the actual rates do not exceed the maximum rates as described above for that fiscal year. If the change in CPI effective for any fiscal year is determined to be negative, the maximum assessment rate will remain unchanged from the previous fiscal year. The actual assessment rate may vary from year to year but will be no higher than the maximum rate.

6.4 Future Changes to Parcel Characteristics
Future changes to any of the parcel characteristics, namely, average daily trip generation and land use classification detailed in Section 5 will cause possible changes in the total assessment revenue. The assessment revenue for any given year will be the product of the District’s parcel characteristics, special benefit points and the budget in effect for such fiscal year. Development within the District that increases the overall land use classification, for example, will lead to possible increased assessment revenue, even if the assessment rate per special benefit point is not increased. By way of example, when a previously undeveloped parcel develops into a single-family residential land use classification, the parcel will no longer be assessed as an undeveloped land use, but rather as a single-family residential parcel with the updated parcel characteristics.

6.5 Data for Annual Assessment Calculations
Each year, as part of the assessment calculation procedures, the City or its designated consultant shall determine the land use classification for each parcel based on the County Assessor's use code or other supplementary information made available and deemed reliable. The parcel characteristics shall be based on the ITE Trip Generation Manual (11th Edition) for the applicable tax year and may be supplemented with other reliable data sources. In the event the County Assessor’s data or ITE Trip Generation data are deemed to be unreliable, the City or its designated consultant shall utilize other sources of data including but not 03/25/2025
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limited to City records, County Assessor's parcel maps, GIS data, and online research. Assessment amounts for each parcel may change over time in accordance with changes to parcel characteristics including land use classification and average daily trip generation.

6.6 Appeals
If any property owner believes the data used to calculate the assessment is inaccurate for any reason, the property owner shall submit, in writing, a request for review to the City. The property owner shall provide documentation to support the request for review. The City or its designated consultant shall review the request and provide a response to the property owner. The property owner must be current in the payment of all assessments when filing the request for review and must remain current during the review process.

If the review conducted by the City or its designated consultant results in the approval for changes to any parcel characteristics used to compute the assessment, the City or its designated consultant shall recalculate the assessment. When recalculating the assessment, the assessment rates actually applied in such fiscal year shall be used. Only the assessment for the parcel or parcels subject to review shall be recalculated.

If the recalculated assessment for the parcel or parcels being reviewed is less than the amount submitted to the County on the secured property tax roll, the difference shall be credited back to the property owner in a manner approved by the City. This credit shall be limited to the current fiscal year and the prior fiscal year, if applicable. The “fiscal year” shall follow the County’s fiscal year for property taxes, from July 1 to June 30.

The applicable fiscal year shall be determined by the date the request for review is submitted to the City.

The credit may be provided in the form of a check issued to the property owner, an adjustment to the current year’s property tax roll (if possible), or a credit to the succeeding year’s assessment thereby reducing the amount placed on the secured property tax roll for such year.

If the recalculated assessment is greater than the amount submitted to the County on the secured property tax roll, the City or its designated consultant shall apply the recalculated assessment to the succeeding year’s property tax roll and no adjustments shall be made to the prior or current fiscal years’ assessments.

In any dispute over parcel characteristic data used to compute assessments, the City or its designated consultant shall make a conclusive determination and its decision shall be final.

6.7 Method of Collection
The assessments will be collected annually on the San Diego County secured property tax roll. The assessments will be subject to the County’s assigned due dates and late penalties. However, the City or its designated consultant may choose to collect the assessments in an alternate manner (including directly billing the property owner) as may be deemed appropriate or necessary by the City or as allowed by law. 03/25/2025
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7. Engineer’s Statement
The City of Vista Citywide Street Maintenance District No. 2025-1 District assessments described in this Report have been prepared pursuant to Article XIII D of the California Constitution. In preparing these assessments:

1. I have identified all parcels that will have a special benefit conferred upon them by the Improvements described in Section 2 of this Report (the “Specially Benefited Parcels”). a. For particulars as to the identification of these parcels, reference is made to the Assessment Diagram, a copy of which is included in Section 8 of this Report.

2. I have assessed the estimated costs and expenses of the Improvements upon the Specially Benefited Parcels. In making such assessment:
a. The proportionate special benefit derived from the Improvements by each Specially Benefited Parcel was determined in relationship to the entirety of the cost of the Improvements;
b. No assessment has been imposed on any Specially Benefited Parcel which exceeds the reasonable cost of the proportional special benefit conferred on such parcel by the Improvements; and
c. The general benefits have been separated from the special benefits and only special benefits have been assessed.

I, the undersigned, respectfully submit this Engineer’s Report and, to the best of my knowledge, information and belief, this Report, the assessments, and the Assessment Diagram herein have been prepared and computed in accordance with the Assessment Law.

By:

John G. Egan
Assessment Engineer
R.C.E. 14853

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8. Assessment Diagram
The following pages contain the assessment diagram for the District.

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9. Assessment Roll
Due to the size of the file, the proposed 2025/26 assessment roll for the District is on file in the office of the City Clerk.

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10. References
American Society of Civil Engineer’s “2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure: Assessing America’s Infrastructure Gap,” (2020).

Beutz v. Cnty. of Riverside, 184 Cal. App. 4th 1516, 1532 (2010).

Bhatti, M. (2023, August 27). Importance of Road Network and its Regular Maintenance for the Economic Development of a Country. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-road-network-its-regular- maintenance-economic-bhatti/
Broad Beach Geologic Hazard Abatement District v 31506 Victoria Point LLC, B304699 (81 Cal. App. 5th 1068, 1090 (2022)).

Bucknam Infrastructure Group, Inc. Update of Pavement Management Program (Citywide) 2024-2029, prepared on behalf of the City of Vista. Dated January 9, 2024.

Golden Hill Neighborhood Assn. v. City of San Diego CA4/1, D062203 (199 Cal. App. 4th 416, 438 (2011)) Institute of Transportation Engineers, "Trip Generation Manual, 11th Edition." Washington, D.C., 2022.

Donnges, C., Edmonds, G., & Johannessen, B. (2007). Rural road maintenance, sustaining the benefits of improved access. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro- bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_bk_pb_226_en.pdf
New York Department of Transportation. The Economic Benefits of Sustainable Streets,” 2012. Link:
https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/dot-economic-benefits-of-sustainable-streets.pdf San Diego Association of Governments, “SANDAG’s (Not So) Brief Guide of Vehicular Traffic Generation Rates for the San Diego Region, April 2002.

San Diego Municipal Code Land Development Code “Trip Generation Manual,” Revised May 2003.

Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Association Incorporated v. Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, 44 Cal. 4th 431 (2008).

Town of Tiburon v. Bonander, 180 Cal. App. 4th 1057, 1084 (2009)

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00029213 7
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF

VISTA, CALIFORNIA, INITIATING PROCEEDINGS FOR THE FORMATION OF

THE VISTA CITYWIDE LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 2025-2 AND LEVY AND COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025/2026
The City Council of the City of Vista does resolve as follows:

1. Findings. The City Council hereby finds and declares the following:

A. The City Council desires to form and levy annual assessments for the Vista Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-2 (hereafter referred to as the “District”), pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 (Part 2 of Division 15 of the California Streets and Highways Code) (hereafter referred to as the “Act”) that provides for the levy and collection of assessments to pay the maintenance, operation and servicing of all improvements and facilities related thereto; and, B. The City Council has determined that the property owners will receive special benefit from the improvements within the proposed District; and, C. The City Council has retained NBS for the purpose of assisting with the formation and annual levy of the District, and to prepare and file a report with the City Clerk in accordance with the Act.

2. Action.

A. Proposal: The City Council hereby proposes the formation of the District and the levy and collection of assessments.

C. Proposed improvements: The improvements within the District may include, but are not limited to, the maintenance, operation, and servicing of:
(1) street lighting and traffic signals, including theme light poles, ornamental lighting and other appurtenant facilities in the public right of way areas throughout the boundary of the District. The Improvements are generally described as: maintenance, operation, and servicing of public street lighting facilities, including all works or improvements used or useful for the lighting of any public places, including ornamental standards, luminaires, poles, supports, tunnels, manholes, vaults, conduits, pipes, wires, conductors, guys, stubs, platforms, braces, transformers, insulators, contacts, switches, capacitors, meters, communication circuits, appliances, attachments, and appurtenances;
(2) The Improvements include the maintenance, operation, and servicing of street trees and landscaping throughout the boundary of the District. The improvements include, but 03/25/2025
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EXHIBIT 4
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-

CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA
PAGE 2
00029213 7EXH 04 Resolution Initiating Proceedings - LLMAD No. 2025-2.docx are not limited to: groundcover, turf, trees, shrubs, planters, the landscaped areas and weed abatement of open spaces, and may also include sidewalk and hardscape Improvements, entry monuments and associated appurtenant facilities.

A detailed description of the improvements can be found in the Engineer’s Formation Report and Annual Levy Report.

D. District designation: The proposed District is designated as: Vista Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-1.

3. Adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a meeting of the City Council of the City of Vista held on March 25, 2025, by the following vote:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSTAIN:

APPROVED AS TO FORM:

WALTER CHUNG, CITY ATTORNEY

By:

APPROVED
Walter C. Chung
20250317120334

JOHN B. FRANKLIN, MAYOR

ATTEST:

KATHY VALDEZ, CITY CLERK

By:

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00029213 7
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF

VISTA, CALIFORNIA, FOR THE VISTA CITYWIDE LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 2025-1,

DECLARING ITS INTENTION TO PROVIDE FOR THE FORMATION, ANNUAL

LEVY AND COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF

IMPROVEMENTS, AND CALLING AN ASSESSMENT BALLOT PROCEEDING

TO SUBMIT TO THE QUALIFIED PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN SUCH

DISTRICT THE QUESTION OF THE LEVY OF THE PROPOSED
ASSESSMENTS FOR THE DISTRICT, FISCAL YEAR 2025/2026
The City Council of the City of Vista does resolve as follows:

1. Findings. The City Council hereby finds and declares the following:

A. The City Council desires to form and levy annual assessments for the Vista Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance Assessment District No. 2025-2 (hereafter referred to as the “District”), pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 (Part 2 of Division 15 of the California Streets and Highways Code) (hereafter referred to as the “Act”) that provides for the levy and collection of assessments to pay the maintenance, operation and servicing of all improvements and facilities related thereto; and, C. The City Council has retained NBS for the purpose of assisting with the Formation and Annual Levy of the District, and to prepare and file a report with the City Clerk in accordance with the Act.

2. Action.

CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA
PAGE 2
00029213 7EXH 05 Resolution of Intention to Form - LLMAD No. 2025-2.docx than the conclusion of the Public Hearing on May 13, 2025. At the Public Hearing, pursuant to Section 4, Sub-Section 4 (e) of Proposition 218, the agency shall tabulate the ballots to determine if a majority protest exists. The ballots shall be weighted according to the proportional financial obligation of the affected property. A majority protest exists if, upon the conclusion of the Public Hearing, ballots submitted in opposition to the assessments exceed the ballots submitted in favor of the assessments.

D. District Boundaries: The boundary of the District is completely within and coterminous with the City of Vista and the assessment diagram is on file with the City Engineer.

E. Description of Improvements: The improvements within the District may include, but are not limited to, the maintenance, operation, and servicing of:
(1) street lighting and traffic signals, including theme light poles, ornamental lighting and other appurtenant facilities in the public right of way areas throughout the boundary of the District. The Improvements are generally described as: maintenance, operation, and servicing of public street lighting facilities, including all works or improvements used or useful for the lighting of any public places, including ornamental standards, luminaires, poles, supports, tunnels, manholes, vaults, conduits, pipes, wires, conductors, guys, stubs, platforms, braces, transformers, insulators, contacts, switches, capacitors, meters, communication circuits, appliances, attachments, and appurtenances;
(2) The Improvements include the maintenance, operation, and servicing of street trees and landscaping throughout the boundary of the District. The improvements include, but are not limited to: groundcover, turf, trees, shrubs, planters, the landscaped areas and weed abatement of open spaces, and may also include sidewalk and hardscape Improvements, entry monuments and associated appurtenant facilities.

A detailed description of the improvements can be found in the Engineer’s Formation Report and Annual Levy Report.

F. Proposed Assessment Amounts: For Fiscal Year 2025/2026, the proposed assessments are outlined in the Engineer’s Formation and Annual Levy Report which details the annual assessments and formula.

CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA
PAGE 3
00029213 7EXH 05 Resolution of Intention to Form - LLMAD No. 2025-2.docx I. Notice of Public Hearing: Notice is hereby given that a Public Hearing on these matters will be held by the City Council on May 13, 2025 or as soon thereafter as feasible at 200 Civic Center Drive, Vista, California.

J. The City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to give notice of such hearing as provided by law.

K. The City Manager is hereby authorized and directed to cast the ballots for City- owned parcels within the District.

3. Adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a meeting of the City Council of the City of Vista held on March 25, 2025, by the following vote:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSTAIN:

APPROVED AS TO FORM:

WALTER CHUNG, CITY ATTORNEY

By:

APPROVED
Walter C. Chung
20250317120701

JOHN B. FRANKLIN, MAYOR

ATTEST:

KATHY VALDEZ, CITY CLERK

By:

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nbsgov.com
Preliminary Engineer’s Report For:

Vista Citywide Landscaping and
L
ighting Maintenance Assessment
District No. 2025-2
December 2024
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EXHIBIT 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 District History ........................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Legislative Context .................................................................................................... 1

1.3 Court Rulings ............................................................................................................. 2

2. Improvements ................................................................................................................ 4

2.1 Street Lighting and Traffic Signals ............................................................................. 5

2.2 Street Trees and Landscaping ................................................................................... 5

3. Special Benefits .............................................................................................................. 6

3.1 Improved Safety and Accessibility............................................................................. 6

3.2 Improved Aesthetics and Livability ........................................................................... 6

3.3 Increased Economic Activity ..................................................................................... 7

4. Separation and Quantification of General Benefits .......................................................... 8

4.1 General Benefit ......................................................................................................... 8

5. Special Benefit Distribution ........................................................................................... 11

5.1 Assessment District Management Allocation ......................................................... 11

5.2 Parcel Characteristics .............................................................................................. 11

5.3 Land Use Classifications .......................................................................................... 12

5.4 Total Benefit Points ................................................................................................. 15

6. Budget .......................................................................................................................... 16

6.1 Maximum Amount to Be Assessed ......................................................................... 16

6.2 FY 2025/26 Maximum Assessment Rate ................................................................. 16

6.3 Annual Maximum Assessment Rate Inflation ......................................................... 17

6.4 Future Changes to Parcel Characteristics ................................................................ 18

6.5 Data for Annual Assessment Calculations ............................................................... 18

6.6 Appeals .................................................................................................................... 18

6.7 Method of Collection .............................................................................................. 19

7. Engineer’s Statement .................................................................................................... 20

8. Assessment Diagram ..................................................................................................... 21

9. Assessment Roll ............................................................................................................ 22

10. References.................................................................................................................... 23

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TABLE OF TABLES

Table 1. Average Daily Trip Generation Within the District ............................................................................... 9 Table 2. Total Vehicular Pass-Through Traffic .................................................................................................. 10 Table 3. Total Adjusted Pass-Through Percentage ........................................................................................... 10 Table 4. Land Use Benefit Points ...................................................................................................................... 13 Table 5. South Melrose Land Use Benefit Points ............................................................................................. 15 Table 6. Fiscal Year 2025/26 Estimated Budget ............................................................................................... 16 Table 7. Breakdown of Maximum Amount to Be Assessed.............................................................................. 16 Table 8. Maximum Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate ...................................................................... 17 Table 9. Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point ....................................................................... 17

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City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide LLMD No. 2025-2 Prepared by NBS – December 2024 1

1. Introduction

1.1 District History
The City of Vista (“City”) desires to fund certain landscaping and lighting improvements as described in Section 2 of this Report through an annual assessment. The proposed assessment is subject to the substantive and procedural requirements described in Section 4, Article XIII D of the California Constitution (“Article XIII D”). The assessment is authorized pursuant to the provisions of the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 (Streets and Highways Code Section 22500, et seq.) (the “Act”).

There is currently an existing assessment district in place called the City of Vista Landscape and Lighting District No. 1. The Landscape and Lighting District No. 1 was established in 1992 to provide a source of funding for the on-going operation, maintenance, and servicing of public landscaping and lighting improvements within the City. However, while costs have continued to increase, there has not been an increase in the assessment.

As the existing assessment district does not provide adequate revenue for the services and improvements, the City proposes to form a new assessment district that is intended to provide sufficient revenue to fund ongoing annual maintenance, operation, and servicing of public streets, roads, and pavement area improvements within the City; reserve funds for replacement and repair of the improvements; administrative expenses; and an allowance for an annual inflator so the assessment rate may be increased over time as costs increase, without conducting a new ballot proceeding. The proposed assessment district is the Vista Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance District No. 2025-2 (”District”). If approved, the proposed District will replace the existing City of Vista Landscape and Lighting District No. 1.

City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide LLMD No. 2025-2 Prepared by NBS – December 2024 2
(4) The amount assessed to a parcel must not exceed the reasonable cost of the proportional special benefit conferred on that parcel and must not include any costs attributable to the general benefit; and
(5) Parcels within a district that are owned or used by any agency, the State of California or the United States shall not be exempt from assessment unless the agency can demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that those publicly owned parcels in fact receive no special benefit.

GENERAL BENEFIT
Article XIII D requires an agency to separate the general benefits from the special benefits conferred on the identified parcels because only special benefits are assessable.

City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide LLMD No. 2025-2 Prepared by NBS – December 2024 3
(2022), stating, “The District cites no authority, and we are aware of none, suggesting that an agency’s subjective intent determines the need to account for general benefits.”

City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide LLMD No. 2025-2 Prepared by NBS – December 2024 4

2. Improvements
The assessments will fund the following maintenance, operation, and servicing activities related to the following improvements:
 Street Trees and Landscaping
 Street Lighting and Traffic Signals
The maintenance, operation, and servicing activities listed above are collectively referred to as the “Improvements.” A general illustration of the location of the Improvements is shown below and the Assessment Diagram can be found in Section 8.

For illustration purposes only, not an official map.
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2.1 Street Lighting and Traffic Signals
The Improvements include the maintenance, operation, and servicing of street lighting and traffic signals, including theme light poles, ornamental lighting and other appurtenant facilities in the public right of way areas throughout the boundary of the District, as identified in the above illustrative map. The Improvements are generally described as: maintenance, operation, and servicing of public street lighting facilities, including all works or improvements used or useful for the lighting of any public places, including ornamental standards, luminaires, poles, supports, tunnels, manholes, vaults, conduits, pipes, wires, conductors, guys, stubs, platforms, braces, transformers, insulators, contacts, switches, capacitors, meters, communication circuits, appliances, attachments, and appurtenances. Maintenance, operation, and servicing includes, but is not limited to, personnel, furnishing utilities, electrical energy and timing/switching, lamp changing, emergency services, pole painting, fixture cleaning, glassware replacement, and rehabilitation, which includes modernization and replacement of systems; repairs, including poles, conduit, wiring and fusing, and fixtures repair and replacement, contracting services and other items necessary for the satisfactory operation of these services. Currently, there are 4,027 total streetlights owned by the City and 567 streetlights owned by SDG&E totaling 4,594 streetlights. There are a total of 109 total traffic signals within the District.

2.2 Street Trees and Landscaping
The Improvements include the maintenance, operation, and servicing of street trees and landscaping throughout the boundary of the District, as identified in the above illustrative map. The Improvements are generally described as: the maintenance, operation, and servicing of trees, landscape and appurtenant facilities in the public right of way areas, as well as open space, trails and green belt areas dispersed throughout the District. Eligible District costs may include, but are not limited to, personnel, furnishing electrical energy, utilities such as water and gas, materials, contracting services, and other items necessary for the satisfactory operation of these services described as follows:

The improvements authorized to be maintained and serviced include, but are not limited to: groundcover, turf, trees, shrubs, planters, the landscaped areas and weed abatement of open spaces, and may also include sidewalk and hardscape Improvements, entry monuments and associated appurtenant facilities.

There are approximately 5,792,500 square feet of landscape maintenance area within the District.

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City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide LLMD No. 2025-2 Prepared by NBS – December 2024 6

IMPROVEMENT BENEFIT(S)
Street Lighting and Traffic Signals
Street Trees and Landscaping
Improved Safety and Accessibility
Improved Aesthetics and Livability
Increased Economic Activity

3.1 Improved Safety and Accessibility
The street lighting Improvements will confer safety benefits to assessable parcels in close proximity to lighting. This benefit extends to property, as adequate lighting should decrease vandalism and other property-related crime. As noted in one report, “Published studies having different methodologies tend to converge on an overall average reported 20% to 30% reduction in nighttime crash risk from lighting” (National Cooperative Highway Research Program Transportation Research Board of The National Academies, 2009). The same report also states, “… lighting has a positive effect on reducing crime ...” The street lighting Improvements will also provide improved safety benefits by facilitating a more efficient and safer flow of traffic to and from properties within the District between the dusk and dawn hours. It is a well-accepted fact that pedestrian and traffic safety is considerably reduced in the hours of darkness between dusk and dawn. Various studies have concluded that good quality street lighting reduces the accident rate by increasing the overall visibility, as vehicle headlights are inadequate for high-speed traffic.

For example, “Driving outside of daylight hours is more dangerous – only a quarter of all travel by car drivers is between the hours of 7pm and 8am, yet this period accounts for 40% of fatal and serious injuries in the same group.” (Night-time accidents: a scoping study, UCL, London, 2009). Additionally, “… installing road lighting in a previously unlit road led to a rate ratio of 0.45 (95% confidence interval 0.29 to 0.69), which implies a 55% reduction in crashes compared to that in the control area.” (Street lighting for preventing road traffic injuries, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2009). Therefore, the street lighting Improvements will confer safety benefits to property within the District.

The street lighting Improvements will also provide improved accessibility benefits to assessable parcels where street lighting is provided along the access route. The usefulness of a parcel cannot be realized unless it is accessible. Thus, improving the accessibility of a parcel through proper street lighting can improve its utilization. The street lighting Improvements will help improve access for emergency response vehicles as well. Efficient and timely response to emergencies is a critical component to the effectiveness of emergency response. It is reasonable to conclude that the maintenance, operation and servicing of street lighting will improve emergency response efficiency in the District. Therefore, the operation, maintenance and servicing of the Street Lighting Improvements will confer accessibility benefits to property within the District.

3.2 Improved Aesthetics and Livability
The aesthetic benefit relates to the increase in the overall aesthetics as a result of the ongoing maintenance, operation, and servicing of the street trees and other landscaping within the District. 03/25/2025
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City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide LLMD No. 2025-2 Prepared by NBS – December 2024 7
Specifically, the street trees and other landscaping are believed to create a more beautiful, aesthetically pleasing environment within the District and they enhance the overall image and desirability of the properties within the District. A study by the University of Georgia found "People’s preferences for locating areas of social interactions in calming, beautiful, and nature-dominated areas revolve around the presence of community trees and forests" (Coder, 1996). The same study noted “Large old street trees were found to be the most important indicator of attractiveness in a community” (Coder).

Conversely, "appeal decreases when Improvements are not well maintained, unsafe, or destroyed by vandalism” (The Victoria Transportation Institute, 2011). Streetscapes have a significant effect on how people view and interact with their community. With streetscapes that are safe and inviting, people are more likely to walk, which can help reduce automobile traffic, improve public health, stimulate local economic activity and attract residents and visitors to the community. Therefore, the street trees and other landscaping Improvements will confer aesthetic benefits to property within the District.

Livability is a measurement of the factors that add up to a community’s quality of life—including but not limited to the built and natural environments, economic prosperity, social stability and equity, cultural, entertainment and recreation possibilities. The Victoria Transport Policy Institute explains that “Livability is largely affected by conditions in the public realm, places where people naturally interact with each other and their community...” In addition, the presence of natural areas and green landscapes are positively related to neighborhood satisfaction (Kearney, 2006). The presence of street trees has been shown to encourage increased physical activity and increased social cohesion in the urban environment (VanDillen et al., 2012). Therefore, the street trees and other landscaping will confer livability benefits to property within the District.

3.3 Increased Economic Activity
The Improvements will confer economic benefits as well. The Improvements will help both customers and tenants feel safer, so they feel welcome to stay longer and feel comfortable shopping and dining in the areal which has been shown to “increase consumer’s intentions to spend money” (Vilnai-Yavetz, 2010).

Additionally, well-lit and landscaped areas will increase foot traffic to shops and restaurants, which typically translates to higher sales for local businesses. As a result, there will be increased economic activity for certain parcels within the District. Therefore, the operation, maintenance and servicing of the Improvements will confer economic benefits to property within the District.

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Table 1. Average Daily Trip Generation Within the District Land Use
Classification
Institute of Transportation
Engineer’s (ITE) Value(s)
Avg
Daily Trip
Rate Rate Per
Total
Parcels
Estimated Daily
District Vehicle
Trips
Residential <5 210 – Single-Family
Residential 9.43 Dwelling Unit 16,421 167,693.69
Condominiums 215 – Single-Family
Residential Attached 7.20 Dwelling Unit 3,770 27,144.00 Residential 5+
220/221/240 –
Multi-Family Residential 6.13 Dwelling Unit 315 78,476.00 252 – Senior Adult Housing 3.24 Dwelling Unit 10 3,149.28 Non-
Residential/
Industrial
100-199 – Industrial 3.68 1,000 bldg. sq.
ft. 569 37,318.33
Industrial (acres) 75 Acre 79 22,854.73
300-399 – Hotel/Motel 5.12 Room 10 3,727.36
Commercial (acres) 204.00 Acre 145 49,025.86
800-900 Commercial 34.86 1,000 bldg. sq.
ft. 611 164,657.22
Schools/
Institutional
Public/Office (acres) 50.00 Acre 105 28,362.75
500-700 – Public/Office 18.28 1,000 bldg. sq.
ft. 51 10,086.02
Park/
Agricultural
Park (acres) 5.00 Acre 43 2,113.23
Agricultural 2.00 Acre 15 60.41
Undeveloped Undeveloped 1.00 Acre 604 768.64
Utility 1.00 Acre 34 69.33
N/A No Benefit N/A N/A 514 0.00
Total: 23,296 595,506.84
(1) Does not add due to rounding.

City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide LLMD No. 2025-2 Prepared by NBS – December 2024 10
Table 2. Total Vehicular Pass-Through Traffic
Roadways within the District
Average Daily Trip
Generation Percentage
Major Arterial Roads 608,070
Prime Arterial Roads 477,147
Collector Roads 241,455
Total Pass-Through Traffic (1) 1,326,672
District Trips 595,507 44.89%
Pass-Through Trips (2) 731,165 55.11%
Total Vehicular Pass-Through Traffic: 55.11%
(1) Equals (Major Arterial Roads + Prime Arterial Roads + Collector Roads). (2) Equals (Total Pass-Through Traffic - District Trips).

The percentage of time spent by pass-through vehicles driving through the District is 55.11%. However, this is not yet the percentage of general benefit accruing to occupants of pass-through vehicles as a result of the Improvements. Not all pass-through vehicles will travel the full length of the District. Some may only travel within a portion of the District, while some may travel its full length. In addition, vehicles passing through the District only receive a temporary safety and accessibility benefit and no aesthetics and livability or economic benefit. Therefore a 66% reduction factor has been applied. To recognize these reduced pass- through benefits, the adjusted total Pass-Through Percentage is calculated below.

Table 3. Total Adjusted Pass-Through Percentage
Description
Total Adjusted Pass-
Through Percentage
Total Pass-Through Percentage 55.11%
66% Reduction Factor for Length of Travel and No Livability or Economic Benefit 33%
Adjusted Total Pass-through Percentage 18.19%

The 18.19% adjusted total pass-through percentage is considered to be the general benefit accruing to vehicles passing through the District as a result of the Improvements. 03/25/2025
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5.1 Assessment District Management Allocation
The District will incur costs for staff time and expenses related to the management of the District itself. For example, these tasks will include oversight and coordination of both District and contractor-provided services, annual assessment roll preparation, addressing property owner questions and concerns, adherence to the Engineer’s Report, and compliance with audit/reporting requirements. These activities are directly related to the District and are allocated on a per parcel basis given the nature of the administrative services. Further, the administration activities are specific to the District and do not confer general benefits.

The Budget for Administrative Costs is detailed in Table 6.

Each parcel’s lot factor and land use classification have been used as the primary assessment variables for the calculation and assignment of parcel factors.

LOT FACTOR
Differing levels of special benefit can largely be attributed to differences in lot size. As lot size increases, parcels are considered to receive proportionately greater special benefit. For example, a parcel with a large lot will experience greater special benefit than a parcel with a small lot. However, based upon the make up of the Residential <5 parcels, the larger parcels contain large areas of undeveloped land, open space, park area, etc., areas that do not typically add additional benefit. At 1 standard deviation of 1.72 acres, there is no longer a linear relationship with the improvements. Approximately 1% of the Residential <5 parcels in the District have lot sizes with more than one standard deviation outside of the average. To ensure those Residential <5 parcels above one standard deviation are not paying a disproportionate share based upon the larger lot size, a maximum lot acreage of one standard deviation from the average, which is 1.72 acres, has been assigned to those parcels.

The average lot size for all assessable parcels within the District is approximately 0.43 acres. Each assessable parcel’s actual lot acreage was divided by the District’s average lot acreage to determine a Lot Factor. 03/25/2025
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City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide LLMD No. 2025-2 Prepared by NBS – December 2024 12
Parcel's Lot
Acreage / District's Average
Lot Acreage = Parcel's
Lot Factor

5.3 Land Use Classifications
In addition to lot factor, a parcel’s land use will also affect the special benefits received. Following the calculation of each parcel’s characteristic factors in Section 5.1 above, Land Use Benefit Points were assigned. These benefit points correspond to the special benefits described in the Special Benefits section of this report.

City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide LLMD No. 2025-2 Prepared by NBS – December 2024 13
There are currently a total of 23,296 parcels in the District. Of those parcels, 22,782 parcels have been identified as assessable parcels. Additionally, 514 parcels in the District are deemed to receive no benefit from the Improvements and are therefore non-assessable. These parcels include easements, sliver parcels, irregular parcels, parcels dedicated as open space, restricted parcels, roads, miscellaneous county use code 19 and parcels containing the improvements themselves. The non-assessable parcels also include certain shared common area parcels, including, but not limited to: privately owned tennis courts, clubhouses, courtyards, streets, easement areas, parking lots, basins and clubhouses.

LAND USE BENEFIT POINTS
The table below summarizes the Land Use Benefit Points assigned to the various assessable land use classifications within the District:

Table 4. Land Use Benefit Points
Land Use Classification
Safety and
Accessibility
Aesthetics and
Livability
Economic
Activity
Total Land Use
Benefit Points
Condominiums 1 1 0 2
Residential <5 1 1 0 2
Residential 5+ 1 1 0.50 2.5
Non-Residential/Industrial 1 1 1 3
School/Institutional 0.50 0.50 0 1.00
Park/Agricultural 0.25 0.25 0 0.50
Undeveloped 0.25 0.25 0 0.50

Safety and Accessibility: The Safety and Accessibility Benefits conferred by the Improvements are universal benefits for all of the land use classifications within the District. However, School/Institutional land use classifications are assigned 0.50 Safety and Accessibility Benefits and Park/Agricultural and Undeveloped land use classifications are assigned 0.25 Safety and Accessibility Benefits because these properties do not receive the same level of special benefits associated with Safety and Accessibility as do other properties.

Aesthetics and Livability: The Aesthetics and Livability Benefits conferred by the Improvements are universal benefits for all land use classifications. However, School/Institutional land use classifications are assigned 0.50 Aesthetics and Livability Benefits and Park/Agricultural and Undeveloped land use classifications are assigned 0.25 Aesthetics and Livability Benefits because these properties do not receive the same level of special benefits associated with Aesthetics and Livability as do other properties.

Non-Residential/Industrial Property benefits the most from the Economic Benefits and is assigned 1.00 Economic Benefit Point; Residential 5+ land use classifications are estimated to benefit half that of Non- Residential land use classifications, as there are limitations on their ability to generate income. The other property types do not benefit from the Economic Benefits. 03/25/2025
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SOUTH MELROSE LAND USE BENEFIT POINTS
There is currently an existing assessment district called the South Melrose Landscape Assessment District (“South Melrose District”) which funds the ongoing operation, maintenance and servicing of the street trees and landscaping along all of the arterial and collector roads within the South Melrose District as generally depicted below.

Therefore, in order to ensure parcels within the South Melrose District currently paying an assessment for the street trees and landscaping improvements along those arterial and collector roads are not being assessed disproportionately, a separate South Melrose Benefit Points Table has been established for those parcels. Utilizing GIS measurements, it is estimated that approximately 15% of the street trees and landscaping along the arterial and collector roads is currently being funded by the South Melrose District.

Therefore, a 15% reduction has been applied to each of the Aesthetic and Livability Benefit Points shown in Table 4 above which is reflected in Table 5 on the following page.

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Table 5. South Melrose Land Use Benefit Points
Land Use Classification
Safety and
Accessibility
Aesthetics and
Livability
Economic
Activity
Total Land Use
Benefit Points
Condominiums 1 0.85 0 1.85
Residential <5 1 0.85 0 1.85
Residential 5+ 1 0.85 0.50 2.35
Non-Residential/Industrial 1 0.85 1 2.85
School/Institutional 0.50 0.43 0 0.93
Park/Agricultural 0.25 0.21 0 0.46
Undeveloped 0.25 0.21 0 0.46

5.4 Total Benefit Points
The calculation of Total Benefit Points for each parcel takes into account each component analyzed and described above, Lot Size and Land Use. The formula for determining each parcel’s Total Benefit Points is as follows:
( Lot Factor x
Land Use Benefit
Points ) = Special
Benefit Points
The Total Special Benefit Points are computed for each parcel in the District and summed. The Total District Special Benefit Points are 44,296.80. These Total Special Benefit Points are used to determine the proposed assessment amounts on each parcel. The total special benefit points for each parcel have been truncated to three decimal places.
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6. Budget
The following table summarizes the estimated annual costs to fund the Improvements for Fiscal Year 2025/26:

Table 6. Fiscal Year 2025/26 Estimated Budget
Description Amount

MAINTENANCE AND SERVICING COSTS
Professional Services/Contracts $724,052
Staff Maintenance Costs 140,064
Other Operating Expenses 344,157
Utilities 389,528
Contingency/Reserves 79,890
Total Maintenance Costs $1,677,691

ADMINISTRATION COSTS
City Administration Costs $209,944
Outside Consulting Costs 8,275
Subtotal Administration Costs $218,219
Total Cost of Improvements $1,895,910

Table 7. Breakdown of Maximum Amount to Be Assessed
Description Amount
Total Maintenance Costs $1,677,691
Less General Benefit Portion (18.19%) (305,125)
Plus District Administrative Costs 218,219
Less Rounding 213
Total Amount to Be Assessed in FY 2025/26 $1,590,998

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Table 8. Maximum Administrative Allocation Assessment Rate Total Administrative
Allocation Costs to be
Assessed
Total Number of
Assessable Parcels
Maximum Administrative
Allocation Assessment Rate
per Parcel
$218,219.00 (1) / 22,782 = $9.58
(1) Calculated in Table 6.
(2) The maximum administrative allocation assessment rate has been rounded up to two decimal places.

The Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point is calculated by dividing the total costs to be Assessed (excluding Administrative Costs) by the total Special Benefit Points assigned to the parcels within the District for the Improvements. The following formula provides the maximum assessment rate per Special Benefit Point for the Improvements.

Table 9. Maximum Assessment Rate per Special Benefit Point Total Improvement Costs to
be Assessed
Total Special
Benefit Points
Maximum Assessment
Rate per Special Benefit
Point
$1,372,566.01 (1) / 44,296.80 = $30.99 (2)
(1) Equals Total Maintenance Costs calculated in Table 6 less General Benefit contribution of $305,125. (2) The maximum assessment rate per Special Benefit Point has been rounded up to two decimal places.

City of Vista Engineer’s Report – Vista Citywide LLMD No. 2025-2 Prepared by NBS – December 2024 18
maximum rates as described above for that fiscal year. If the change in CPI effective for any fiscal year is determined to be negative, the maximum assessment rate will remain unchanged from the previous fiscal year. The actual assessment rate may vary from year to year but will be no higher than the maximum rate.

6.4 Future Changes to Parcel Characteristics
Future changes to any of the parcel characteristics, namely, lot acreage and land use classification detailed in Section 5 will cause possible changes in the total assessment revenue. The assessment revenue for any given year will be the product of the District’s parcel characteristics, special benefit points and the budget in effect for such fiscal year. Development within the District that increases the overall land use classification, for example, will lead to possible increased assessment revenue, even if the assessment rate per special benefit point is not increased. By way of example, when a previously undeveloped parcel develops into a single-family residential land use classification, the parcel will no longer be assessed as an undeveloped land use, but rather as a single-family residential parcel with the updated parcel characteristics.

6.5 Data for Annual Assessment Calculations
Each year, as part of the assessment calculation procedures, the City or its designated consultant shall determine the land use classification and lot factor for each parcel based on the County Assessor's use code or other supplementary information made available and deemed reliable. The parcel characteristics shall be based on the County of Vista Assessor’s data. In the event the County Assessor’s data is deemed to be unreliable, the City or its designated consultant shall utilize other sources of data including but not limited to City records, County Assessor's parcel maps, GIS data, and online research. Assessment amounts for each parcel may change over time in accordance with changes to parcel characteristics including land use classification and lot size.

The applicable fiscal year shall be determined by the date the request for review is submitted to the City. 03/25/2025
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The credit may be provided in the form of a check issued to the property owner, an adjustment to the current year’s property tax roll (if possible), or a credit to the succeeding year’s assessment thereby reducing the amount placed on the secured property tax roll for such year.

In any dispute over parcel characteristic data used to compute assessments, the City or its designated consultant shall make a conclusive determination and its decision shall be final.

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7. Engineer’s Statement
The City of Vista Citywide Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance District No. 2025-2 District assessments described in this Report have been prepared pursuant to Article XIII D of the California Constitution. In preparing these assessments:

By:

John G. Egan
Assessment Engineer
R.C.E. 14853

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8. Assessment Diagram
The following pages contain the assessment diagram for the District.

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9. Assessment Roll
Due to the size of the file, the proposed 2025/26 assessment roll for the District is on file in the office of the City Clerk.

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10. References
Beutz v. Cnty. of Riverside, 184 Cal. App. 4th 1516, 1532 (2010).

Beyer, F. R., & Ker, K. (2009). Street lighting for prevention of road traffic injuries. Injury Prevention, 15(4), 282. https://doi.org/10.1136/ip.2009.022251
Broad Beach Geologic Hazard Abatement District v 31506 Victoria Point LLC, B304699 (81 Cal. App. 5th 1068, 1090 (2022)).

Coder, Kim D. “Identified Benefits of Community Trees and Forests.” University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service - Forest Resources Publication, October 1996.

Iris Vilnai-Yavetz & Shaked Gilboa (2010) The Effect of Servicescape Cleanliness on Customer Reactions, Services Marketing Quarterly, 10.1080/15332961003604386 Kearney, Anne R. "Residential Development Patterns and Neighborhood Satisfaction: Impacts of Density and Nearby Nature." Environment and Behavior, 38, 112-139, 2006.

Litman, Todd. “Community Livability: Helping to Create Attractive, Safe, Cohesive Communities.” Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 2010. http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm97.htm Rea, Mark S., et al. "Review of the Safety Benefits and Other Effects of Roadway Lighting." National Cooperative Highway Research Program Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, June 2009.

San Diego Association of Governments, “SANDAG’s (Not So) Brief Guide of Vehicular Traffic Generation Rates for the San Diego Region, April 2002.

San Diego Municipal Code Land Development Code “Trip Generation Manual,” Revised May 2003.

Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Association Incorporated v. Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, 44 Cal. 4th 431 (2008).

Town of Tiburon v. Bonander, 180 Cal. App. 4th 1057, 1084 (2009) Van Dillen, Sonja et. al, “Greenspace in urban neighborhoods and residents’ health: Adding quality to quantity”, 2012.

Ward, H., Shepherd, N., Robertson, S., & Thomas, M. (2005). Night-time accidents - a scoping study. UCL. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/103524/

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Vista City CouncilMarch 25, 2025

Vista City Council
March 25, 2025