Laserfiche WebLink
LMDs Formed Prior to Proposition 218 <br /> If an assessment district was formed prior to the passage of Proposition 218, and <br /> pursuant to a petition signed by the property owners of all the parcels subject to the <br /> assessment, the district is exempt from the requirement that a majority of the property <br /> owners must vote in favor of the current assessment. The City's five existing LMDs, <br /> including the Windsor and Bonde Ranch LMDs formed in 1993, were formed pursuant <br /> to such a petition (the developer was the only property owner and signed the petition), <br /> and prior to the passage of Proposition 218. Since a vote to increase the annual <br /> assessment amounts has never taken place, the annual assessments have continued <br /> unchanged since creation. <br /> LMDs are Only Allowed if They Provide Special Benefit <br /> Assessment districts must comply with Proposition 218's requirement that only special <br /> benefits, not general benefits, may be assessed when evaluating LMDs. The definition <br /> of a special benefit is "a particular and distinct benefit over and above general benefits <br /> conferred on real property located in the district or to the public at large." General <br /> enhancement of property value does not constitute a "special benefit." To the extent an <br /> assessment provides both general benefits and special benefits, the City must separate <br /> the general benefits from the special benefits and will pay for the general benefits out of <br /> another revenue source, typically the City's General Fund. Since the passage of <br /> Proposition 218, the City has evaluated this distinction between special and general <br /> benefits and determined that maintaining the landscaping and other improvements <br /> under each district is of special benefit to the property owners in each district. After the <br /> assessments are updated to meet current maintenance requirements, assuming the <br /> majority of property owners within each district vote to affirm the new assessment, the <br /> assessment process will provide efficient and effective means to provide sustainable <br /> maintenance and eventual capital replacement. <br /> Process to Form New LMDs <br /> The process to form LMDs is defined by Proposition 218. Formation requires a majority <br /> of property owners within each district to vote in support of the new district formation <br /> which will include the new assessment amount to be levied against each property <br /> owner. Public outreach to the Windsor and Bonde Ranch LMD property owners will be <br /> of critical importance for the new districts to be successfully formed <br /> Annual Process to Levy Assessments in the Five Existing LMDs in Pleasanton <br /> The formation of the two new replacement districts will occur on a parallel track to the <br /> annual process of creating the Engineer's Report and holding the public hearings <br /> required to establish the fiscal year 2020/21 assessment amount for all five existing <br /> districts, with Windsor and Bonde Ranch being two of the existing five. If the vote is <br /> successful in Windsor and Bonde Ranch, the assessments will increase in accordance <br /> with the vote. If the vote is unsuccessful in Windsor and/or Bonde Ranch, the normal <br /> process that has occurred in parallel will govern, and fiscal year 2020/21 assessments <br /> will remain unchanged. <br /> Page 3 of 6 <br />