SR 05:127 - Laserfiche WebLink

SUMMARY: A Geologic Hazard Abatement District (GHAD) is a property assessmem district that is used to pay for any landslide repairs and related geologic and storm drainage maintenance and repair work within the district. The City has formed four GHADs: Oak Tree Farm, Moller Ranch, Laurel Creek Estates (The Preserve, Oak Hill Estates and Kolb Ranch Estates) and Lemoine Ranch Estates. All are located on the west side of Foothill Road and are in areas that require annual monitoring and maintenance of geologic features. This report establishes the proposed annual assessments to be levied on properties within the districts for the upcoming tax year. Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council: BACKGROUND GItAD - Purposes and Description Geologic Hazard Abatement Districts (GHADs) are districts formed specifically to address geologic concerns. A GHAD may be formed for the purpose of prevention, mitigation, abatement or control of a geologic hazard; also for mitigation or abatement of structural hazards that are partly or wholly caused by geologic hazards. A "geologic hazard" is broadly defmed as an actual or threatened landslide, land subsidence, soil erosion, or any other natural or unnatural movement of land or earth. However, damage that is the result of an earthquake or fault movement is specifically exempted from coverage by the GHAD, in part because the assessments to include protection from land movement due to earthquake would be prohibitively high. Accordingly, residents should not consider the existence of a GHAD as a substitute for earthquake insurance. To the extent open space, including City-owned open space, is included in GHAD boundaries, the GHAD would only respond to geologic hazards in the open space that are threatening improvements benefiting the private property owners paying the assessments. Therefore, the GHAD would not respond to a landslide in the middle of an open space area that is not a threat to adjacent improvements; the natural condition would be allowed to remain in the open space area without remediation. A GHAD is a political subdivision of the State and is not an agency or instrumentality of a local agency. A GHAD may acquire, construct, operate, manage or maintain improvements on public or private lands and may exercise the power of eminent domain. A GHAD may include lands in more than one local agency (city or county) and the lands may be publicly or privately owned. The lands comprising the GHAD need not be contiguous so long as all are specifically benefited by the proposed construction to be undertaken by the GHAD. In addition, land may be annexed to an existing GHAD. SR:05:127 Page 2 0£32