Update: Stonegate Neighborhood Could See Parcel Tax

Update: At Tuesday's Sierra Madre City Council meeting, the council unanimously moved to go forward with creating a Community Facilities District out of the Stonegate development. A public meeting will be held in January for owners of Stonegate properties. If a large protest is not heard, the CFD will be formed and the landowners will vote whether or not to impose a parcel tax of $238 per parcel. The tax would fund maintenance and eventually replacement of the neighborhood's storm drains.

Currently, over half of the lots are owned by Stonegate's developer. Though a few properties have been sold, the developer holds the majority vote, as one vote is attached to each acre of land.

Since the developer is the one who petitioned the City to form the CFD to enforce the tax, it is likely the parcel tax will be adopted.

The Council expressed their desire to have language in the clause clearly state that the City is not responsible for any of the storm drain maintenance.

Earlier:

The will review a resolution Tuesday night that would move to create a Community Facilities District out of the Stonegate (or Carter One) neighborhood at the intersection of Carter and Baldwin Avenues. Landowners within the CFD could be asked to vote on a parcel tax that would be used to fund maintenance of their storm drains.

As part of the recent neighborhood development, new storm drains were built and existing storm drains modified. A clarifier used to reduce or eliminate certain rainwater contaminants was installed, based on County requirements. But the L.A. Department of Public Works will not fund the clarifier's maintenance.

City staff has asked that the neighborhood developer establish a permanent funding source for the clarifier. The LADPW will maintain the other parts of the drains.

As a way of funding the clarifier maintenance, the developer has petitioned the city to establish a Community Facilities District for the neighborhood. If the new CFD is formed, then the City would collect a special tax from the owner of each parcel within it, beginning in tax year 2012-13.

The tax would start at $238 per parcel but increase annually based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. For the 2012-13 tax year, it's estimated the tax will bring in $6,907.

City records show that "it is not desirable" that the tax exceed $500 per year per household.

The Council is authorized to form a CFD to fund new services within a subdivision at its discretion, according to the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982.

If the Council moves to create the CFD, and there is no majority protest as to its formation during a January public hearing, property owners within the CFD will vote on whether or not to approve the parcel tax.

Each landowner will have one vote for each acre or portion of an acre of land that they own within the district. The election will be mail-in and counted by the City Clerk. A two-thirds majority vote is required.

If the Council does not move to create the CFD, the City would have to fund the maintenance using existing revenue or find an alternate source of funding.

Records show the CFD would consist of the following 20 lots:

5 Nathaniel Terrace

7 Nathaniel Terrace

59 Carter Ave.

61 Carter Ave.

63 Carter Ave.

600 Baldwin Ct.

603 Baldwin Ct.

605 Baldwin Ct.

608 Baldwin Ct.

620 Baldwin Ct.

660 Baldwin Ct.

700 Baldwin Ct.

705 Baldwin Ct.

707 Baldwin Ct.

710 Baldwin Ct.

716 Baldwin Ct.

718 Baldwin Ct.

720 Baldwin Ct.

730 Baldwin Ct.

738 Baldwin Ct.