By Julie Mehta
More than a third of Saratoga homeowners pay an assessment to the city for landscaping and lighting maintenance, and this year, that payment will go down across the board.
Since 1980, the city has been charging various city subdivisions for landscaping and streetlight maintenance. The rates vary from $9.38 for the Arroyo de Saratoga landscape district to $337.48 for the Tricia Woods landscape district, depending on the work required and the number of homes in the development.
The rates ebb and flow from year to year, but the city is only required to give notice of hearings on the assessments when they go up. Some city street lighting is paid for out of the the city's regular operating budget, but the cost of residential amenities is charged as an assessment on homeowners' property tax bills.
"There are very few street lights in Saratoga. This is a community that's decided to maintain a very rural atmosphere," says Public Works Director Larry Perlin. "Saratoga is a basic-service city. We have a minimal tax base, and these types of activities go beyond basic services. They benefit small pockets of the community."
The bulk of the roughly 10,000 parcels in the city don't need landscaping and streetlighting, says Perlin, and some areas manage their own.
When Saratoga was a younger community, all areas managed this work privately through homeowners' associations, many of which later became defunct. As they did, the city took up the responsibility. This is how the assessment district, created with nine zones, grew to include 24 zones and 3,642 parcels. Some of the zones have been combined for the purposes of assessment, and the Cabernet Landscape district is to be removed from the district this year, since its residents are already managing their own landscaping needs.
Perlin says since the City Council began charging not only direct service costs but also overhead for these services a few years ago, some residents have asserted that they could do the work at a lower cost. But to detach from the district, a subdivision must demonstrate that a clear majority of its homeowners are in favor of and capable of taking over management of their particular needs, says Perlin.
Residents will have the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns at a public meeting on the assessment issue on May 15. If they wish to make a formal objection, they must submit a written protest to the city by June 5, when the City Council will hold a public hearing on the matter. Those who want to know the proposed assessment for their district or get other information can call Perlin at 867-3438.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, May 8, 1996.
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