Residents Get Ballots on Landscape Districts

As a result of the passage of Proposition 218 last November, residents have a chance to vote on whether to continue paying into landscape maintenance districts that care for some common planted areas.

Ballots went out last month to about 60% of the city’s property owners who pay into the districts annually. They have until July 2 to vote on the future of four landscape districts.

Bill Millar, city landscape district manager, said that if the districts are dissolved, the city will lose as much as $3.5 million in fees and the upkeep of the landscaping will fall to individual or commercial property owners.

These districts were established by Los Angeles County to ensure that designated common areas in developments and commercial areas would be maintained. When the area incorporated in 1991, the responsibility for the landscaping upkeep fell to the city.

“It’s now our job to make sure that plant material is healthy, irrigation is working and the utilities it uses [are] paid for,” Millar said. “The county saw landscape districts as a secure, long-lasting revenue to maintain these.”

About 4,500 owners should have received ballots: 2,700 in District 22, in the eastern portion of Calabasas, south of the Ventura Freeway; 1,200 in District 24, in the Lost Hills area; 600 in District 27, along Las Virgenes Road; and 22 in District 32, in the mostly commercial area of Agoura Road.

Property owners annually pay from $3,000 for a large home to $100 for a condominium, Millar said.

To be retained, the districts require the support of a majority of returned ballots. If they are approved, the city will continue to collect the assessment without another vote, unless it asks for an increase.

Bill Millar, city landscape district manager, said that if the districts are dissolved, the city will lose as much as $3.5 million in fees.