COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

PUBLIC WORKS

DATE:

April 26, 2004

BOARD MEETING DATE:

May 11, 2004

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Neil R. Cullen, Director of Public Works

SUBJECT:

Approval of Funds to Finance an Election, Pursuant to the Provisions of the State Constitution, in Order to Levy Assessments and to Form a Maintenance District to Maintain Street Trees on the Alameda de las Pulgas, Generally between Ashton Avenue and Harkins Avenue - West Menlo Park Area

Recommendation

1.

Determine if your Board wishes to advance the funds to finance an election to determine if property owners are willing to be assessed to pay for the maintenance of street trees that can be planted on the Alameda de las Pulgas as described above; and

2.

If your Board determines to advance the funds to finance an election as described above, then adopt a resolution authorizing a transfer of $17,000 from the General Fund Departmental Reserves to Engineering Services to finance the proposed election, and the subsequent creation of a maintenance district to administer the financing and maintenance of the trees that can be planted along this section of the Alameda de las Pulgas (4/5ths vote required).

Previous Board Action

Adopted a resolution which authorized the construction of streetscape improvements for the above-described section of the Alameda de las Pulgas. The resolution provided that "street trees will only be planted as part of the project if the property owners in the surrounding area approve of a method of assessment (assessment/maintenance district) to finance the continuous maintenance to sustain the trees to be installed including replacement trees as may be necessary. London Plane trees (Yarwood Sycamore) shall be used if trees are planted as part of the project."

Key Facts

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The streetscape project on the Alameda de las Pulgas has been completed which included provisions for planting street trees.

*

Members of the Alameda Streetscape Task Force (Task Force), through Supervisor Gordon's office, have:

a)

stated that there is sufficient support to form an assessment district and a maintenance district over a portion of the surrounding unincorporated area to finance the maintenance of street trees as may be planted along this section of the Alameda de las Pulgas; and

b)

requested that the funds necessary to finance the required election and formation of the maintenance district be advanced by the County and then repaid over a five-year period from the proceeds of the assessment district.

*

There is no guarantee that the County will be reimbursed the funds so advanced if more than 50% of the property owners voting in the required election do not approve of being assessed.

Discussion

County Counsel has advised us that the Improvement Act of 1911 (the "Improvement Act") permits a county board of supervisors to order public streets to be improved by the "planting of trees, shrubs or other ornamental vegetation." Similarly, under the Improvement Act, a board of supervisors may declare its intention to assess the expense of maintaining an improvement authorized under the Improvement Act upon benefited property within the district. The funds assessed under the Improvement Act can either be paid when the property is assessed or can become a lien on the property and be collected over a period of time in the same manner that taxes for county purposes are levied and collected.

County Counsel has also advised us that the provisions of the State Constitution that were enacted to meet the mandates of Proposition 218 that was approved by the voters, require the approval of the majority of the property owners, who own property that is proposed to be assessed and who vote in an election that is required to be held, before assessments can be levied on said properties.

Initial Work to be Done

The work to be done, if your Board approves the advancement of funds as described in the Recommendation Section of this report, will be to:

a)

confirm the boundary of the area proposed to be assessed and identify the parcels within the area;

b)

confirm the method of assessment to be used and calculate the assessment for each parcel;

c)

prepare the required engineer's report; and

d)

prepare a form of notice to each property owner and a form of ballot that can be used by each owner to indicate if they approve or disapprove of the assessment.

The area to be assessed as proposed by the Task Force is shown on the attached map. The method of assessment as envisioned would be on a per parcel basis with the commercial properties on the Alameda de las Pulgas and within the area where trees are proposed to be planted paying for approximately 5% of the costs and all other parcels in the assessment district area paying for 95% of the costs. The cost of placing the charge on the tax bill that is charged by the Controller - approximately $0.30 per parcel per year - would also be included in the assessment amount.

Subsequent Steps

We would then return to your Board with recommendations to:

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send out the ballots and to notify the property owners of a time and date when your Board will consider any arguments against the proposed assessments and initiate the tabulation of the ballots, as ballots cannot be opened until the public hearing is opened;

*

declare your intention to assess the expenses of maintaining the trees on the properties within the proposed assessment district if the majority of those voting in the election are in favor of the assessment; and

*

concurrently set a time and date for a public hearing to consider the formation of the assessment district and the formation of a maintenance district to finance the maintenance of the trees proposed to be planted on this section of the Alameda de las Pulgas. The date of the public hearing has to be at least 45 days after the mailing of the notice of the public hearings and notice of assessments.

The tabulation of ballots cannot not begin until the public hearing is open. Therefore, the public hearing would have to be opened and continued to a subsequent meeting to allow time for the tabulation of the ballots. The decision on levying assessments and forming the districts would also have to be postponed until the subsequent Board meeting.

Vision Alignment

We believe our recommendation is consistent with the Shared Commitment to be a responsive, effective and collaborative government," and Goal Number 20, "government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than on temporary relief or immediate gain" as your decision to advance funds to finance the proposed assessment process relies on the resolve of the property owners to approve the assessments in order to improve the overall appearance of the business district, which is seen as a focal point for the surrounding neighborhoods.

Fiscal Impact

We estimate that the overall cost of complying with the procedures as required by the various State laws, and the maintenance of the trees for the first year prior to fees being levied on the tax role, is $17,000. The initial costs - approximately $8,000 to $10,000 - would be expended prior to the ballots being tabulated and would not be reimbursed if the required election is not successful. This cost could increase if there is opposition to the formation of the district or if considerable staff time has to be spent in preparing responses to questions regarding the proposed assessments and the formation of the districts. We also recommend that any advanced funds be paid back with interest within five years if the election is successful.

There is an initial impact to the General Fund if your Board determines to advance the funds, and a long-term negative impact if the election as proposed is not successful.

The cost of purchasing and installing the trees is estimated at $20,000.00 and your Board previously determined that this would be paid by the County. We are recommending that 1/2 Cent Transportation Funds be used to pay these costs.

A form of resolution has been approved by County Counsel.