HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1973/07/17 Item 33 July 17, 1973
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Scaff Commentary on Agenda Ztem No.
CHGLA VISTA CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF July 17 , 1973
Item Title : ORDINANCE - Amending Sec. 35 . 217 of City Code, Relating to
Requirements and Contents of Resolution of Intention for Formation of an
Open Space District in Respect to Assessment of Properties for Acquisition,
Development and Maintenance of said District
Initiated by:
City Attorney/Director of Public Works
Attached is a copy of Resolution � ] Ordir.ance [ 7 �_c;reemant � ] Plat [ ]
Backgrnund:
At the meeting of Tuesday, July 10 , 1973 , the City Attorney submitted
an amendment to Section 35 . 217 of the Chula Vista City Code relating
to the method of assessing property for acquisition, development and
maintenance of open space districts by unanimous consent. At that time ,
because of the complexity of the problem, the City Council requested
that the matter be held over one week and that further information be
provided.
Attached hereto are copies of inemoranda from the Director of Public
Works and his Senior Civil Engineer explaining the problems relative to
the utilization of a straight annual assessment, based upon a rate applied
to each $100 of assessed valuation of taxable land and improvements with-
in the district. �
First of all , it is evident that one element which was not discussed
at the Council meeting was the gross inequity that results in attempting
to spread an assessment on the usual and standard basis which the prop-
erty tax is spread in the type of district which is proposed for estab-
lishment in the E1 Rancho del Rey project. As pointed out in the memo
from the Director of Public Works , the use of the standard assessment
processes would result in payment 53 times greater than that for the
undeveloped property. Basing the assessment strictly upon land valuation,
as proposed by Councilman Hyde, would, on the contrary, result in the
payment of a substantially higher proportion of cost by the undeveloped
properties which receive a much lesser benefit. Further, if we attempt
to make the assessment based upon the potential number of developable
units within the district, the vacant property would still pay one-half
the assessment and would not receive commensurate benefits . This latter
method is the one that has been adopted by the City of San Diego and
would place an equal burden upon both the undeveloped and developed
properties.
�
The change in language proposed in the enabling ordinance would allow
for the establishment of a method of spreading the assessment on any
of the above methods, as well as the method proposed by the Director of
Public Works which involves , as noted at the Council meeting, a spread-
ing of a fixed assessment on each individual dwelling unit and the
(Continued)
See EXHIBITS [ ] No.
Financial
Stacement : n/a
Commission-Board
Recommendation : n/a
Department Head
Recommendation : Adoption.
City Manager
Recommendation: Concur
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agenda item 15
Supplemental Page 2
application of that same dollar assessment to each acre of undeveloped
or vacant property, thus equating an acre of undeveloped vacant property
with an existing dwelling unit. The spread of the assessment on the
unit cost basis, using this latter method, would result in the opinion
of staff in the greatest equity to all parties and would, in fact, be
the simpler means of establishing costs.
As noted in Mr. Goldkamp' s memo, utilization of the unit cost basis
as opposed to the assessed valuation basis is not unusual and has been
resorted to in many other type of service arrangements which are not
truly susceptible to spreading assessment upon a fixed rate of $100
per assessed valuation. This type of assessment used in the property
tax field is generally an equitable arrangement only when it is based
upon a city-wide or district-wide benefit where there is no attempt
to relate benefits to properties that are in the immediate area of the
improvement being developed and maintained. For example: the property
taxes for any $50, 000 home or $20 ,000 home, regardless of its location
within the City and proximity to public facilities , would be the same .
Unquestionably, there is a variable in assessments based upon the avail-
ability of open spaces and park lands in closer proximity, but generally
speaking, it matters very little whether properties are located near
or far from such facilities as fire stations or schools and, in any case,
the tax rate applied to the assessed valuation does not vary.
On the other hand, when speaking of an open space district, we are
talking about the.maintenance of open spaces which should be equally
beneficial to all of the properties within the district based upon
questions of proximity and no substantial argument can be made that
the benefit is greater or lesser for homes based upon the variable
of assessed valuation. Unquestionably, the ability to pay is generally
considered to vary based upon the assessed valuation.
In response to Council direction and based upon the memoranda submitted
by the Department of Public Works , it is recommended that the amend-
ment be adopted which will enable Council to go forward with the resolu-
tion following this item on the agenda setting a public hearing for the
formation of the Chula Vista Open Space District No. 1, although the
matter of the spread of the assessment is not fundamental to said
public hearing, it will of course be the crucial item being considered
by those who may wish to raise some opposition to its formation.
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