HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-10-05 - AGENDA REPORTS - OPEN SPACE STRATEGY (2)CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO: D and Members of the City Council
FROM: Ze aravalh ity M ager
DATE: October 5, 1999
SUBJECT: OPEN SPACE ACQUISITION AND MAINTENANCE STRATEGY
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Staff recommends that the City Council review and discuss the attached staff report and
list of open space acquisition/maintenance strategies. After a review and discussion of the
materials presented, staff will be requesting that the Council provide more specific
direction with regard to the potential establishment of an acceptable open space acquisition
and maintenance strategy.
Int§JX*% i18WK
Recently, the City Council has expressed an interest in developing strategies to maintain,
preserve, and acquire open space throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. In expressing such
an interest, the City Council requested that staff begin researching methods and techniques
to obtain this goal. This memo provides an update on staffs most recent research efforts,
and is intended to assist the Council in providing further direction to staff.
ELEMENTS OF AN OPEN SPACE STRATEGY
Planning to determine what is open space within our community is an essential step in the
process of developing an overall open space strategy. The first step in forming an overall
strategy is to develop a mission statement for the open space program that clearly
communicates the program's goals and objectives. The process should include development
of criteria and a grading system to both review desirable lands and determine appropriate
acquisition strategies for such desirable properties.
The second step in forming an open space acquisition strategy is to establish criteria that
will be used to determine whether a property should be acquired for open space. These
criteria should follow naturally from the program's mission statement. The environmental
values of the site, public access to the parcel, possible environmental hazards, legal/liability
issues, maintenance costs, and consistency with the program mission and goals should all
be included. Open space should be evaluated according to City -established criteria and
goals for open space to determine whether public funds should be spent for their acquisition
and/or long term maintenance.
Agenda Item:
Third, the City must create an inventory of the existing open space resources within the
Santa Clarita Valley. This is a very important element to consider when developing an
open space strategy. A general inventory of such resources is already existing within the
Open Space and Conservation Element of the City's General Plan, although a more
thorough, detailed assessment of the open space could be completed. This inventory should
include, at minimum, the habitat and resource values of each parcel, parcel size, zoning and
permitted density, significant ecological area status, and ridgeline information. Further,
this inventory should be mapped, so that the contiguous nature of desirable parcels can be
evaluated.
The fourth and final step in developing an open space strategy is to develop and determine
appropriate acquisition and maintenance strategies. An attachment is included for your
reference outlining a number of different acquisition and operational strategies along with
the advantages and disadvantages for each strategy listed. It is not anticipated that any
single strategy by itself will provide the maximum benefit for open space preservation and
acquisition. Staff feels that a coordinated effort using different strategies, in different
situations, will provide the Santa Clarita Valley the best opportunity to preserve and
protect its natural resources.
PROPOSITION 218 AND OPEN SPACE ASSESSMENT DISTRICT STRATEGIES
One of the open space acquisition strategies listed in the attached table discusses the
formation of assessment districts in order to fund the acquisition and/or maintenance and
preservation of open space. However, staff feels it necessary to expand upon how
Proposition 218 may affect the feasibility of this strategy.
On November 5, 1996, the California electorate approved Proposition 218, the "Right to
Vote on Taxes Act" (herein referred to as "Prop 218"). Prop 218 prohibits a local
government from imposing, extending, or increasing any general tax unless and until such
a tax is submitted to the electorate for a vote. A majority vote is necessary to impose,
extend, or increase any general tax. Furthermore, the election on a general tax must be
consolidated with a regularly scheduled general election for members of the governing body
of the local government, such as the upcoming election of City councilmembers in April of
the year 2000.
Prop 218 defines assessments differently from a tax, however. "Assessments" are defined
as any levy or charge upon real property for a "special benefit" conferred upon the property.
Assessment districts are also formed through majority vote of property owners, however
this group is narrowed to the owners whose property receives a "special benefit" from the
assessment district, as opposed to the general electorate. Assessment districts are often
formed as financing mechanisms, such as the Landscape Maintenance Assessment districts
formed in order to fund the maintenance of landscaped areas along public roadways. It is
important to note that assessment district formation is most easily achieved for new
developments, as a single property owner is a "captive audience" when considering a
majority vote. To elaborate, the agreement to form specific assessment districts is often
required of a developer as a condition of approval for subdivision maps: if the developer
does not agree to form the district, the project may not be approved.
When considering the formation of a Citywide assessment district for the preservation,
maintenance and/or acquisition of open space, two main constraints come to mind. First,
can the City prove that there is a special benefit for all properties paying into the district?
And second, can a majority vote for such an assessment district be obtained? For example,
if the City were to levy a fee for every residential property throughout Santa Clarita in
order to fund an open space district, one could easily argue that a property owner on the
west side of town receives no benefit from an open space parcel located on the east side of
town. This leaves the City open to litigation regarding the issue of proving "special benefit"
for assessment districts, and recent litigation has shown that the burden of proof for
demonstrating "special benefit" rests on the shoulders of the local jurisdiction. Also to be
considered is whether or not the preservation of open space is a priority among the voters in
the community. A City of Santa Clarita Voter Survey was conducted in December of 1998
showing that only 52% of the respondents stated they were willing to pay a special annual
tax exclusive for the preservation and maintenance of open space throughout Santa Clarita.
Forming an assessment district including all residential properties throughout the City
would be a cumbersome task. Such a district would require:
• Identification of specific parcels or portions of parcels to be maintained, preserved
and/or acquired throughout the City.
• Establishment of the total cost for maintenance/preservation/acquisition.
• The creation of an engineer's report establishing a Citywide parcel by parcel fee.
• Funding and staff resources for a public outreach campaign.
• An election requiring majority vote for district approval (elections cost approximately
$150,000.00 to run).
Establishing costs for open space maintenance, preservation and/or acquisition would be
difficult, as future costs would be dependent upon the willingness of the landowner to sell,
donate property, establish conservation easements, and so forth. Furthermore, landowners
could change over time, market forces drive the costs of land, acquisition dates would be
unknown, and outright donations of lands are rare. Formation of a Citywide open space
assessment district would be costly, time consuming, and would be considered by staff to be
a risky venture with the current narrow margin of community support.
INDIVIDUAL PROJECT ASSESSMENT DISTRICT FORMATION
The most feasible option for establishing open space assessment districts is to accomplish
the formation of such districts on a project by project basis. By doing so, the City would be
able to start maintaining open space parcels throughout the City, and would be establishing
a funding mechanism for such maintenance not reliant upon general fund monies. Further,
establishing assessment districts for newly developing parcels that are under single
ownership can be accomplished through imposing conditions of approval on a project. As
mentioned above, a single owner is 100% of a majority vote, thus eliminating the possibility
of denying district formation.
In this instance, developers should also be required to donate open space lands to the City,
and be required to form the assessment district as part of project approval. The donation of
open space parcels, as acceptable to the Open Space Agency, does create a liability, but the
disadvantage to non -City ownership is that the developer retains the right to restrict public
access to his/her private property. It is anticipated that developers will want to donate
such open space properties to the City: their development options on the property are being
limited, liability issues remain the burden of the landholder, and the developer would be
ultimately responsible for the open space lands long after their project is developed. Keep
in mind also that an outright donation allows for permanent protection without direct
public expenditure, and that the donation serves as a tax benefit to the developer (the fair
market value of the property is considered a charitable contribution). Establishing
assessment districts for newly developing parcels would help build up the City's bank of
open space lands while employing other options for open space acquisition.
I hope you find this information useful. If you have any questions, please feel free to
contact Jennifer Adamick, Associate Planner, at extension 4339. Thank you.
s:\pbs\advance\openspce\ccssmem.doc
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