CLEANUP—Tree maintenance is one of the items covered by the city’s lighting and landscape fees. Acorn file photo
Camarillo homeowners will have an opportunity next month to comment on proposed maintenance fee increases for five of the nine zones in the city’s lighting and landscape maintenance districts.
The council considers the fees for the nine zones each year based on an engineer report.
The fees are intended to cover the city’s costs to maintain each zone—removing weeds, trimming trees, cleaning up trash, fixing streetlights and maintaining sidewalks, among other tasks—and ensure each zone has enough money in reserve for larger maintenance issues.
The fees for zone 3 could more than double.
“As much as I share the concern over costs, I’m not quite sure what more the city can do,” Councilmember Tony Trembley said during the April 13 City Council meeting.
For the 2022-23 fiscal year, fees for four of the zones will remain the same while fees for five of the zones have proposed maximum increases.
At most, zone 3 will increase from $69.24 to $140; zone 4 from $345 to $375; zone 5 from $70 to $90; zone 8 from $91 to $120; and zone 9 from $263.36 to $275.
Known as Armitos Basins, zone 3 includes 27 single-family properties on Armitos Drive above Upland Road that equally share maintenance costs for two stormwater detention basins.
The fees for zone 3 have remained the same since it was created in 1989 and are no longer high enough to meet maintenance costs.
Because zone 3 does not have annual inflation increases like the other zones, the city is required to conduct a property owner ballot procedure to increase the fees.
Zone 3 homeowners have received their ballots in preparation for the June 8 public hearing.
If the majority of homeowners from zone 3 do not oppose the increases, the new fees will be adopted. If the majority of homeowners oppose the increases, their fees will remain the same and roughly $800 will need to be taken from the general fund next fiscal year. If the new fees are adopted, staff said, there will likely be no additional increases for several years.
The public hearing will take place at 7 p.m. Wed., June 8 in the City Council Chambers at 601 Carmen Drive.
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