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Hillcrest residents of the Castaic area were presented information on a landscaping plan this week, as the county gets closer to finalizing a plan to address concerns.
Hillcrest residents of the Castaic area were presented information on a landscaping plan back in August, as the county once again gets closer to finalizing a plan to address concerns.

Hillcrest Residents Talk Landscaping Options For Castaic Neighborhoods

Hillcrest residents of the Castaic area were presented information on a landscaping plan this week, as the county gets closer to finalizing a plan to address concerns.


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Los Angeles County Department of Public Works engineers and officials met with residents to talk about the future of their Landscape Maintenance District.

While the cost of maintenance has increased over the years, residents have rejected two previous efforts by Los Angeles County to put landscaping fees in line with the price of that maintenance, according to Department of Public Works officials. Voters rejected a proposed increased assessment in both 2007 and 2014.

“The meeting (Tuesday) night was to give an update,” said Lani Alfonso, supervisor of a team who manages dozens of Landscape Maintenance Districts throughout Los Angeles County.

Based on an average of the contracts that were bid for the work, county officials estimate the cost of service would rise to about $585, which is now at $240 per year. (The $240 per year rate was set when the LMZ was initially created back in 1990, and has not risen since due to two prior rejections of a fee increase by residents. The last rejection has resulted in a drastic reduction of service to the area, which prompted alarm from residents and the recent meetings.)

Residents in favor of the assessment increase — which the county has said is necessary if there’s going to be any increase in the landscaping efforts for that area — noted that a no vote would decrease property values, affect home insurance rates and make it difficult for residents to sell their home.

At the previous meeting, some felt that since fewer than 200 parcels have an easement of the approximately 900 parcels in Zone 37, only those with an easement would be the ones who would see the greatest benefit.

While an earlier proposal from county officials was not necessarily well received, Tuesday’s meeting offered more information about a plan that had taken into consideration the feedback county officials heard back in March. “We revised the proposal in terms of increasing the assessment and (Tuesday) night’s meeting as really to present (a general outline ) of what that proposal would look like,” Alfonso said.

The county is planning to put a ballot to voters in the coming months, with two basic options discussed: Hillcrest residents can either agree to pay an adjusted fee that would accurately reflect the increase in landscaping the area, or they can turn down a fee increase, which would essentially dissolve the landscape maintenance district.

A date for the vote has not yet been set, according to county officials, who are still deciding on the best option for the contract.

“We certainly understand that if there’s a no vote,” Alfonso said, “there would need to be more discussion about how this would play out for residents.”

From a previous story: County Working On Options For Hillcrest Parkway Landscape In Castaic

County officials indicated two additional items at the meeting: the plan, either way, expects to wrap up by the end of the year; and county officials plan to have at least one more meeting once the ballots are out to voters to address any concerns from area residents and make sure they are able to make informed decisions.

“I think that the presentation was very clear,” said Ingrid Riederer, a Hillcrest resident who’s also help maintain Keep Hillcrest Green, a Facebook group supporting an effort to increase the fees so they can receive increased services, “and answered a lot of question that people had about what would be involved.”

 


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Hillcrest Residents Talk Landscaping Options For Castaic Neighborhoods

2 comments

  1. Perry, really??? You were at the meeting. The county officials, Julian and Amish were very clear about the ramifications of a “NO” vote. You dis not these include details in your article. If the LMD is detached here’s what will fall to residents: All irrigation will cease, the piping for sprinklers will be cut from the irrigation valves. Homeowners will need to replace the PCV piping at their own expense as the county piping is one inch wide. Residential water sources are not able to handle piping this width. Residents will be responsible for paying for the water, tree trimming, pruning all brush in their easement, weeding, rodent control, clearing drainage ditches not the least of which is fire department requirements for brush clearance.
    Many residents have contacted realators and insurance agents regarding the possible increased cost to the residents in the event of a no vote.
    Insurance companies may choose not to offer coverage in this district as they will have no guarantee as to irrigation and brush clearance if left up to individual homeowners. Many agents quoted a 22 percent increase in cost due to inconsistent clearance and irrigation in the easements and Hillcrest Parkway. Property values will decrease accordingly, it will be difficult to sell our homes if potential buyers are having to consider 4,000.00 – 7,000.00 maintenance per year, increased homeowners insurance and serious lack of curb appeal.

  2. I appreciate your article and wanted to make the following comments.

    The meeting at CMS on 08/15/17 was very informative. All LMD Zone 37 homeowners who attended the meeting and had questions were given time to ask questions. Both Julian Garcia and Anish Saraiya from the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works addressed each question asked. They also explained that several bids were received from interested contractors by late afternoon on 08/15/17, which was the due date for the bids to be turned in, and that those bids would be reviewed so that a contractor could be chosen and accurate costs for the contracted work could be determined. After the contractor has been chosen and actual costs determined, Julian Garcia said that an outline of contracted work and costs will be prepared and will be presented to the homeowners in LMD Zone 37 for review/input/feedback BEFORE the upcoming ballot is finalized and mailed out to homeowners for a final vote. I am looking forward to that next “review” meeting. I, along with a large number of the homeowners in this area, really appreciate the extensive amount of time and effort that Julian Garcia and Anish Saraiya have been dedicating to this issue so that LMD Zone 37 homeowners have the opportunity to become well-informed BEFORE the vote takes place later this year.

    Also, similar to many other neighborhoods throughout the entire Santa Clarita Valley (some with and some without active HOAs), the green spaces in LMD Zone 37 were set aside by the original developers of the Hillcrest neighborhoods, as per the conditions and restrictions that are recorded on each parcel, as a benefit to all parcels in the neighborhood and, as such, all parcels in the LMD Zone share equally in the maintenance of the recorded green space easements. Homeowners can/should review their title policies for verification. While not every one of the 900+ properties in LMD Zone 37 has a recorded green space easement, the specific green space easements that were planned/recorded by the developer do provide benefit to our neighborhoods as a whole. Again, this is typical throughout the entire Santa Clarita Valley as well as in many other areas in Southern California and beyond.

    Additionally, Julian Garcia noted that a “YES” vote will amend some existing contract errors/oversights: the 2 schools that are located in LMD Zone 37, along with the Marigold community on the North side of Hillcrest Parkway, will all begin contributing funds toward the maintenance costs of LMD Zone 37.

    My husband and I are planning to vote “YES”. I hope that a majority of homeowners in our neighborhood will also approve of the new LMD Zone 37 maintenance contract with a “YES” vote as well.

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.