Monrovia council orders engineer’s report, sets Prop. 218 balloting for citywide lighting, landscaping and parks district

The Monrovia City Council on Sept. 16 approved actions to begin formation of a combined citywide lighting, landscaping and parks maintenance assessment district and to proceed with the Proposition 218 public-notice and balloting process.

What the council approved: Staff asked the council to approve an engineer’s report, declare the city’s intention to form the assessment district, authorize mailing notices and ballots, set a public hearing for Nov. 18, and adopt ballot procedures and administrative‑remedy rules. Council approved the recommended motions and directed staff to proceed with the outreach and balloting plan.

Why the change: City staff and NBS (the city’s engineering consultant) told council that two legacy assessment districts—the Parks Maintenance District (PMD) and the Lighting and Landscaping Maintenance District (LLMD)—no longer generate sufficient revenue because assessments have not kept pace with rising costs. The proposed combined district would be citywide, phase rates in over five years to reduce immediate impacts, and include an annual CPI escalation cap of 4% thereafter. The city pays for the district’s calculated general benefit; property owners pay only their special‑benefit share.

Key numbers and phase-in effects: Staff reported that residential parcels with fewer than five units make up about 82% of parcels. For that class, many parcels currently pay about $71 annually; staff estimated an average of about $140 in the first phase year (FY 2026‑27) under the proposed structure — an average increase of roughly $57 for that first year — with larger increases by the fifth year for some parcels (staff showed a maximum increase of up to about $300 by fiscal year 2030‑31 for the most affected parcel types). Staff emphasized these are engineer‑calculated maximum rates and that annual engineer reports can lower rates if costs fall.

Ballot and timeline: Staff will mail parcel‑specific fact sheets and a ballot to property owners on Sept. 26. The written objection deadline as part of administrative remedies is Nov. 10. The public hearing and ballot tally are scheduled for Nov. 18 (ballots must be submitted by the hearing’s close); the clerk’s office will tabulate weighted ballots (ballots are weighted by proposed assessment amount) with results declared in late November/early December. If the ballot proceeds pass, the new district replaces the existing districts; if not, existing districts remain unchanged.

Vote: Council adopted the resolutions to proceed; the roll‑call vote recorded unanimous approval.

Ending: Staff said outreach will include a dedicated web page with an interactive map that allows property owners to look up their parcel and see current and proposed assessments, inserts in utility bills, and publicly available engineer’s reports. The council authorized the city manager to cast ballots on behalf of city‑owned parcels.