Council approves levies for Franklin Square and Convention Center maintenance districts

The Santa Clara City Council voted to confirm annual assessments for two maintenance districts that fund common‑area upkeep at Franklin Square and the Convention Center complex.

Franklin Square (Parking Maintenance District No. 122): Public Works Director Craig Moback told council that the district uses a single flat base amount that property owners have historically contributed for capital repairs; the assessment mechanism is $14,200 annually offset by any interest in the property account. For FY2025–26 staff calculated the total assessment requirement at about $10,600 and advised that the city currently budgets roughly $140,000 annually for the day‑to‑day maintenance (landscaping, lighting, periodic repairs). The district’s capital account balance stood at approximately $187,056 and staff said no capital repairs were scheduled for the coming fiscal year. After the public hearing, council adopted the levy; Mayor Gilmore recused from the vote and the council approved the levy with a 6‑member vote in favor and one recusal.

Convention Center Complex (Maintenance District No. 183): Moback explained that the district covers shared grounds maintenance across the convention center, Hyatt hotel and Tech Mart. For FY2025–26 the combined assessment requirement is about $1,990,000. Staff reported the allocation among the three participants as: city share approximately $940,000; Tech Mart about $643,500; Hyatt about $409,500. Council confirmed that the three parcel owners had cast the necessary votes in favor of the assessment and adopted the resolution authorizing the levy.

Why it matters: the levies pay for common‑area maintenance such as parking‑lot cleaning and striping, fountain and landscaping upkeep, sidewalk and asphalt repairs, and event‑related parking controls. For the Franklin district the council retained the long‑standing flat assessment structure (the flat $14,200 figure has not been escalated since 2002). For the Convention Center staff and council noted that the city’s general fund historically covers the city share of these costs but staff is pursuing a paid‑parking vendor procurement and revenue model intended to reduce or eliminate the ongoing general‑fund subsidy.

Council action: both assessments were adopted after public hearings. Franklin Square assessment passed with six votes and one recusal; the Convention Center assessment passed unanimously with the required parcel‑owner votes recorded.