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Commission supports East Zion district effort to clarify boundaries and include currently unassessed properties
Summary
East Zion Special Service District leaders told the commission some homes and parcels within the district perimeter are not currently assessed; commissioners expressed support for mapping, legal review and possible annexation to ensure equitable assessments and dispatch clarity.
East Zion Special Service District officials asked the Kane County Commission on March 11 for help clarifying district boundaries and bringing unassessed parcels within the district into the assessment roll.
Steve Schmidt, chair of the special service district, and Chief Brad Freeman described a patchwork of 'islands' within the district perimeter where some property owners do not pay assessments yet receive fire protection. Chief Freeman said the district regularly responds to fires on those properties and that the current arrangement creates fairness and dispatching questions for local responders and insurers.
County Attorney Rob Van Dyke advised the district to review the district's legal description and work with the recorder and treasurer to determine whether properties were omitted from the legal description (requiring boundary changes) or simply not being billed. He said if properties are excluded from the legal description an annexation process would be required; if the legal description already includes them, county offices can help certify and bill those parcels.
District officials said they charge an assessment equal to 0.2% (two-tenths of 1 percent) of property value on all parcels in the district, including undeveloped lots. Commissioners expressed verbal support for cleaning up boundaries and for working with the district, the county treasurer and GIS staff to resolve omissions; no formal annexation vote or ordinance was taken at the meeting.
