The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted 5‑0 Dec. 9 to proceed with the new stormwater utility fee called SWU2, a county proposal to fund long‑term maintenance of stormwater facilities in certain new development areas.

Amitaj Sandeep, drainage division chief with the Department of Water Resources, told the board the new fee would fund operations, maintenance and low‑impact development (LID) improvements in areas annexed to the utility. "The SWU2 will initially include 13 projects which are before you today," Sandeep said, adding that the fee would be proportionate to estimated stormwater runoff and include two tiers: tier 1 for roadway/right‑of‑way facilities and tier 2 covering additional LID improvements maintained by the county.

Under SWU2, developers who elect county maintenance of publicly owned stormwater facilities would annex into the utility rather than establishing community facilities districts or homeowners associations to manage long‑term upkeep, Sandeep said. Staff also described notices mailed to property owners to meet Proposition 218 requirements and set a Jan. 27, 2026 ballot tabulation date for any eventual property owner ballots related to annexation.

One public speaker, Chris Norum of the development community, praised the proposal as a workable solution to avoid relying on HOAs for long‑term maintenance and urged the board to support the measure. With no majority protests in the hearing, the board adopted the resolution and authorized clerk actions needed to implement and notify affected owners.

What the vote does

• Confirms the board’s action to open the public hearing and, with no majority protest, adopt the attached resolution to confirm the levy of increased service charges for the identified Orange Meadow Estates subdivision projects and to proceed with SWU2 initial project list.
• Authorizes staff to proceed with ballot notification and a Jan. 27, 2026 tabulation date for property ballots in advance of annexations.

Key quote

• "The SWU2 will initially include 13 projects which are before you today," — Amitaj Sandeep, Drainage Division Chief.

What’s next

Staff will proceed with property notices required under Prop. 218 for the eligible parcels and will return with details as projects are annexed into the new utility.