Landers residents split as board advances plan to raise CSA 70 parcel charge to $75

Noel Castillo, a Special Districts presenter for San Bernardino County, told the Board of Supervisors that the annual parcel assessment for County Service Area 70 Zone R-15 — set at $20 in 1984 — no longer covers routine grading and road maintenance for roughly 164 miles of dirt roads in the Landers area. Castillo said routine grading has been suspended because the fixed fee “no longer covers the cost of maintaining the dirt roads” and proposed updating the annual charge to $75 with an annual inflation adjustment of up to 3% to restore sustainable maintenance.

During a public hearing, residents offered sharply different perspectives. Jennifer Cusack, general manager of Bighorn Desert View Water Agency, said her agency’s board passed a resolution supporting the increase, arguing that suspended grading threatens emergency access and public infrastructure: “Without your support, this service will no longer be viable and is currently already paused,” she said. Mike Lipsitz, president of the Landers Homestead Valley Community Association, also supported the increase and urged the board to give property owners a vote by ballot, noting the community’s desire for the “freedom to vote on this road maintenance proposal.”

Opponents called out parts of the zone that they say receive no service. Ray Pesa urged removal of three sections from Zone R-15 because, he said, property owners there have not received road maintenance since 2007 and instead maintain the roads themselves. Mike Hawkins of Yucca Valley objected to placing the proposal on the ballot and to what he described as district grading that damaged historic road surfaces.

Castillo summarized the Proposition 218 procedure: if a majority protest is received the adjustment cannot proceed and the zone will be dissolved; if no majority protest is received the board may authorize a mail-ballot election (earliest possible date shown as July 3, 2026), with an independent provider to conduct the election and a majority-yes required for the new rate to take effect.

Board members discussed inflation and outreach. One supervisor noted that inflation since 1984 totals roughly 220%, and that a $75 charge is still below that cumulative inflation figure. Staff confirmed that 17 emailed letters of support were received and distributed to supervisors even though they did not appear in the printed background materials. The board approved the staff recommendations and closed the hearing; staff will proceed according to the Proposition 218 process and pursue a ballot if appropriate.

The next procedural step is for staff to finalize the mail-ballot schedule and post the final protest procedures; if a majority protest is filed the increase will not proceed and maintenance responsibility may shift to property owners.