Flood Control - Santa Cruz LAFCO

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Santa Cruz LAFCO: Countywide Service Review Flood Protection and Stormwater Services committed to pay for debt service on large capital costs to raise the height of the levee and increase capacity. For a single family residence, the citywide fee is $21.24 per acre per year and $87.86 if in the floodplain. The average rates for commercial/industrial properties with the most impervious surface area are $261.08 per acre for the citywide fee and $1,079.50 per acre in the floodplain. The fees are billed on the property tax statements issued by the Santa Cruz County Tax Collector. The City of Scotts Valley charges a development impact fee for existing and future facilities on residential, commercial and industrial projects. The fees are based on the square footage of new impervious surface and the drainage area. Rates range from $0.08 to $0.17 per square foot. Rates are reviewed annually and increased by the construction cost index as determined by the Engineering News Record. The City of Watsonville also charges a development impact fee for drainage services, ranging from $4,200 to $17,494 per gross acre. The Santa Cruz County Flood Control & Water Conservation District charges impact fees for new construction in Zones 5 Mid-County, 6 Aptos, 7A Pajaro Valley and 8 San Lorenzo Valley. The current fee is set at $0.85 per square foot of new impervious surface, payable at the time of permit issuance. In addition, parcels within Zone 7A Pajaro Valley are assessed annually at the following rates: Zone 7A – Pajaro Valley Assessments 2004-2005 Charge per Unit/Acre Residential $57.02 Agricultural $7.90 Commercial $380.12 Unimproved $0.79 Schools and Churches $95.03 Assessments rates may be increased annually based on the CPI with a cap of 4%. The Pajaro Storm Drain Maintenance District does not charge fees for services and is funded solely through its share of the 1% property tax. The rates for CSA 57 – Graham Hill were established when the District was formed. The current annual per parcel charge for drainage is $420. Rates are reviewed annually by the County Board of Supervisors. The rate was not increased for FY 2004-2005. June 2005 – Public Review Draft Section 5 - 17
Santa Cruz LAFCO: Countywide Service Review Flood Protection and Stormwater Services 5.8 Government Structure Options Each of the cities is providing drainage and flood protection services within their incorporated areas. The Santa Cruz County Flood Control & Water Conservation District is providing flood protection and drainage services within the benefit zones. CSA 57 is providing enhanced drainage services to the Graham Hill area. One government structure option for Zones 5, 6 and 8 would be to create independent drainage districts. This would need to be evaluated from a cost/benefit perspective as there are economies of scale and efficiencies from operating as part of the County’s structure, including shared resources, staff and equipment. This option would likely result in increased costs without a significant increase in benefit. The governing board of Zone 7, Pajaro Valley, has discussed forming a JPA with the County of Monterey or the City of Watsonville regarding shared maintenance. Forming a new entity to assume responsibility might be beneficial; however there are impediments to this as there are inequities between the assessments levied in the two counties adjacent to the Pajaro River. There are also significant legal issues and risk since the levee expansion project is still years away from the completion. In December 2004 the County established Zone 7A Pajaro Valley, for flood control. The boundaries of the new district are coterminous with the boundaries of the Pajaro Storm Drain Maintenance District. In March 2005 the Board of Supervisors approved a development impact fee of $0.85 per square foot, increasing to $1.00 per square foot in 2008, which is expected to generate approximately $340,000 annually for drainage and flood control projects in that area. Given this recent change, there may be a benefit from reorganizing the Maintenance District with the new Zone. Potential benefits include reduced administrative costs and simplified service areas. Some of the area lies within three jurisdictions: the Pajaro Storm Drain Maintenance District, Zone 7 and Zone 7A. The full costs of reorganization would need to be evaluated to determine whether a change would be beneficial. 5.9 Local Accountability and Governance Drainage, stormwater management, and flood protection services are addressed by each of the City Councils and the County Board of Supervisors during their regular meetings. Each has procedures in place to ensure that public notice and governance standards are met. Zone 7 is governed by a seven-member board that includes the Board of Supervisors as well as representatives from the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency and the City of Watsonville. Meetings are held quarterly generally on the third Tuesday of the month in January, March, June and September. The meeting time and location varies; public notice is provided through posting and mass mailing. Zone 7 has its own website – www.pajaroriver.com – which is used to disseminate public information. The County and the Cities of Capitola, Santa Cruz and Watsonville provide information about stormwater management services on their websites. June 2005 – Public Review Draft Section 5 - 18
Page 1 and 2: Santa Cruz LAFCO: Countywide Servic
Page 13 and 14: Sources: Finances Santa Cruz LAFCO:
Page 17: Santa Cruz LAFCO: Countywide Servic
Page 31 and 32: City of Scotts Valley Public Works
Page 33: CSA 57 - Graham Hill Contact: Tom B

Flood Control - Santa Cruz LAFCO

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?