City of Clovis Landscape Maintenance District No. 1 (“LMD”) was established in 1985 to play a vital role in our communities by providing for the maintenance of our City’s roadway landscape, parks, and trails. The sustainability of the LMD is critical in helping to keep our neighborhoods attractive and safe.

The services funded through the LMD provide for healthy and well-maintained neighborhood and City landscape, parks, and trail improvements. Routine landscape maintenance along City public roadways, parks, and trails such as mowing, weed abatement, trash, and debris pick-up, keep our neighborhoods properly maintained while increasing safety and plant health during years of drought. Properly maintained parks and trails improve recreational opportunities for property owners and residents.

Due to the varying degrees of public landscape and location of park and trail improvements, the City has created “Benefit Zones” within the LMD. Each Benefit Zone consists of territory which receives substantially the same degree of benefit from parks, landscape, and trail improvements.

LMD assessments are paid annually by property owners on property tax bills at the same time and in the same manner as other property taxes. If you received a notice in the mail, your property is located within the boundaries of LMD Benefit Zones 2 and 5.

Benefit Zone 2 provides funding for the maintenance of roadside and median landscaping located along major roadways and thoroughfares in your area, including segments of Armstrong Avenue, Barstow Avenue, Bullard Avenue, Fowler Avenue, Gettysburg Avenue, Shaw Avenue, and Temperance Avenue. The assessment rates for Benefit Zone 2 have not increased since 2018, which has resulted in annual landscape maintenance costs to increasingly exceed the assessment revenue.

Benefit Zone 5 provides funding for the maintenance of City parks in your area, generally located south of Herndon Avenue between Sunnyside Avenue and Locan Avenue. The assessment rates for Benefit Zone 5 have not increased since 2013 and maintenance will be greatly reduced due to lack of funding. Also, some park playground amenities and structures associated with Benefit Zone 5 have deteriorated due to use and age and need to be replaced or the amenity will be removed. In 2016 and again in 2022, the City mailed notices and ballots to property owners in Benefit Zone 5 regarding approval of an assessment increase to address the funding shortfalls. Twice, a majority of returned ballots opposed the assessment increase and the City has been forced to significantly reduce levels of service, as a result of insufficient funding. Unless an increase is approved, maintenance will be reduced even more.

The City is now asking property owners to approve increases to their Benefit Zone 2 and Benefit Zone 5 assessments to provide a high quality of service to your community while being fiscally responsible.

An increase in the annual assessment for Benefit Zone 2 is needed for the City to maintain, repair, and replace roadside and median landscaping located along major roadways and thoroughfares in your area. Without this increase in funding, the City will be forced to make cutbacks in the level of maintenance currently provided for Benefit Zone 2.

An increase in the annual assessment for Benefit Zone 5 is needed to restore service levels to properly maintain City parks. Without additional funding, further cutbacks in landscape maintenance will have to be made, in addition to postponing vital repairs and replacements. Without these repairs and replacements, certain amenities will become inaccessible and unsafe and removed from the parks.

While the cost of labor and materials have continued to increase over the years, the City has been able to limit the number of LMD assessment increases due to: (a) prudent use of available landscape maintenance funds by utilizing contract services, and (b) having reserves that accumulated in earlier years. However, the reserves have been depleted, yet the cost of materials and labor continue to rise.

All funds generated by your Benefit Zones 2 and 5 assessments are deposited into separate funds that, by law, can only be spent to maintain roadside and median landscaping located along major roadways and thoroughfares and park improvements in your area of the City respectively.

The City manages landscape contractors to maintain various types of median and roadside landscaping including but not limited to, planters, shrubs, trees and turf. The proposed assessment increase will provide the following services for Benefit Zone 2:

1. Maintenance of landscaped medians and roadside landscaping located along segments of Armstrong Avenue, Barstow Avenue, Bullard Avenue, Fowler Avenue, Gettysburg Avenue, Shaw Avenue, and Temperance Avenue.
2. Implement systematic tree pruning, and removal and replacement of some of the trees that have died.

The City maintains over 15 acres of park improvements corresponding to Benefit Zone 5.

The parks include a mix of smaller pocket parks to larger parks with a wide range of amenities. The average age of the playground structures is 17 years with the oldest being 29 years old. The proposed assessment increase will provide the following services for Benefit Zone 5:

1. Restore maintenance service levels to City standards.
2. Repair or replace park amenities that are deteriorating and have reached the end of their useful life.

Assessments are proposed on all parcels that receive a direct and special benefit from the improvements within the LMD. The amount of each proposed assessment is calculated based upon the proportional special benefit received by each parcel to be assessed. Because there are varying degrees of landscape and park improvements throughout the City, the LMD has been divided into Benefit Zones. Maintenance of the landscape and park improvements benefitting each Benefit Zone are then shared among the parcels within the respective Benefit Zone. Annual assessment rates are based upon the following:

1. All single-family residential parcels (single-family, condominium, etc.) are assessed on a per parcel basis.
2. All multi-family residential parcels (apartments, duplex, etc.) are assessed on a per residential unit basis.
3. All non-residential parcels (commercial, industrial, institutional, etc.) are assessed on a per acre basis.

The current Benefit Zone 2 maximum annual assessment is $99.94 for single-family residential homes and multi-family residential units and $399.76 per acre for non-residential parcels. The proposed Benefit Zone 2 maximum annual assessment rates are calculated below. The proposed annual assessments will be levied every fiscal year commencing with FY 2024-25, the rates are fixed, and will not be increased each subsequent fiscal year.

Single-Family Residential Parcels: $99.94/parcel + $23.06/parcel = $123.00/parcel

Multi-Family Residential Parcels: $99.94/unit + $23.06/unit = $123.00/unit

Non-Residential Parcels: $399.76/acre + $92.24/acre = $492.00/acre

If the proposed assessment increase is approved by property owners, Benefit Zone 2 would contribute an estimated $813,100 in FY 2024-25 to the approximately $6.3 million contributed by public and private property owners within all Benefit Zones of the LMD. The assessment increase shown above would be levied by the City beginning July 1, 2024 (Fiscal Year 2024-25) with the first property tax bill installment due in December of 2024.

The current Benefit Zone 5 maximum annual assessment is $50.10 for single-family residential homes and multi-family residential units and $200.40 per acre for non residential parcels. The proposed Benefit Zone 5 maximum annual assessment rates are calculated below. The proposed annual assessments will be levied every fiscal year commencing with FY 2024-25, the rates are fixed, and will not be increased each subsequent fiscal year.

Single-Family Residential Parcels: $50.10/parcel + $25.14/parcel = $75.24/parcel

Multi-Family Residential Parcels: $50.10/unit + $25.14/unit = $75.24/unit

Non-Residential Parcels: $200.40/acre + $100.56/acre = $300.96/acre

If the proposed assessment increase is approved by property owners, Benefit Zone 5 would contribute an estimated $278,400 in FY 2024-25 to the approximately $6.3 million contributed by public and private property owners within all Benefit Zones of the LMD. The assessment increase shown above would be levied by the City beginning July 1, 2024 (Fiscal Year 2024-25) with the first property tax bill installment due in December of 2024.