LAGUNA BEACH : City Sets Tax Rate for Canyon Bonds
The City Council has set the tax rate for the first payment on a $20-million bond that city voters overwhelmingly approved last year to save Laguna Canyon from development.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to set the rate at 63 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $157 for a $250,000 house.
Councilwoman Lida Lenney, who helped craft a deal with the Irvine Co. allowing the city to buy land in Laguna Canyon that had been slated for development, said Wednesday that she is pleased that the rate is close to the previously estimated 67 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
“We were just about right on the nose with those numbers,” she said. “They were slightly less than we anticipated, which made me feel pretty good.”
The tax rate required to pay off the bond over the next 20 years will fluctuate, depending upon the assessed value of all property in the city. As the overall value rises, the tax rate will drop. Generally, property values have been rising from 5% to 8% a year in Laguna Beach, Finance Director Richard Hasenohrl said.
The exact amount each property owner owes will be printed on tax bills that will be mailed to residents in October, he said.
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