Council Raises Park Maintenance Fees

For the second year in a row, residents will pay higher fees for the upkeep of their parks, beaches and street lights.

Under a new rate schedule approved by the City Council, the residential landscaping and lighting assessment will rise nearly $7 a year to $93. That increase, city officials said, will ensure that no recreational facilities close for lack of funding.

The levy went up $16 last year to cover the cost of maintaining two new parks and a three-mile ridgeline trail at Rancho San Clemente.

Though that was the first increase in four years, it met with opposition from some residents. When the fee went up again this year, more concerns were raised.

Roy Cedarstrom, who presented the council with a petition signed by 50 San Clemente citizens opposed to another increase, said officials are not acting in the best interests of the community.

Because of a growing number of parks and so-called “street-scape” projects, as well as loss of tax revenue, the city was actually facing a 22% increase in park maintenance fees, officials said. But council members transferred some park capital expenses to other fund accounts.

“The increase could have been twice as much if not for the $200,000 from the general fund,” said Bruce Wegner, director of the beaches, parks and recreation department.