Fees Considered for Lights, Landscaping

The Thousand Oaks City Council today will consider a proposal to create a citywide assessment district for lighting and landscaping.

But even if the council decides to form the assessment district, the city will not impose the new fees this year, according to a city report. And although city leaders can consider imposing citywide fees once a year, there are no plans to do so any time soon, city officials say.

In 1979, Thousand Oaks formed assessment districts to help pay for lighting and landscaping. The landscaping district includes about 30% of the city’s households and businesses, while 77% are in the lighting district.

But according to a citizens task force that examined the topic earlier this year, those property owners are paying for most of the lighting and landscaping in the city while others pay nothing, and a more equitable system is needed. Some of those home and business owners are now paying more than $140 a year.

Council members voted 3 to 2 earlier this year to consider a citywide assessment district. Councilwomen Jaime Zukowski and Elois Zeanah are opposed because some of the residents currently paying nothing moved into their neighborhoods with that in mind, while others do not have lighting and landscaping in their neighborhoods.

Zeanah said she believes the idea behind the citywide assessment district is eventually to impose fees on everyone.

City officials sent out about 36,500 notices informing property owners that the council was considering a citywide assessment district. They received 165 protest letters in response.