City Council OKs Homeowner Fee

Homeowners in the Adolfo Glen subdivision on Rancho Calleguas Drive in Camarillo will soon have to pay a $177.57 fee as part of a newly created landscape maintenance district.

The City Council approved the fee 5 to 0 at its Tuesday meeting. The fee will pay for the maintenance of trees, shrubs and plants.

The creation of a district and associated fees drew complaints from a handful of residents who contend that the housing developer never revealed those charges.

Before the assessment was levied, ballots were mailed to 107 homes, 22 of which the developer still owns. Sixty-four ballots were returned, including the developer’s and eight other residents supporting the measure. Thirty people objected.

Before the motion was passed by the City Council, resident Greg Turnor said the fees were not fair and that he had picked his home specifically because there were no assessments attached.

“I’ve been there almost a year and now I’m getting hit with this,” he said. “It’s minor in some people’s eyes, but I feel that once the door is open, I’ll have no control over what fees I pay later.”

A second resident, Delfin Fronteras, asked why a vote was happening now when so many homes were still vacant.

Mayor Bill Liebmann said the council was faced with either spreading the fees among the city’s residents, which he said was not fair, or passing the cost on to Adolfo Glen homeowners.