2007 California Government Code Article 3.1. Habitat Maintenance Assessment Districts

CA Codes (gov:50060-50070)

50060.  As used in this article:
   (a) "District" means a habitat maintenance assessment district
formed pursuant to this article.
   (b) "Improvement" means one or any combination of the following:
   (1) The acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of any
facilities needed to create, restore, enhance, or maintain natural
habitat.
   (2) The installation or construction of any facilities which are
appurtenant to any facilities in paragraph (1) or which are necessary
or convenient for the maintenance or servicing thereof, including,
but not limited to, grading, clearing, removal of debris, the
installation or construction of curbs, gutters, walls, sidewalks, or
paving, or water, irrigation, drainage, or electrical facilities.
   (3) The installation of habitat improvements, including, but not
limited to, any of the following:
   (A) Land preparation, such as grading, leveling, cutting and
filling, sod, landscaping, irrigation systems, sidewalks, and
drainage.
   (B) The maintenance or servicing, or both, of any of the
foregoing.
   (4) The acquisition of land for habitat maintenance purposes.
   (5) The acquisition of any existing improvement otherwise
authorized pursuant to this article.
   (c) "Incidental expenses" include all of the following:
   (1) The costs of preparation of the report, including plans,
specifications, estimates, diagrams, and assessment.
   (2) The costs of printing, advertising, and the giving of
published, posted, and mailed notices.
   (3) Compensation payable to the county for collection of
assessments.
   (4) Compensation of any engineer, scientist, or attorney employed
to render services in proceedings pursuant to this article.  The
compensation shall not exceed the estimated amount required to
provide the service.
   (5) Any other expenses incidental to the construction,
installation, or maintenance and servicing of the improvements.
   (6) Any expenses incidental to the issuance of bonds or notes
pursuant to Section 50068.
   (7) The costs of biological monitoring and evaluation of collected
data related to the establishment or operation of natural habitat.
   (8) The direct costs incurred by the Department of Fish and Game
in approving long-term natural habitat maintenance plans pursuant to
Section 2901 of the Fish and Game Code.
   (d) "Legislative body" means the city council, board of
supervisors, or any other governing body of a local agency.
   (e) "Local agency" means any city, county, or city and county,
whether general law or chartered.
   (f) "Maintain" or "maintenance" means the furnishing of services
and materials for the ordinary and usual maintenance, operation, and
servicing of any improvement, including, but not limited to, all of
the following:
   (1) Repair, removal, or replacement of all or any part of any
improvement.
   (2) Providing for the life, growth, health, and beauty of habitat,
including cultivation, irrigation, trimming, spraying, fertilizing,
or treating for disease or injury.
   (3) The removal of trimmings, rubbish, debris, and other solid
waste.
   (4) The operation and management of natural habitat, including
biological monitoring and evaluation of collected data.
   (5) The conduct of biological activities necessary to sustain the
species being protected.


50060.5.  (a) A local agency may, by ordinance or by resolution
adopted after notice and hearing, establish a district to provide for
the improvement or maintenance of natural habitat.  The local agency
may perform those functions or contract with the state, another
local agency, or a special district to perform those functions.  If a
local agency establishes a district, it may provide for the levy of
assessments for not more than 30 years to pay the cost and incidental
expenses of implementing a long-term natural habitat maintenance
plan approved by the Department of Fish and Game pursuant to Section
2901 of the Fish and Game Code.  Any assessments levied pursuant to
this section shall be levied only in accordance with a plan for the
conservation of natural habitat approved by the Department of Fish
and Game.  No plan shall be approved by the Department of Fish and
Game unless it contains provisions for the recovery of all costs
incurred by the department in its review of the plan for the
conservation of natural habitat.
   (b) The legislative body of the local agency establishing a
district shall serve as the legislative body of the district.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,
assessments levied pursuant to this article shall not be reduced or
terminated if doing so would interfere with the implementation of an
approved plan for the conservation of natural habitat.
   (d) This article applies only to the implementation of a long-term
natural habitat maintenance plan by a district, and does not alter,
limit, or otherwise affect any other district that has been, or may
be, established pursuant to law, including, but not limited to, any
other district relating to wildlife habitat.
   (e) The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act
of 2000, Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 5, does
not apply to a district formed pursuant to this article.




50061.  (a) The ordinance or resolution shall establish uniform
assessment rates based on the costs of providing the maintenance or
improvement by the district.  The assessment shall be related to the
benefits to the property assessed.  The maximum amount that may be
assessed for habitat maintenance on any lot or parcel for purposes of
paying costs incurred in 1994 for long-term maintenance of natural
habitat pursuant to this article shall not exceed twenty-five dollars
().  For subsequent years, the maximum amount that may be
assessed for this purpose shall not exceed twenty-five dollars ()
increased by the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price
Index between December 1993 and December of the year prior to the
year of the assessment.  The total amount assessed shall not exceed
the anticipated actual costs of the authorized maintenance of natural
habitat.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), land that is devoted
primarily to agricultural, timber, or livestock uses and that is
being used for the commercial production of agricultural, timber, or
livestock products may be subject to an assessment by a district for
the acquisition, construction, or operation and maintenance of
natural habitat pursuant to this article only if the legislative body
makes both of the following determinations:
   (1) The agricultural, timber, or livestock land will be specially
benefited by the natural habitat.  The determination shall identify
the nature of the benefit to the land.
   (2) Agricultural, timber, or livestock uses or practices will be
eliminated in a manner that will adversely affect the habitat area or
the flora or fauna that the natural habitat is intended to protect,
or the owner of the land has agreed to the assessment.  No land is
subject to an assessment until its agricultural, timber, or livestock
use is eliminated or until the owner consents to the assessment,
whichever occurs first.
   (c) Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 3100) of the Streets and
Highways Code applies to proceedings in which the legislative body
determines to issue bonds or notes pursuant to Section 50068, or to
finance a long-term natural habitat maintenance program in a
district, and may be applied to any other proceedings pursuant to
this article at the discretion of the legislative body.




50061.5.  (a) The legislative body of the local agency shall cause
to be prepared and filed with the clerk of the local agency a written
report which shall contain all of the following:
   (1) Plans and specifications for the improvements.
   (2) An estimate of the costs of the improvements.
   (3) A diagram of the district and a description of each lot or
parcel of property proposed to be subject to the assessment.
   (4) The amount of the assessment for each lot or parcel for the
initial fiscal year and the maximum amount of the assessment that may
be levied for each lot or parcel during any fiscal year thereafter.

   (5) The duration of the assessment.
   (6) The basis of the assessment.
   (7) The schedule of the assessment.
   (8) A description specifying the requirements for the protest and
hearing procedures referred to in Section 50063 necessary for
imposing the proposed assessment.
   (b) If the report proposes the levy of an assessment for more than
one year to pay debt service on bonds or notes, or to pay for the
maintenance of natural habitat, the report shall also contain both of
the following:
   (1) If bonds or notes will be issued pursuant to Section 50068, an
estimate of their principal amount.
   (2) A general description of the habitat maintenance program and a
statement of the maximum costs of the maintenance program for each
year of its expected duration.



50062.  (a) The assessment shall refer to the fiscal year to which
it applies and shall do all of the following:
   (1) State the net amount, determined in accordance with Section
50061, to be assessed upon assessable lands within the district,
which shall include an amount sufficient to pay the principal and
interest due during the fiscal year from each parcel on any bonds or
notes issued pursuant to Section 50068, and shall also include the
amount needed to pay for the long-term natural habitat maintenance
program of a district.
   (2) Describe each assessable lot or parcel of land within the
district.
   (3) Assess the net amount upon all assessable lots or parcels of
land within the district by apportioning that amount among the
several lots or parcels in proportion to the estimated benefits to be
received by each lot or parcel from the improvements.
   (b) The assessment may refer to the county assessment roll for a
description of the lots or parcels, in which case that roll shall
govern for all details concerning the description of the lots or
parcels.


50062.5.  If a district established pursuant to this article levies
an assessment under this article to maintain or improve natural
habitat, any lot or parcel is presumed to specifically benefit from
the natural habitat if one or all of the following occur:
   (a) The past or proposed development or use of that lot or parcel
has adversely affected or will adversely affect the habitat area or
the flora and fauna which the natural habitat is intended to protect,
and the extent to which a parcel benefits from the natural habitat
shall be based on the degree to which the past or proposed use of the
parcel has adversely affected or will adversely affect the habitat
area or the flora or fauna that the natural habitat is intended to
protect.
   (b) The lot or parcel otherwise benefits from the maintenance or
improvement of the habitat area or the flora or fauna that the
natural habitat is intended to protect.



50063.  After approval of the report, either as filed or as
modified, the legislative body shall adopt a resolution of intention.
  The resolution shall do all of the following:
   (a) Declare the intention of the legislative body to order the
formation of a district, to levy and collect assessments, and, if
desired, to issue bonds or notes, to provide for the long-term
maintenance of natural habitat pursuant to this article.
   (b) Generally describe the improvements.
   (c) Refer to the proposed district by its distinctive designation
and indicate the general location of the district.
   (d) Refer to the report on file with the clerk of the local agency
for a full and detailed description of the improvements, the
boundaries of the district, any bonds or notes to be issued, any
provisions for the long-term maintenance of natural habitat, and the
proposed assessments upon assessable lots and parcels of land within
the district.
   (e) Give notice of, and fix a time and place for, a hearing by the
legislative body on, among other things, the question of the
formation of the district and the levy of the proposed assessment.
The notice, protest, and hearing procedures shall comply with Section
53753.



50063.5.  (a) The legislative body may establish zones or areas of
benefit within the district and shall restrict the imposition of
assessments to areas lying within those zones or areas of benefit.
   (b) The benefit assessment shall be levied on a parcel basis
within the boundaries of the district.
   (c) The assessment may be levied against any parcel that benefits
from habitat maintenance services that may be made available whether
or not the service is actually used.



50064.  The clerk of the local agency shall cause notice of the
filing of the report prepared pursuant to Section 50061.5, and of a
time, date, and place of hearing pursuant to Section 50063.



50066.  If the local agency is a city, it shall pay the county for
costs, if any, incurred by the county in conducting the election.  An
election called by a legislative body pursuant to this article is
subject to all provisions of the Elections Code applicable to
elections called by the local agency.  The local agency may recover
the costs of the election and any other costs of preparing and
levying the assessment from the proceeds of the assessment.



50067.  (a) If no majority protest exists pursuant to Section 53753,
the legislative body may adopt a resolution ordering the
improvements and the formation of the district and confirming the
diagram and assessment, either as originally proposed by the
legislative body or as changed by it.  Except as provided in
subdivision (b) or (c), the adoption of the resolution shall
constitute the levy of an assessment for the fiscal year referred to
in the assessment.
   (b) If bonds or notes are to be issued pursuant to Section 50068,
the adoption of the resolution shall constitute the levy of an
assessment for a principal amount which may be collected in annual
installments.  The clerk shall record a notice and map describing the
assessment pursuant to Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 3100)
of the Streets and Highways Code.
   (c) If the district will finance a long-term natural habitat
maintenance program, the adoption of the resolution constitutes the
levy of a series of annual assessments for each of several years to
pay the costs of maintaining natural habitat pursuant to Section
50060.5.  The clerk shall record a notice and map describing the
assessments pursuant to Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 3100)
of the Streets and Highways Code.


50067.5.  The legislative body may provide for the collection of the
assessment in the same manner, and subject to the same penalties as,
other fees, charges, and taxes fixed and collected by, or on behalf
of the local agency.  If the assessments are collected by a county on
behalf of a city, the county may deduct its reasonable costs
incurred for that service before remittal of the balance to the city.




50068.  (a) The legislative body may, by resolution, determine and
declare that bonds shall be issued to finance the estimated cost of
the proposed improvements described in Section 50060.5, other than
the costs of maintenance and servicing, under either the Improvement
Act of 1911 (Division 7 (commencing with Section 5000), S.& H.C.) or
the Improvement Bond Act of 1915 (Division 10 (commencing with
Section 8500), S.& H.C.).  Either Part 5 (commencing with Section
6400) of Division 7 or Division 10 (commencing with Section 8500) of
the Streets and Highways Code, as the case may be, shall govern all
proceedings relating to the issuance of those bonds.  The pertinent
provisions of that division which apply to the legislative body of a
city shall also apply to the legislative body of a district formed
pursuant to this article.  Alternatively, the legislative body may
determine and declare that notes shall be issued for the same
purposes for which bonds may be issued.  The maximum term to maturity
of any notes issued shall not exceed 10 years.
   (b) The resolution shall generally describe the proposed
improvements specified in Section 50060.5, set forth the estimated
cost thereof, specify the number of annual installments and the
fiscal years during which they are to be collected, and fix or
determine the maximum amount of each annual installment necessary to
retire the bonds or notes.  The amount of debt service to retire the
bonds shall not exceed the amount of revenue estimated to be raised
from assessments over 30 years.  The amount of debt service to retire
the notes shall not exceed the amount of revenue to be raised from
the assessments over 10 years.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,
assessments levied to pay the principal of, and interest on, any bond
or note issued pursuant to this section, shall not be reduced or
terminated if doing so would interfere with the timely retirement of
the debt.


50068.5.  The legislative body shall provide by resolution each year
for the levy and collection of annual assessments to pay for the
long-term maintenance of natural habitat pursuant to this article in
the amounts previously authorized.  The resolution shall include a
diagram and assessment against each lot or parcel subject to
assessment for those purposes.  If the assessments are to be
increased above the amount levied for the previous year, notice,
protest, and hearing procedures shall comply with Section 53753.  The
levy and collection of assessments for those purposes may be
coordinated with the levy and collection of assessments pursuant to
any other provision of law in any manner that the legislative body
determines to be necessary or convenient.



50069.  Any resolution providing for the levy of assessments for
payment of debt service on bond debt or notes, or for the long-term
maintenance of natural habitat, or any hearings upon the formation of
a district, or upon the levy of annual assessments after formation
of a district shall be concluded and any resolution confirming a
diagram and an assessment shall be adopted not later than either of
the following dates:
   (a) July 1 of the fiscal year during which the assessments are to
be collected on the county assessment roll.
   (b) A later date, not beyond the third Monday in August, that the
county auditor authorizes.


50069.5.  (a) Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 860) of Title 10 of
Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure applies to any judicial action
or proceeding to validate, attack, review, set aside, void, or annul
an ordinance or resolution levying an assessment or modifying or
amending an existing ordinance or resolution.
   (b) If an ordinance or resolution provides for an automatic
adjustment in an assessment, and the automatic adjustment results in
an increase in the amount of an assessment, any action or proceeding
to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the increase shall be
commenced within 90 days of the effective date of the increase.
   (c) Any appeal from a final judgment in the action or proceeding
brought pursuant to this section shall be filed within 30 days after
entry of the judgment.



50070.  This article does not limit or prohibit the levy or
collection of any other fee, charge, assessment, or tax for habitat
maintenance authorized by any other provision of law.