Santa Barbara County Municipal Code § 28-91 Authority

The purpose of this article is to establish a procedure for making and collecting assessments in all highway lighting districts in the unincorporated territory of the County of Santa Barbara, subject to approval by the voters at an election, or elections to be held.

(Ord. No. 3146)

The authority for this article and for the elections for approval or disapproval of assessments in highway lighting districts is section 19181 through section 19184, both inclusive, of the Streets and Highways Code, as amended.

(Ord. No. 3146)

(a) The board of supervisors shall establish the amount of the annual assessment to be collected each year by estimating the cost of providing highway lighting in each highway lighting district furnishing such services and deducting therefrom the amount of estimated funds available from sources other than such assessments to provide such highway lighting services. The total amount of the annual assessment shall be apportioned among all of the parcels of real property within each highway lighting district furnishing highway lighting. The written reports to be filed shall establish a benefit factor to be assigned to each parcel of real property on the basis of its category of use. The total number of benefit factors in each such highway lighting district shall be divided into the total of the annual assessment to determine the basic benefit unit cost for each such highway lighting district. The benefit factor for each such parcel of real property shall be multiplied by the basic benefit unit cost to determine the amount to be collected from each such parcel.

(Ord. No. 3146)

(b) Whenever the board of supervisors intends to levy assessments for highway lighting purposes in any highway real property within each highway lighting district on the basis of the estimated benefit to the said parcel in accordance with the confirmed assessment.

(Ord. No. 3146)

(c) At the hearing, the board of supervisors shall hear and consider all protests. At the conclusion of the hearing the board of supervisors may adopt, revise, change, reduce or modify any assessment and shall make its determination upon each assessment described in the report and thereafter, by resolution, shall confirm the assessments; provided, however, that the board of supervisors shall not impose an assessment upon a federal or state governmental agency or another local agency.

(Ord. No. 3146; Ord. No. 3396, § 1)

The board of supervisors shall place before the voters of each highway lighting district in the unincorporated territory of the County of Santa Barbara by election or elections the question whether a district shall be authorized to levy assessments. If the majority of those voting approve of such authority, then, assessments may thereafter be made for ensuing years upon the basis of confirmed reports for each highway lighting district concerned. If the majority of those voting disapprove of such authority, no assessments shall be made within any such district where such authority has been so disapproved for the fiscal year 1980-81 and no subsequent ordinance levying assessments for any succeeding fiscal year shall be adopted by the board of supervisors without the prior approval of the voters of the district or county-wide election or by a ballot mailed to each property owner or registered voters of the district as provided in section 19180.2 of the Streets and Highways Code, as amended.

(Ord. No. 3146)

This article VI of chapter 28 of the Santa Barbara County Code shall take effect and be in force thirty days after its adoption on March 3, 1980, and its subsequent publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the County of Santa Barbara.

(Ord. No. 3146)