Could all this be turning brown?
Before the June 8 primary election this week, there was another important vote that may ultimately have a bigger impact on La Verne than who residents think will make the best Governor, U.S. Senator or 59th District assembly person.
On Monday, June 7, the City of La Verne tallied the ballots of homeowners from Rancho La Verne (an area roughly from Baseline at Via Ranch La Verne north to Birdie Drive and from Wheeler Avenue east to Orangewood) to learn whether or not they supported a fee increase of $72.15 to maintain their Landscape Maintenance District 4-1 Zone’s green spaces.
Of the 538 ballots distributed by the city, 297 were marked and returned by mail or person to the City Clerk by the deadline, Monday, June 7. Of those 297 marked and returned ballots, five were disqualified (inadequate verification, non-corresponding parcel numbers, etc.), leaving 292 valid ballots.
Of those 292 valid ballots, 152 opposed the proposed increase from $141.85 per year to $214 a year. A total of 140 property owners supported it.
Before the vote, the City had stated in a letter to all residents within the zone that “if a majority of the property owners vote against the increase, the City of La Verne will be forced to make cuts. This means there will be less landscape maintenance, watering, and most turf (grass) will be removed and replaced.”
In the wake of the thumbs-down vote, City staff will make recommendations on exactly what those cuts will look like and present them in the form of a resolution at the upcoming city council meeting on June 21, 2010.
As news of the results began spreading through the Rancho La Verne assessment district, property owners had various reactions, mirroring the closeness of the election, with just 12 votes separating the two sides. Of those LaVerneOnline interviewed, only one chose to give his name. One who responded, but not for attribution, said he didn’t know how his neighbors felt, so he chose anonymity as the better part of discretion. Others simply chose to make no comment.
By voting the assessment fee increase, residents may have to get used to less landscape maintenance, and most common grass areas could be removed or replaced.
Peeking out from her door, one homeowner who didn’t support the increase said, “The city should be able to cover it (the shortfall). It’s just ridiculous. To cut the grass and water the lawn, how much more should that cost?”
When LaVerneOnline mentioned that rates had not been raised in almost 25 years, she replied, “That’s just a sales job (by the city).”
At a nearby house in the assessment district, homeowners also didn’t support the increase.
“Everybody has to take a hit,” said the man who answered the door. “I work for government. We’re taking budget cuts, just like everybody else. I’ve had to forgo pay increases. I’ve had to forgo some other job actions in the better interest of city government, and we’re seeing that throughout California and the nation. Everybody has to take the hit, so if we have to take the hit on our scenery, then that’s what we got to do. If we have to go to more drought-tolerant plants, or something like that, then that’s what we need to do.”
At that point, his wife came to the door
“I know for sure that two of my neighbors go out there (to a common green area) and do watering and plant flowers on their own and out of their own pocket. They’re carrying five-gallon buckets out there to keep the area green.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, conceding that she likes the current condition of her neighborhood district. “I wish it could continue that way, but we have to look at other ways of making this work.”
Another neighbor, Faryl Fletcher, thought it was ironic that so many homeowners in the district watered their lawns daily, but were now, by opposing the increase, voting to turn common green areas brown or to have them be replaced altogether.
“I don’t know why they wouldn’t vote for it (the fee increase) because they’re wasting water every day,” said Fletcher, who voted for the hike. “Do we want our whole city’s landscape to turn brown? I don’t think they anticipate what it’s going to look like.”
Another woman on the same street supported Fletcher. “I think it’s important to keep up the community,” she said. “It increases and maintains the value of the homes. Once it (the common area) goes brown, people will start complaining and they’ll be at the city council meeting, asking what they’re going to do about it.”
Some other homeowners simply weren’t aware of the debate or the vote. Told that people in his district had just voted down a proposed increase to maintain the common green areas in his neighborhood,” he said, “That’s too bad.”
When he asked how much the proposed increase was and learned it was $72.15 a year,” he added, “”I think it’s foolish that people turned it down.”
Several people simply declined to comment.
The last property owner La Verne Online interviewed supported the increase. “I’ll give you my name; no, let’s go anonymous. I don’t know how my neighbors feel,” he said.
“We voted in favor of it,” he continued. “I just felt it would keep our property values enhanced. We were sort of thinking of putting our house on the market and moving back east, so I wanted to keep our house valued at the highest possible price.
“One of the great appeals of this area is all of our green space,” he added. “That’s what brought me out to this area in the first place. I was willing to part with a little extra money — not that I can afford it or that anyone else can — but I didn’t want to see it go brown. I didn’t know if that (cutting services, including water) was a threat by the city or if it was a reality. So, I took the higher ground.
“Let’s face it, they haven’t’ raised rates since 1986.”
As for the service and what he thinks he’s getting for his money, he said, “I see them (work crews) out here all the time. They come out every Tuesday. They start not too early in the morning, but I see them working their mowers from the top all the way down to the bottom, and it’s usually not until mid-afternoon when they are basically pretty much done. And there’s always four or five guys edging, mowing, blowing. I’ve even seen them do tree work, trimming the trees.”
As a result of the vote, however, there may be less edging, mowing and blowing or even grass to cut in the future.
The first glimpse of what Rancho La Verne’s future could look like will be shared on June 21. If you live in the neighborhood, you might want to drop by City Hall at 6:30 p.m. for a closer look.
Reported June 11, 2010