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Permanent Road Division

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1. I live on a private road that needs to be maintained. The neighbors don't agree on what needs to be done or how much each of us should pay; what can be done?

A group of citizens can form a Homeowners Association, a Road Maintenance Association, a County Service Area (CSA) Zone of Benefit, or a Permanent Road Division. To form a Homeowners or Road Maintenance Association, an attorney familiar with laws governing such organizations should be consulted.

To establish a Permanent Road Division or a CSA Zone of Benefit, residents should contact the Lake County Department of Public Works who can provide information on the programs, a Formation Application, and a copy of the program Policy and Procedures Guidelines.

2. What is a permanent road division?

A permanent road division is a geographic area formed pursuant to California Streets and Highways Code, Section 1160, to provide road improvements and road maintenance.

If you live on a road not maintained by the County Department of Public Works or some other agency, a petition can be submitted to form a permanent road division to provide the extended service of road improvement and maintenance. Contact the Public Works Department for more information.

3. What are the costs associated with forming a permanent road division? Are there other fees required once the division is established?

A $350 application fee is required. This deposit will be used to defray the initial costs associated with division formation. Formation charges exceeding the initial $350 deposit can be recovered from the division's first-year assessment. There may be additional costs incurred in order to meet formation requirements, such as charges by an engineer to prepare a map or legal description. These charges are paid directly to the service provider. The division must also pay a fee to the California State Board of Equalization, based on their fee schedule.

Once established, a division will be charged annually as follows:

• A negotiated fee (approximately $1 to $3 per parcel) to the Auditor for processing costs
• The cost of an insurance policy covering the Division's roads
• Administration fees which are specific to the work required in each division, fees include:
  • The cost of staff time spent administering the division is paid to the Administration Division of Public Works. Administration includes such activities as processing purchase orders, preparing bid documents and contracts, and reviewing and monitoring the budget for each division. Because this is a direct billing for time worked, this cost will vary greatly with each division and is dependent upon the number of calls and issues requiring staff involvement
  • The cost associated with the budget preparation, monthly reconciliation, and general division activities are spread to all divisions

While there is no "average" division, annual division administration fees usually range from $1,000 to $5,000 per division per year.

Any and all road work is paid from each respective division's account. Road work within a division is governed by the County's Informal Bidding Procedure Ordinance and Public Works contract law. Licensing, bonding, and compliance with prevailing wage standards are required.

4. If some people don't support the formation, can they prevent the division forming?

If a two-thirds majority of the property owners are willing to sign irrevocable offers of dedication and those controlling the easements are obtained, the formation can proceed. Noticed public hearings are held by the Board of Supervisors where protests can be heard. If the division formation is approved despite the protests of an individual parcel owner, that owner will be taxed along with all other parcel owners in the division.

5. Who sets and approves our per parcel fee?

There is one type of fee that can be levied in the permanent road division program, a special tax.

A special tax requires a two-thirds majority approval of the registered voters voting within the division boundaries. A special tax can be

• Set at a maximum and levied each year at any amount up to the maximum
• Established with an escalator
• Established with a "sunset clause"

Any proposed increase exceeding the approved maximum amount would require a two-thirds majority approval in another election.

6. Who determines what work needs to be done? Who pays for these services?

Formation of an Advisory Committee

As part of formation, the members of the division elect an Advisory Committee and identify a Key Contact to act as liaison to the County. Once appointed by the Board, members of this committee serve in an advisory capacity and, as such, are subject to the provisions of the Brown Act.

The Advisory Committee consists of an odd number of benefiting property owners, usually 3 or 5, depending upon the size of the division. Once the division is formed, the Department of Public Works will solicit volunteers or nominees to serve on the Advisory Committee. If there are an even number of names submitted, an election will be held. For the first election, one ballot will be sent to each individual landowner within the boundaries of the division. All ballots received by the County within a specified time limit will be tallied. The specified number of persons (usually 3 or 5) receiving the greatest amount of votes will serve. If there are only 3 or 5 names submitted, there will be no election and these three or five will serve on the Advisory Committee. All elections after the first election will not be set up by County staff, but, by the membership of the division with the assistance of the Advisory Committee. The bylaws will set forth the terms of office.

The Engineering Division of the Public Works will perform annual safety inspections and give recommendations for correcting any hazards that may exist and the respective costs for said recommendations.

Advisory Committee's Role

The Advisory Committee is required to meet at least four times each year. All meetings are open to the public and must be noticed accordingly. The committee develops a recommended budget, including specific projects to be completed and the amount of the tax to be charged to each property within the division. All members of the division have the right to speak and vote on these issues.

Public Works staff presents the division's proposed budgets to the Board for approval annually. Any division member may appear before the Board to speak on the proposed tax and budget. If an increase above the approved maximum special tax is proposed, it would be subject to the approval process described above.

Once approved by the Board and any required registered voter election, the tax is added to the property tax bill for each parcel. The funds are collected with the property taxes and deposited into an interest-bearing account for the use of the division. All funds are administered by the Administration Division of Public Works. Monies are not placed in the General Fund and cannot be used for other purposes.

7. How are bylaws relevant to forming a permanent road division?

Each division will have its own bylaws.

8. Who makes up the bylaws?

The Department of Public Works will send a sample set of bylaws to a member of the Advisory Committee shortly after the creation of an Advisory committee. The Advisory Committee will review the sample set, make any changes deemed necessary, and return a copy with the changes to the Department of Public Works.

A finalized set of bylaws will be made up with the recommended changes and a copy forwarded to the Advisory Committee for general membership approval. The finalized set will be brought before the Board of Supervisors for approval. Any property owner may appear before the Board of Supervisors to discuss any aspect of the recommended bylaws.

Upon Board approval, the bylaws become effective.

9. Who handles the mailings for the Advisory Committee?

All mailings will be made through the Administration Division of the Department of Public Works. All costs for the mailings will be charged directly to the division.

10. Are we required to bring our road up to any particular standards? Is there a requirement as to the level of maintenance and/or improvements we must provide?

At this time there are no standards established for division roads, although compliance with Fire Safety Regulations is recommended. The members of the division determine the level of improvements and/or maintenance for roads within their division, subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors.

11. What happens to the money collected from a division of benefit?

All monies received from the division:

• Belong to the division
• Are placed in a special account for the division
• Earn interest on the balance
• Are never County funds

12. What happens to our money if we don't use it all during the year? What if we don't have the work done that we budgeted for? Is our money lost? Can it be used by the County for other purposes?

Any funds budgeted but not used within the fiscal year are carried over into the division's account for the next year. If budgeted projects are not completed, the funds will be available for the division's use in the next year.

Division funds cannot be used for any other purpose other than work in the division and costs associated with the operation and administration of the division. An exception would be if a division were to dissolve with a balance remaining in its account. In that case, the excess funds at the time of dissolution would revert to the County General Fund.

13. Can an existing Road Association still levy charges for private road maintenance after a permanent road division is formed for road maintenance purposes?

Road Associations shall not levy assessments once the division has been formed, and the County is still assessing properties within the division.

14. What about back assessments owed to a Homeowners Association?

Back assessments collected by the Homeowners Association for road maintenance purposes are to be transferred to the affected formed permanent road division.

15. Are there any restrictions on what can be done on our road?

One requirement of formation is that offers of dedication or easements be granted to the County. Once completed, this action establishes the road as a public road covered by the conditions and stipulations of the California Vehicle Code (CVC).

Stipulations include:

• Access to the road cannot be restricted (no gates or any other barriers).
• Signage is limited to guide/directional signs (no regulatory signs, such as speed limit signs).
• No obstructions may be placed on or under the surface of the roadway which will impede the speed of the vehicles in such a way as to cause discomfort or harm to persons in a vehicle (such as speed bumps, speed dips or undulations), however, rumble strips and delineators are permitted.
• all road work must be completed by licensed, bonded contractors who comply with prevailing wage standards. All work under $100,000 is governed by the Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Procedures Ordinance and by Public Works contract law. Work projects will be put out for public bid and award made to the qualified low bidder. All work under $25,000 may be performed by County forces.
• Volunteer work is limited and requires preparation of documentation prior to the start of work.

16. If we cannot post a speed limit on our road, how can we control speeders? What is our liability if an accident should occur?

The California Vehicle Code states that travel on all public roads shall be at a prudent speed that in no way endangers property or life. The California Highway Patrol is responsible for public roads and will respond to calls on division roads.

The permanent road divisions are required to contribute to the purchase of a liability insurance policy covering all division roads.

17. Once a permanent road division is established, can it be dissolved? If so, what is the cost and what happens to any monies we have collected? Does the road revert to being a private road?

A permanent road division can be dissolved by the initiation of the Board of Supervisors or by the initiation of the property owners or residents. A petition signed by 51% of the registered voters in the division is required to initiate a dissolution.

If the formation of a division was a condition of approval on a final map, a waiver of that condition must be obtained from the Planning Department before dissolution can proceed.

Fees

A filing fee of $200 is required to initiate the dissolution process. The actual costs to the County, including any fees charged by the State Board of Equalization, will be taken from the initial payment. Any costs over $200 must be paid by the division before the dissolution will be recorded and may result in additional charges to the division.

Remaining Funds

Any funds held in a division account at the time of dissolution will be used for expenses related to the dissolution. If there are funds remaining once the dissolution is complete, they will revert to the County General Fund.

What Happens to the Road

Since irrevocable offers of dedication exist, the road will remain a public road. The County may choose to accept the road into the County Maintained Mileage System or the County may choose to vacate the road, returning it to private use. The residents may request that the Department of Public Works vacate the roads, however, the road will remain public unless and until the Board of Supervisors takes formal action to vacate the road.

18. Why were some private roads built to County standards and others were not and since we are already paying taxes for roads, why do we need to pay another tax to maintain our road?

The subdivider of your subdivision could have built the roads to a higher standard and offered the maintenance to the County. But, the subdivider chose to build the roads to a lower standard and have the property owners maintain the road(s). The charges to a permanent road division are a special tax and are not based on the value of your property.

19. Will an existing Homeowners Association be eliminated when a permanent road division for road maintenance is formed?

No, the Association would no longer levy charges for road maintenance or provide road maintenance services, so long as the division is providing that service.

20. If the design of a road is alleged or proven as casual or contributory to an accident, will this type of liability be covered by the County's self-insurance program?

No. Under a permanent road division there are no plans or intent to widen, straighten, or level the roads unless provided through an improvement district formed for such purposes.