MEETING INFORMATION

All parcels of land that will benefit from the road improvements will be assessed a tax by the county on the annual tax bill. All parcels will be affected, even parcels with no homes or improvements on them. Empty parcels will pay the same amount as parcels with homes. Government-owned parcels, county water parcels, and BLM land will not be taxed. A 2.5-acre parcel will be assessed at the same cost as a 5-acre parcel. 

Before a single penny is spent, we must first figure out if there is a majority of folks who want to proceed. The county will not get involved unless a majority of people think it is a good idea. We then need to decide the boundaries of the road improvement district. The more included parcels, the less expensive it becomes for all of us. Once the boundaries are set, the county will give a “rough draft and cost” of what it could look like. Depending on cost, we would have to decide how many times a year the roads are graded. The residents make that choice based on cost. For example, six times a year will cost more than two times a year. Blacktop costs more than grading, etc..... If we have a majority of people who want to pursue this, we will need to raise a deposit for the county of $2,500. Upon receipt of that deposit, the county special districts department will figure out the final prices and present us with multiple options. At that point, we need to choose an option and pay an additional $2500 for the mail-in ballot election to all parcel owners. If the election is successful, the $5000 is refundable. If we are not successful, the county will not return the money. They use it to pay for all the time they spend doing research etc. Final costs should be less than $20 per month per parcel. The more parcels, the lower the cost for each one.

NOTE: The hard boundaries of the proposed special district/roads to be maintained by the County have not yet been determined.

The current boundary roads under consideration are on the north side of Hwy 62 from Bella Vista to Northstar and Big Morongo Canyon to North Star (pavement only); these are the north and south running boundary roads under consideration. Panorama, Cheyenne, and Northridge are the oundary roads that run east and west.

We began this process by holding community meetings to gauge community support to repair the roads in our neighborhood. We formed a board and non-profit organization to facilitate gathering funds transparently through the community, and the County, and to seek grant funding for fixing and maintaining the roads. Over the past few months, we were able to raise $2,500 in community donations to start the process of forming a special district with the County to maintain our roads. Dawn Rowe's office generously donated an additional $2,500 for this project. The County has received $2,500 to start the process to assess the financial viability of maintaining the roads, review potential boundaries for the roads that may be maintained, and form the special district. As part of the County's assessment process, County representatives have already visited our community and driven the roads to review their condition. We are waiting for the County to provide us with their report together with the proposed cost. San Bernardino County special districts will share the report at a date to be determined.