Council approves weed‑abatement assessments and annual levies for landscape, lighting and EMS special tax

The Santee City Council on Tuesday confirmed unpaid weed‑abatement costs as special assessments and adopted several routine annual levies for landscape maintenance, roadway lighting and the Santee‑Lakeside Emergency Medical Services Authority (SLEMSA).

Karen Malay, the city’s code compliance officer, told the council Fire Prevention Services mailed 136 courtesy notices this fiscal year as part of seasonal weed‑abatement efforts; 97 properties were owner abated, 13 required contractor abatement or administrative enforcement and four properties remained unpaid. Malay said the outstanding assessments range from $743 to $2,707, totaling $6,477; the council adopted a resolution to place those charges as special assessments on the affected parcels’ tax rolls.

The council then heard and approved the annual levies for the Santee Leighton Landscape Maintenance District and the Town Center Landscape Maintenance District without speakers. Council members approved the Santee roadway lighting district annual levy after answering a public question about why some street lights are paid through an assessment district rather than directly by developers; staff explained the assessment funds electricity, routine maintenance and future replacements and that some lights are installed by developers while maintenance is funded by the district.

For the successor‑agency collection of the former County Service Area 69 ambulance transport special tax, staff reported that the combined annual levy for parcels within the CSA‑69 reorganization boundary is estimated at $3,500,000, split between the city of Santee ($1,500,000) and the Lakeside Fire Protection District ($2,000,000) and adjusted by a 3.12% CPI increase. The council adopted the resolution to collect the SLEMSA special tax on the property tax roll; no speakers opposed the measure.

All measures were approved unanimously.

During public comment, speakers raised broader concerns about assessment districts, Proposition 218 voting requirements and perceived value for specific residents; council members and staff reiterated that districts are governed by state law and that levies are used for specified improvements and maintenance.

The condemned properties subject to the weed‑abatement assessment were listed in the staff report and were individually notified by mail and by published notice prior to the hearing, staff said. Council directed staff to proceed with assessment placement on the tax roll per the adopted resolutions.