The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday recognized the results of an election by Landers residents that rejected an increase from $20 to $75 for the county to maintain roads in their area.
Landowners of parcels in County Service Area 70, Zone R-15 will now have to pay for their own road repairs and improvements.
Nearly 55% of stakeholders voted to reject the fee hike, with 45.1% voting in favor of it, officials reported.
The county will start the process of dissolving the area’s road district, which local property owners established between 1984 and 1999 to pay for maintenance of dirt roads that are not part of the county’s road system.
Officials said existing fee levels no longer generate enough revenue to cover the costs of road maintenance operations.
“Following dissolution, future maintenance and improvements to roads within the former district boundaries will be the responsibility of affected property owners,” according to a statement from the county.
The now former road district or zone was formed to provide road maintenance and dirt road grading services for roughly 164 miles of unpaved roads in the Landers area, according to a county staff report. Zone R-15 was formed in 1984 with an annual service charge of $20 per parcel was established, but no inflationary factor was built into the service charge and, therefore, the annual charge has remained unchanged.
“If an inflationary factor of 3% had been included, the per parcel service charge would currently be approximately $75 per year,” Public Works Department official Noel Castillo reported. “Over the past 42 years, rising inflation has steadily increased costs; however, without a corresponding increase in revenue, the Zone has experienced a reduction in the level of services provided.”
The report also noted that current funding only supports limited emergency grading following major storms.
“Without immediate action to increase the annual service charge the Zone’s long-term sustainability and solvency is threatened,” the report stated. “The increased service charge was intended to generate enough revenue to restore routine grading, storm-related cleanup, and ongoing road maintenance services to the Zone.”
The existing $20-per-parcel annual property-related service charge will remain in effect for the 2026-27 property tax roll, according to the report.
County Public Works officials first notified residents of the proposed tax increase last year and sent additional information to stakeholders in April.
