SANTA LUCIA COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
ONLINE COMMUNITY Q&A: 2026 ROADS CFD ELECTION
SHAW S. PICK
GENERAL MANAGER
Commonly Asked Questions
Why is the District considering a Roads Community Facilities District?
The District maintains approximately 43 miles of paved roads that serve residents, emergency responders, service providers, and visitors throughout the Preserve. Like all infrastructure, pavement deteriorates over time. The Board is evaluating whether a dedicated funding source should be established to preserve and rehabilitate the roadway network over the long term.
The proposed Community Facilities District (CFD) would provide a dedicated funding source for roadway paving, rehabilitation, and related roadway maintenance if approved by the voters.
Why is this proposal being considered now?
Engineering reports the District commissioned in 2023 and updated in 2025 indicate that growing portions (currently approximately 30% of our roads) of the roadway system are reaching an age where more extensive rehabilitation will be needed. In general, pavement management practices recognize that performing maintenance before pavement reaches advanced stages of deterioration is less costly than reconstructing roads after they have significantly failed.
The Board is considering whether establishing a long-term funding source now may help preserve the roadway system before more extensive repairs become necessary.
Who will pay the special tax if the measure is approved?
If approved, the special tax would be levied on the properties within the Community Facilities District (SLCSD) in accordance with the Rate and Method of Apportionment contained in the District’s Apportionment Methodology and Board Resolutions.
The amount paid by each property will depend on the adopted tax formula. The proposed methodology will be available for public review before the election.
Why do only registered voters vote on this measure instead of all property owners?
California law determines who votes in a Mello-Roos election.
Under the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act:
· If a proposed Community Facilities District has 12 or more registered voters, the election must be conducted as a registered-voter election.
· If the proposed district has fewer than 12 registered voters, the election is conducted as a landowner election, with voting based on acreage ownership.
Because the proposed Roads CFD includes more than 12 registered voters, California law requires the election to be conducted among the registered voters residing within the proposed district.
The District does not have the legal authority to choose a different voting method.
It is important to remember that unlike a Proposition 218 Parcel Election, this Mello-Roos Election allows each individual registered to vote in Monterey County to cast a ballot (e.g. if there are multiple registered voters in a household, each voter can cast a ballot).
I own property in the Preserve, but I am not registered to vote there. Why can’t I vote?
Many Preserve property owners maintain their primary residence elsewhere and therefore are registered to vote in another jurisdiction.
California election law bases eligibility for this type of Mello-Roos election on voter registration within the proposed Community Facilities District—not on property ownership.
If the measure is approved, all properties subject to the adopted Rate and Method of Apportionment would pay the special tax, regardless of where the owner resides.
This voting structure is established by state law rather than by the District.
How do I know the money cannot be used for something else?
If approved, revenues generated by the special tax may only be used for the purposes authorized by the ballot measure, the Community Facilities District proceedings, and applicable California law.
The annual District budgets will identify the authorized uses of the revenues.
The Board may not redirect the funds to unrelated District programs.
What happens if the measure is not approved?
If the measure is not approved by the required two-thirds vote, the Community Facilities District will not be formed and the special tax will not be levied.
The District would continue maintaining the roadway system using available revenues and would evaluate other funding alternatives that may be available under California law. The Board has not identified a replacement funding mechanism at this time.
With the current paving budget, the focus would shift to addressing the worst road segments, which would result in other road segments to continue deteriorating and future costs to address these road segments would be up to 40 times the cost of maintaining them now.
How can I learn more before voting?
The District is committed to providing objective and transparent information throughout the process.
Residents and property owners are encouraged to:
· Attend public meetings and Community Town Halls.
· Review the Pavement Management Study Report on the CSD website.
· Read the proposed Rate and Method of Apportionment.
· Ask questions of District staff and consultants.
· Visit the District’s website for updated information and meeting materials.
The District’s goal is to ensure that every voter and property owner has access to the information necessary to make an informed decision.
Preserve Resident Questions
How are Residents vs. Non-Residents Being Assessed for Use of Preserve Roads?
Non-property owners will be assessed, primarily, through the setting of the Golf and Ranch Club parcel rates. Aside from private resident guests, the vast majority of non-resident guest access is through the clubs. The District captured non-property owner road use by analyzing 2 years of usage data provided by the clubs for non-resident members and guests. The Fee Allocation Committee of the District Board took this data and developed a methodology which allocated a portion of the residential parcel rate to each club based on their respective non-resident roads usage. These amounts were added to the club's assessable parcels and deducted from the residential parcel rate. The key to this methodology is that it was based on actual property access and club usage data spanning the 2024-2025 time period.
Will absentee owners pay the same tax as residents?
The special tax is levied on property, not on residency. If a parcel is subject to the special tax under the adopted Rate and Method of Apportionment, the tax will apply regardless of whether the owner lives in the Preserve full-time, part-time, or resides elsewhere. Residency affects who is eligible to vote, while property ownership determines which parcels are subject to the tax, as established in the CFD formation documents.
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I belong to the clubs and own property. How will this impact my club dues?
The CSD board established a Fee Allocation Committee to equitably allocate the paving costs across different parcel types. We captured non-property owner road use by analyzing 2 years of data provided by the clubs for non-resident members and guests. Our committee then used this data to develop a methodology which allocated a portion of the residential parcel rate to each club based on its respective non-resident road usage. These amounts were added to the club's assessable parcels and deducted from the residential parcel rate. While the rate apportionment has been set for all Preserve parcel types (Residential, Golf Club, Ranch Club), the CSD is working closely with both clubs to understand how clubs intend to apportion their assessment allocation across their respective membership populations. We want to ensure that we can inform the community accurately.
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Can you provide the lidar information/report so we can see the extent of the degradation across the preserve? Do you have any thoughts on why various parts of the road have more damage? Is it due to traffic volume? Do we have that data on traffic flow? What extent does all the construction vehicles have on the state of the roads? ie. we see some really heavy cement and other vehicles which I would have thought impact the roads. Have you considered making vehicles above a certain weight pay a weight penalty or is this done already?
We appreciate your inquiries regarding the upcoming Roads Election. We have placed the 2025 Pavement Management Study on our CSD website at: https://santaluciapreserve.specialdistrict.org/
Regarding the varying rates of deterioration across the roadway system, several factors contribute to these differences, including original construction techniques, specific materials utilized, and the quality of applied asphalt overlays. While traffic volume and climate are standard drivers of pavement failure, our roads generally experience light traffic. Consequently, engineering analysis suggests that moisture intrusion and subsequent substrate compromise are the primary causes of advanced damage. Our steep topography combined with significant historical rainfall creates an inherently challenging environment for roadway longevity.
To address your question concerning traffic composition and construction vehicle density, the District evaluated gate entry records from 2023 to 2025. This data shows approximately 123,000 annual vehicle entries. Analysis indicates that roughly 50,000 vehicles, or 41% of total traffic, are construction-related and almost exclusively serve residential parcels. Furthermore, a review of active home construction plans estimated that heavy dual-axle vehicles, such as cement and dump trucks, account for approximately 3,300 entries annually. While these heavy vehicles exert greater strain on the infrastructure, they represent only 2.6% of the total vehicle traffic within the Preserve.
Finally, concerning the implementation of weight-based penalties, the District does not currently levy such charges. California law limits the District’s authority to levying taxes or fees against parcels rather than individual vehicles or companies; therefore, a weight-based penalty system is not a feasible funding mechanism for the District.