Politics & Government
Assessment to Finance Wildfire Prevention Narrowly Defeated by Oakland Hills Voters
In the past, the assessment as been used to fund brush removal, inspections, outreach and grazing by goats.
By Bay City News Service
Oakland voters narrowly voted against the renewal of a Wildfire Prevention Assessment District used to pay for vegetation control in fire-prone areas this week, according to city officials.
The assessment, which required two-thirds approval, fell short by only three-tenths of a percent with 66.3 percent of the vote, according to city spokeswoman Karen Boyd.
A total of 12,318 people voted in the mail-in election, with 8,150 in favor of renewing the assessment.
The city had mailed out 41,700 ballots for the election, Boyd said. The assessment would have charged $39 annually for an undeveloped parcel, $58.50 for condominiums and multi-family buildings, and $78 for other parcels.
The current assessment, which is $65 per single-family dwelling, has generated around $1.8 million a year for the past 10 years.
That assessment will now expire in January but the district will be funded through the 2014 fire season through funds collected this year, Boyd said
A wildfire prevention district was first created after the 1991 Oakland Hills fire.
It was allowed to lapse in 1997, but was then reestablished in 2004 to help pay for brush removal, property inspection, public outreach and grazing with goats in brushy areas.
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