DRAINAGE FACILITIES MAINTENANCE DISTRICT PROCEDURES

Los Angeles Administrative Code div. 6, ch. 7, art. 2

in effect

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 6.340 Purpose and Authority.

Sec. 6.340. Purpose and Authority. (a) It is the purpose of this article to allow the formation of districts within the City within which the cost of maintenance of drainage facilities should be paid by the benefited property owners. (b) The City Council of the City of Los Angeles, acting under the authority conferred upon it by the City Charter, shall have the power and authority to order the maintenance of drainage facilities in the City, to declare the districts to be benefited by such maintenance work and to assess the costs and expenses of such maintenance on the lots or parcels of real property within the districts. SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 159,089, Eff. 7-28-84.

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 6.341 Definitions.

Sec. 6.341. Definitions. “Maintenance work”, as used in this article means the inspection, repair, upkeep and replacement, and all other items which are necessary for the proper maintenance and operation of the drainage facilities involved, together with administrative expenses relating to the preparation and collection of the assessment. In regard to retention and debris basins “maintenance work” shall also mean the removal and disposal of debris. “Maintenance trust accounts,” as used in this article, shall mean monies deposited with the City by a developer, pursuant to subdivision or other land development proceedings, the interest from which is used to offset the cost of maintenance of drainage facilities. SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 159,089, Eff. 7-28-84.

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 6.342 Formation of District.

Sec. 6.342. Formation of District. (a) Proceedings to create a drainage maintenance assessment district may be commenced by: (1) order or other action of the City Council expressing its intent to create a district within the boundaries described therein and ordering the Board of Public Works to prepare a report as required by this article, (2) a petition, signed by the owners of more than one half the area of all assessable land within the proposed assessment district, containing a general description of the boundaries of the proposed district and requesting the formation of a drainage maintenance district, or (3) any statutory method by which such proceedings may be initiated. (b) The order or other action of the Council or petition of the property owners shall be filed with the City Clerk. The City Clerk upon receipt of the Council action or petition shall refer the matter to the Board of Public Works which shall make and file with the City a written report containing the following: 1) Identification of the facilities which are to be maintained. 2) Plans and specifications for the proposed maintenance and an estimate of the total cost and expense of the maintenance for the first two years in which such services will be performed. 3) A diagram showing the boundaries of the proposed assessment district and each lot or parcel of land within the proposed district which will be subject to assessment. 4) The proposed assessment on each lot or parcel within the district for the first two years in which maintenance will be performed based on estimated benefits to be received by each such lot or parcel. (c) Consideration of the report, adoption of an Ordinance of Intention and conduct of public hearings shall be in accordance with the provisions of Sections 6.300 through 6.307 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code except that: 1) The Ordinance of Intention shall contain, in lieu of a description of trees and sidewalks proposed to be maintained and estimated cost of maintenance, a description of the facilities to be maintained, the estimated total cost of maintenance for the first two years during which work will be performed and that the assessments on the individual lots or parcels shall be made on the basis of benefits/estimated to be received by each lot or parcel. 2) Notices shall be entitled or headed “Notice of Drainage Facilities Maintenance” instead of “Notice of Sidewalk and Tree Maintenance.” SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 159,089, Eff. 7-28-84.

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 6.343 Majority Protest Proceedings Abandoned.

Sec. 6.343. Majority Protest Proceedings Abandoned. If the City Council finds that protests against the proposed work are made by the owners of more than one-half the area of the property to be assessed, the Council shall order the proceedings to be abandoned, and no further proceedings shall be taken for one year from the date of the order, unless such majority protest is overruled by an affirmative vote of four-fifths of the members of the Council. SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 156,089, Eff. 7-28-84.

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 6.344 Final Ordinance.

Sec. 6.344. Final Ordinance. After the City Council has confirmed the assessment, it shall order by ordinance the work of maintenance as proposed or changed. SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 159,089, Eff. 7-28-84.

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 6.345 Recordation of District Diagram and Assessment.

Sec. 6.345. Recordation of District Diagram and Assessment. Upon confirmation of the assessment, the City Clerk shall transmit the diagram of the district and the assessment to the Board of Public Works. The Board of Public Works shall cause the diagram of the district to be recorded with the County Recorder, together with the determination of the Council establishing the district as a continuing assessment district for drainage facilities maintenance. Upon recordation of the diagram of the district the establishment of the assessment district shall be complete. The assessment shall be recorded and maintained in a suitable book to be kept in the Bureau of Engineering. Immediately upon the recording of the first and all subsequent assessment rolls, the assessment shall be deemed to be a lien upon the lots or parcels of property within the assessment district. A Notice of Recording shall be published in the form and in the manner prescribed by Sec. 6.314 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code. The assessment lien shall be subordinate to all existing special assessment liens previously imposed upon the same property but shall have priority over all special assessment liens which may thereafter be created against the property and shall be paramount to all other liens except for state, county and municipal taxes. The assessment lien shall continue until the assessment is paid or the property is sold in satisfaction of the lien as provided herein. SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 159,089, Eff. 7-28-84.

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 6.346 Conduct of Maintenance Work and Establishment of Special Fund for Payment of Maintenance Work.

Sec. 6.346. Conduct of Maintenance Work and Establishment of Special Fund for Payment of Maintenance Work. (a) Upon confirmation of the assessment, the City shall thereafter maintain the specified facilities until such time as the district may be dissolved. Such maintenance may be done by City personnel, or by contract awarded pursuant to the City Charter. (b) A special fund designated as the “Drainage Facilities Maintenance Assessment Fund” shall be established in the City Treasury. All sums collected on account of assessments, amounts advanced by the City Council, and interest from maintenance trust accounts shall be placed in this special fund to the credit of the district with respect to which the money has been collected. A separate account shall be maintained for each assessment district which shall be known as an assessment district account. Payment shall be made out of an account in the special fund only for the maintenance of drainage facilities in the assessment district to which the account pertains. (c) Sums may be advanced from any fund to the “Drainage Facilities Maintenance Assessment Fund”, by the City Council in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 6.324 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code. (d) Maintenance trust accounts, established subsequent to the effective date of this article, to maintain facilities which are the subject of an assessment district formed under this article, may be refunded to the depositor, or an assignee of the depositor. Such refund shall be made only if a written claim is filed by the depositor or assignee with the City Engineer within three years after the diagram of the assessment district has been recorded. A refund shall not include accrued interest. No refund shall be made within the first year following recordation of the diagram of the district. SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 159,089, Eff. 7-28-84.

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 6.347 Levying and Collecting the Assessment.

Sec. 6.347. Levying and Collecting the Assessment. (a) Annual assessments shall be made and levied in accordance with procedures established in Sections 6.311 through 6.314 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code. (b) Assessments shall be collected in accordance with either of the procedures established in Sections 6.316 through 6.322 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code. SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 159,089, Eff. 7-28-84.

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 6.348 Changes in the Assessment District.

Sec. 6.348. Changes in the Assessment District. Changes in an assessment district may be initiated by the City Council upon adoption of a resolution describing the changes by reference to a revised diagram of the district and setting a hearing date therefor. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation at least 15 days before the hearing and posting in at least six conspicuous locations within the proposed revised district. If the resolution is to include additional territory within the district, notice shall be mailed to the owners of property within the additional territory. If the change involves a decrease of 20% or more of the property within the district, notice shall be mailed to all property owners in the district. The notice to property owners required by this subsection shall be mailed by the City Engineer at least fifteen days before the hearing date. Property owners and their addresses shall be determined from the records of the City Engineer. All property owners shall have the right to appear at the hearing and present objections to the change. At the time set for hearing, the City Council shall hear and pass on all objections and its decision shall be final. At such hearing the City Council may amend or revise the diagram of the district. On approval the revised diagram of the district shall be forwarded to the Board of Public Works which shall cause the diagram to be recorded with the County Recorder. SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 166,089, Eff. 7-28-84. Amended by: 1st Para., Ord. No. 181,595, Eff. 4-10-11.

Los Angeles Administrative Code § 6.349 Legal Action to Contest Assessment.

Sec. 6.349. Legal Action to Contest Assessment. The validity of any assessment levied under the provisions of this article shall not be contested in any action unless the same is commenced within thirty (30) days after the recording of the assessment in the Bureau of Engineering. SECTION HISTORY Added by Ord. No. 156,089, Eff. 7-28-84.

Source: City of Los Angeles, Charter and Codes (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/los_angeles/latest/laac/0-0-0-30836Fetched: 10/24/2026