A Brief History of the LMDs

Landscape Maintenance Districts (LMD) 83-1 (Twin Peaks) and LMD 86-1 (Espola) were formed in the early 1980s as part of developer agreements with the City of Poway for ongoing maintenance of landscaping in the common areas shared by all new homeowners.  LMD 83-1 primarily encompasses the landscaping along Twin Peaks Road from west of Pomerado Road continuing east to HillnDale Drive.  LMD 86-1 generally stretches along Espola Road from just south of Titan Way north past Blue Sky Ecological Reserve to just east of Cloudcroft Drive.  Maintained landscape areas include both the parkways along these roadways as well as the entrances to the neighborhoods on both sides of these streets. 

As part of the agreement the developers made with the City, an assessment was levied on each residential property owner to be paid with the annual property tax bill.  In the early years, that assessment was raised or lowered by the City depending on maintenance and watering needs.  But in 1998, a statewide initiative (Proposition 218) froze assessment levels, and as a result they’ve remained unchanged for almost 25 years. It’s important to note that a CPI (escalation factor) was not included in the original agreement or under Proposition 218.

Over the past two decades, the impacts of periodic drought, increasing water and maintenance costs, an aging irrigation system, and escalating tree maintenance —particularly as the trees have grown and multiplied - have overwhelmed the LMDs’ ability to pay for needed maintenance.  The lack of sufficient funds has resulted in reduced levels of maintenance which has led to the deterioration of our landscaped neighborhood entrance areas and the overgrowth and escalating safety hazard of the trees along the roadways.

In June of 2018, the City proposed an increase in the annual assessment to address the ongoing deterioration of the LMD landscaping. In accordance with Proposition 218, the proposed assessment increase required a majority vote of assessed property owners.  The vote was defeated by the residents in both LMDs. 

Uncertain about how to move forward in the face of the failed vote, the City formed a volunteer citizen advisory group from both LMDs to evaluate the current state of the LMDs and help the City come up with strategies to restore and enhance the landscaping and reduce fire and safety hazards in both LMDs. The Landscape Maintenance District Advisory Group (LMD Advisory Group) has been working with the City of Poway since late 2018 toward that goal.

More information on the LMDs can be found on the City of Poway website.