Journal ·
What are the LMD charges on a Santa Clarita property tax bill?
Short answer: the LMD line is a special assessment levied by the City of Santa Clarita under the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972, collected on your Los Angeles County property tax bill. The city administers 62 financially independent zones, and each zone pays only for its own landscaping. For fiscal year 2025/2026 the applied residential rate runs from $0.00 in some zones to $1,611.26 per parcel in others, so the amount on your bill depends on which zone your parcel sits in, not on what your house is worth.
What is a Landscape Maintenance District in Santa Clarita?
An LMD is an assessment district that funds slope and common-area landscaping. The city explains on its Landscape Maintenance Districts page that roughly 50,000 property owners contribute to one or more zones, and that the collective operation covers over 2,300 acres of landscape, 29 miles of paseos, 47 miles of landscaped medians and about 65,000 trees.
The money is not general revenue. The city's LMD frequently asked questions state that funds pay for mowing, weeding, trimming, fertilizing, water and electricity, plus hardscape items such as stamped concrete medians, pedestrian bridges, irrigation controllers and play equipment.
There is a second consequence buyers rarely hear about. The city says a landscape maintenance easement is typically recorded on title by the developer, which lets the city enter the property to maintain the slope in perpetuity. Fencing that area off is not permitted, because it blocks maintenance of the swales that carry storm runoff.
Why do two houses on the same street pay different LMD amounts?
Because the assessment follows the zone boundary, and zone boundaries were drawn development by development. Streets and Highways Code section 22574, added by Stats. 1972, Ch. 630, allows the assessment diagram to classify areas into zones "where, by reason of variations in the nature, location, and extent of the improvements, the various areas will receive differing degrees of benefit." A zone must consist of all territory receiving substantially the same degree of benefit.
So a 1970s tract annexed into an older county zone and a 2015 tract with its own paseo system end up in different zones with different budgets, even if they share a property line.
What do the 2025/2026 LMD rates actually look like?
The numbers below come straight from the city's Engineer's Report for the Santa Clarita Landscaping and Lighting District, fiscal year 2025/2026, prepared June 2, 2025 by Willdan Financial Services, with the intent meeting on May 27, 2025 and the public hearing on June 10, 2025.
| Zone | Name | FY 25-26 maximum rate | FY 25-26 applied rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-1 | Major Thoroughfare Medians | $87.438 / EBU | $87.43 / EBU |
| T2 | Old Orchard | $259.071 / EBU | $250.50 / EBU |
| T8 | Valencia Summit | $718.809 / parcel | $718.80 / parcel |
| T46 | Northbridge | $1,137.045 / EBU | $995.00 / EBU |
| T31-1 | Shangri-La | $1,611.269 / parcel | $1,611.26 / parcel |
| 23 | Montecito | $68.793 / EBU | $0.00 / EBU |
| T1B | Plum / Whites Canyon | $36.346 / EBU | $0.00 / EBU |
Two columns, two different meanings. The maximum rate is what the city is authorized to levy. The applied rate is what it actually levied this year. Zone T46 Northbridge is authorized at $1,137.045 and was levied at $995.00, which leaves headroom the city can use later without a new vote. Zone 23 Montecito was levied at zero this year while its authorization sits at $68.793. Total district levy for the year is $25,231,815.09.
What is the 2008-1 line that shows up on almost every bill?
Zone 2008-1 is the area-wide beautification zone. The LMD zone list describes it as covering all medians on major thoroughfares in the entire city, and states plainly that it does not extend into thoroughfares located in unincorporated Los Angeles County. The Engineer's Report shows 94,811.401 equivalent benefit units in that zone paying $87.43 each, which produces $8,289,360.79, roughly a third of the whole district.
If your parcel is in Stevenson Ranch, Castaic or Val Verde, you are outside the city and this line does not appear. The distinction between city and county territory is the same one that drives permits, code enforcement and service response, and it is covered in more depth in Santa Clarita city limits versus unincorporated Los Angeles County.
Why is one street light charge $12.38 and the neighbor's $66.00?
This is the detail that does not show up in a search result. The Engineer's Report explains that Street Lighting Zone A is capped at $12.38 per equivalent benefit unit, which was the maximum rate previously established by Los Angeles County at the time those parcels were transferred to city jurisdiction, and that Zone A carries no Consumer Price Index adjustment at all. Later annexations and new developments went into Street Lighting Zone B, whose maximum for 2025/2026 is $105.43 per EBU and which was levied at $66.00.
Same city, same streetlights, five times the charge, decided entirely by the year the parcel came in. Landscaping zones T20, T33, T44, T48 and T62 are the other five with no CPI escalator.
Can the city raise the assessment without asking owners?
Only within the ceiling already approved. The city states that once a maximum assessment has been established it cannot be increased without approval of the property owners. The Engineer's Report is more specific: after Proposition 218, zones and parcels subject to a new or increased assessment were balloted in accordance with Article XIII D of the California Constitution.
There is one escalator that does not require a ballot. For zones that carry it, the maximum rate rises each year with the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim areas, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For fiscal year 2025/2026 the applied CPI increase was 3.42 percent.
What should a buyer check before writing an offer?
- Pull the current secured tax bill and find every direct assessment line, not just the ad valorem total.
- Note the zone number. A "T" in front of the number means the zone was originally created by Los Angeles County, per the city's zone list.
- Compare the applied rate to the maximum rate for that zone in the current Engineer's Report. The gap is future increase capacity.
- Ask whether the parcel carries a recorded landscape maintenance easement, and where it runs.
- Check whether the zone is one of the six without a CPI adjustment.
- Confirm the parcel is inside city limits before assuming the 2008-1 line applies.
Mello-Roos is a separate mechanism with separate math, and both can appear on the same bill. That one is broken down in who levies Mello-Roos in Santa Clarita.
Where did these districts come from?
The first zones were created in 1972 by the County of Los Angeles in the Old Orchard area of Valencia, and those assessments still maintain landscaping around the Valencia Paseo System. Administrative and operational responsibility transferred from the county to the city in 1997. Zone T2 Old Orchard is still on the roll, levied at $250.50 per EBU for 2025/2026.
A separate district covers open space. City property owners voted in 2007 to support the Open Space Preservation District, which supports the greenbelt around the city.
Q: Is the LMD assessment deductible as property tax?
Special assessments for local benefits are treated differently from ad valorem property tax. Ask a tax preparer about your specific bill rather than assuming the whole line qualifies.
Q: Can I petition out of my LMD zone?
Removal is not a routine request. Assessments were established through proceedings under the 1972 Act and, after 1996, through Proposition 218 balloting. Contact the city's Special Districts division for the current process.
Q: What if the landscaping outside my house is never maintained?
If the parcel is inside city limits, the city's Special Districts division handles it. If the property is in Castaic, Val Verde or Stevenson Ranch, the FAQ page directs residents to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works instead.
Q: Does a zero applied rate mean the assessment is gone?
No. Zones 23, T1B, T65B and T77 were levied at $0.00 for 2025/2026 while keeping their authorized maximums. The authorization survives the levy.
Q: Where do I find my zone number?
The city publishes a zone table with names, areas and descriptions, plus a residency lookup tool, on its LMD zones page.
This article explains public assessment rules and is not tax or legal advice. Figures are from the fiscal year 2025/2026 Engineer's Report, checked August 28, 2026. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
More on this community in the Santa Clarita area guide.