This is a draft of the letter that will be mailed to affected property owners. It is being updated.
[ link to final letter goes here ]
SANTA MARGARITA DRIVE PRIVATE ROAD REPAIRS AND ASSESSMENT
SantaMargaritaDr.com
Assessor’s Parcel Number(s):
AMOUNT DUE NOW — completed pothole repair and expenses — by 31 May 2023: $XXX
Amount due for future road repairs — by 31 December 2023: $XXX
Please forward the amount due now at your earliest convenience, but not later than 31 May 2023, to
P.O. Box ZZZZ, Fallbrook, CA
County records indicate that you are the owner of property at the above Assessor’s Parcel Number(s). You access your property via the private road portion of Santa Margarita Drive, which begins south of Quail Creek Road, at the yellow “END COUNTY MAINTAINED ROAD” sign.
YOU ARE LEGALLY REQUIRED TO CONTRIBUTE. California law requires each owner to share the cost of maintaining the road. Here is California Civil Code section 845:
(b) If the easement is owned by more than one person, or is attached to parcels of land under different ownership, the cost of maintaining it in repair shall be shared by each owner of the easement or the owners of the parcels of land, as the case may be, pursuant to the terms of any agreement entered into by the parties for that purpose. In the absence of an agreement, the cost shall be shared proportionately to the use made of the easement by each owner.
(c) If any owner refuses to perform, or fails after demand in writing to pay the owner’s proportion of the cost, an action to recover that owner’s share of the cost, or for specific performance or contribution, may be brought by the other owners, either jointly or severally. The action may be brought before, during, or after performance of the maintenance work.
You are encouraged to join the committee and assist in this effort.
HISTORY.
The southern part of the road, from 1650 Santa Margarita Drive to Quail Creek Road, was last paved in 1996; cost was $33,961.69. Assessment allocations were collected based on May 1989 precedent, based on measured distance from the county sign to the center of the driveway or parcel (if no driveway). Owners of improved property (home or grove) paid a full share. Owners of unimproved property (bare land) paid a half share. Residents on Quail Creek, River Oaks, Hilbert/Moon Rock, Edgewater Estates, and west of Edgewater Estates were assessed at the same distance measurement. Owners on Santa Margarita were required to remove dirt or debris on the road surface, and clear plant growth back 2 feet from the road; if the owner did not do so, work was done and charged to the owner. The assessments were upheld in Small Claims court, and then in Superior Court.
The northern part of the road, from Edgewater Estates gate to 1650 Santa Margarita Drive, was last paved in 2005; cost was $49,635.47. The same assessment allocation method was used for owners north of 1650 Santa Margarita Drive.
Documents are posted on the web site.
CALCULATION OF AMOUNT DUE NOW FOR IMMEDIATE REPAIR OF POTHOLE. Amount was calculated in accordance with the above-described historical, legally approved, assessment methodology.
Immediate action was required to avoid liability and repair the pothole at the south end of the road by Quail Creek. Several neighbors advanced funds to accomplish this repair, and must be reimbursed. The attached itemization also includes expenses incurred to date in the organization and collection effort, as well as projected collection expenses (small claims court, legal representation at district court). Any excess funds collected (e.g., if no collection expenses are incurred) will be credited to reduce your future road repair amount due.
CALCULATION OF AMOUNT DUE FOR FUTURE ROAD REPAIRS. Amount was calculated in accordance with the above-described historical, legally approved, assessment methodology.
Projected estimated cost for repairs, crack filling and slurry coat. Peters Paving provided a bid in August 2019. Costs have increased at least 30% since that bid, and because the road has continued to deteriorate for over 3 more years, additional areas will likely require repair. We are using the 2019 bid as a ballpark estimating tool for the collection. Because of the long lead time for collection, we will not obtain final bids until adequate funds have been collected to complete the project. Any excess funds collected will be returned.
EXPLANATION OF REQUIRED REPAIRS.
1. Repairs to road where it is breaking down and water intrudes into the pavement need to be repaired to avoid blowouts (like the pothole) with much greater repair required.
2. Filling cracks. Cracks that are not filled let water through to the base which further softens the area. As vehicles drive over the area, they break it up and cause alligatoring, which allows in even more water, so the asphalt breaks out in chunks, and then you have a pothole and a major repair. So, if you don’t fill cracks when they start, you will have to repair potholes in about 5 years or less, depending on traffic.
3. A slurry coat of the entire road is also critical. Asphalt is sand, rock (aggregate), and oil. To preserve a road, regular maintenance is required. Slurry is recommended every 3 to 5 years. It has now been 17 or 26 years with no road maintenance. The oil in the mix dries out and shrinks, and when it shrinks, it cracks. This is what is happening on our road. First the sand comes out, which is happening on the north end, then the aggregate rock begins to come out, which is what is happening on the south end. Slurry locks the sand and rock back in and prevents cracking, so you don’t have to undertake the more expensive repairs required to remediate the cracking. Our road gets too much traffic for a seal coat, and requires the heavier application of slurry. A seal coat is only good for driveways because they don’t get as much traffic. Slurry is a very intensive process to set up, so there would be significant economy of scale to slurry both the north end and the south end at the same time because there would only be one set up fee, and there is a price per square foot discount.
FUTURE ROAD MAINTENANCE AFTER THESE REPAIRS ARE COMPLETED.
These repairs are being conducted using the prior assessment method. This not only puts a significant burden on the few owners willing to take on the project and collect the funds, it means that maintenance is conducted in a haphazard fashion, and there is no reserve account. The lack of planned and funded maintenance could significantly negatively impact the value of your property to a buyer who understands the issue. We all share liability. Owners may want to consider the following alternative for future repairs.
Permanent Road Division Zone (PRD Zone). The County would provide maintenance services on behalf of the property owners, using property owner assessments. Knollpark Lane north of Hillcrest is a PRD Zone. 60% of owners must sign the Expression of Interest and Petition for Permanent Road Division Formation, although on actual balloting only 50% vote approval is required to form the district. Roads maintained by the PRD have liability insurance coverage of $3,000,000 for Personal Injury (including bodily injury and property damage) and $3,000,000 for Non-Owned and Hired Automobile Liability – both with deductibles of only $1,000. On average, PRD roads are sealed every seven to ten years.
There is no realistic option to convert the road to county standards so the county would take over maintenance. Bringing a road into the County Maintained System requires that several criteria be met. The location and route of the road must be deemed by the County to be of public benefit and necessity. In other words, it needs to appear on a Circulation Element planning document, or there needs to be some demonstration that the road is needed to carry large traffic volumes – usually associated with new development. The road would also need to meet County Public Road Construction Standards which includes considerable width requirements, and substantial road base specifications that translate to much higher costs.