https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/dpw/specialdistricts/prd/PRDzones.html
This is a summary of information available at the above web site.
A Permanent Road Division Zone (PRD Zone) is a district that provides property owners in the unincorporated areas of San Diego County a mechanism to pay for private road maintenance in a geographically defined area. The PRD Program is managed by the Department of Public Works and includes 68 PRD Zones that provide services for approximately 100 miles of roads. PRD Zones are created and funded by the private property owners who own the road. The County provides the maintenance services on behalf of the property owners using property owner assessments.
Forming a PRD assures that all benefiting parcels pay their fair share of road maintenance costs; not only initially, but in the future as well. Because the obligation is placed against the parcel (not the person), even new or different future property owners will be required to pay the assessment. Without the District, many private roads experience property owners unwilling to pay any of the costs, or owners that are willing to pay, but only a portion of their fair share, and only at a time when it’s convenient for them. Unless there is unanimous voluntary participation on the part of all property owners, many private roads find it difficult to acquire sufficient funds to complete needed road maintenance.
Road maintenance protects residents’ investments in their properties and enhances road safety by providing maintained access to homes and the community for daily vehicle trips and emergency egress during emergencies, such as wildfires.
When the PRD is formed, roads maintained by the PRD will 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. PRD funds pay the premium for this insurance and are allocated on the basis of road length as a percentage of total length of all PRD roads maintained by the County.
The cost of PRD formation varies depending on factors such as: size of the proposed district, complexity of needed road maintenance work, number of property owner disputes or challenges, and the proportion of property owners in support or opposition. Proposed districts which are large, in need of considerable road maintenance, or have numerous property owners opposed to formation tend to be very expensive.
The formation process can take 18 to 24 months. Initial road work can usually occur 6 to 12 months after District formation. Formation costs must be shared among all benefitting properties. All meetings will be open to the affected property owners.
PRD Zones are created and funded by the private property owners who own the road. The County provides the maintenance services on behalf of the property owners using property owner assessments. The County does not profit from these PRDs and the program is expected to be revenue neutral and self-sustaining, with all costs being born by benefiting properties.
PRD formation requires at least 50% weighted vote approval of the majority of the property owners by formal ballot. The County requires over 60% of property owners to support the petition for PRD to assure a high likelihood of eventual ballot approval prior to spending additional resources on the formation process. The 60% threshold for signatures on the Expression of Interest and Petition for Permanent Road Division Formation is determined by the number of parcel signatures divided by the total number of parcels within the proposed district. Owners that have multiple parcels need to sign for each property they own. The result must be greater than 60%.
The County has a loan program to lend up to 20% of the estimated road maintenance cost. The loan must be paid back by the property owners. The term of the loan cannot exceed ten years, but in most cases is five years. The County’s interest rate is generally 2-3% lower than private banks. The principal and interest is repaid via parcel owner assessments included on the annual tax bill.
Permanent Road Division Zone Formation Steps
Formation Steps
Step 1: A Road Committee is established by the property owners. An appointment is made with the County to review a map and to designate the properties to be serviced by the PRD Zone. At the meeting, we can help answer questions you may have regarding the formation process and timeline.
Step 2: Road Committee submits the Expression of Interest form and proposed map of the PRD Zone to the County.
Step 3: County staff will conduct a site visit to develop a cost estimate.
Step 4: Assessment engineer will review the proposed map and determines the estimated cost per parcel and type of PRD Zone that will be formed. For PRD Zones that wish to take out a loan using the Permanent Road Division Internal Service Fund for necessary road work, an estimated repayment schedule will be prepared.
Step 5: Road Committee schedules a meeting with all property owners within the proposed district. At the meeting, the County will explain the formation process, the cost estimate, and the estimated charge per parcel. The County will also provide a petition for formation and public road certification form to the Road Committee.
Step 6: Road Committee gathers property owner signatures on the petition for formation and public road certifications and submits to the County.
Step 7: County finalizes the assessment engineer’s report and prepares a request to the Board of Supervisors for formation and assessment ballot/election.
Step 8: The election results are certified at a formal meeting of the Board of Supervisors and if the formation is approved, the assessment/special tax will be added to the tax rolls.