Easy choice on Pajaro River assessment
Santa Cruz and Monterey County property owners in areas along and adjacent to the Pajaro River are voting by mail on an assessment that will not be on the June primary ballot.
The assessment is one that will require these property owners to make up for a shortfall in operations and maintenance budgets that maintain the current, unacceptable, flood protection offered by the river levees.
And, perhaps most importantly, the assessment will unlock $400 million in federal funding that will finally, after decades of talk and little action, lead to a much improved levee system that could offer protections from a 100-year flood.
We urge the 3,000-plus affected parcel owners to agree to assess themselves. Ballots were mailed out last month and must be returned no later than June 8.
If you looked today at the Pajaro River, dividing the two counties, you'd see a placid stream that reflects recent drought years. But there are plenty of sound reasons for property owners to agree to the assessment. The levee system in place dates back to 1949 and public agencies and officials have known for decades it is outmoded and offers scant protection against disastrous floods.
Is this just a plea for funds to prevent an unlikely future occurrence? Consider that while the last major Pajaro River flood happened in 1995 (which killed two people and left more than $95 million in damages), storms in 2017 brought the river nearly to the brink again. The system of levees in place, moreover, offers the lowest level of protection – for a 5-7 year flood – in California.
As we said, this has been well known for decades. What's changed is that the project to increase flood protection finally looks like it will be funded through the $400 million Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the state and the newly formed Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency.
Not only would this project provide up to 100-year flood protection for thousands of properties in the Pajaro River area, but once it is completed, property owners will be free from having to carry expensive mandatory flood insurance along with building restrictions. The project will also provide environmental and recreational benefits, along with thousands of jobs during the construction period.
And it gets better: the Army Corps and the state will pay 100 percent of the project design and construction costs – an offer that amounts to $130,000 for each property that would be protected under the new levee system, which it's estimated will take 10 years to complete.
But there's one catch, which is where this assessment vote comes in. To get this federal and state funding, the local community has to adequately provide enough funding for operations and maintenance of the levees so they meet federal standards. Currently, these costs are paid by affected cities and counties. But the budget for these maintenance costs has a shortfall of $1.2 million in an annual budget of $3.8 million, making it difficult to maintain the levees to federal standards and increasing future flooding risks.
If the assessment is approved by property owners (as low as $16 a month for some, much more for owners of larger parcels and farms), the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency will assume responsibilities for levee maintenance on behalf of the city and counties. The agency will also set up a citizen's oversight committee to review allocations and expenditures and increase transparency.
However, If the assessment is not approved, the community will lose the $400 million levee repair project and any hope of preventing the next big flood. Moreover, property owners will continue to be required to carry expensive flood insurance (estimated to cost on average $700 a year) and continue to have building restrictions.
Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend likens it to someone giving everyone in a large group a new car – and asking them only to pay for maintenance.
In other words, not much of a choice, is it?