Wildomar And Riverside County Refunding $767,200 Stemming From Parks Lawsuit

The city of Wildomar and Riverside County are splitting a $760,200 tab stemming from a 2010 lawsuit involving the city’s parks.

The estimated $760,200 tax refund due Wildomar property owners is the result of the Fourth Appellate Court’s 2010 ruling in Beutz v. County of Riverside, in which a three-judge panel invalidated a 2006 voter initiative that put in place an annual $28 special tax levied against property owners to pay for the maintenance of Wildomar parks.

An estimated 6,850 Wildomar property owners may have paid the special assessment from 2006 through 2009, according to Amber Jacobson, senior project manager for the county.

Property owners who paid the tax all four years are due a total of $112, she said.

Jacobson explained that the county and city are dividing the check right down the middle.

“The county will pay for the years 2006-07, and the city will pay for the years 2008-09,” Jacobson said.

An April 28 letter was sent to Wildomar property owners last week by the County of Riverside Treasurer and Tax Collector advising individuals of a tax refund, but the money is hitting the Economic Development Agency budget, Jacobson confirmed.

In the 2010 lawsuit that led to the refund, the Fourth Appellate Court ruled the special assessment was invalid because the tax was disproportional: some property owners, the court said, saw greater benefit from the parks than others.

The special assessment was lifted in 2010 as a result of the court’s decision, and city officials have said the parks will close if replacement funding is not found.

But another ballot measure could bring back the special assessment back to life.

If passed, Measure D on the June 7 ballot would allow the formation of a Community Facilities District and an annual base tax of $28 imposed on Wildomar property owners to pay for maintenance of the city’s three existing parks – Marna O’Brien, Heritage Regency, and Windsong Park.