Council Accepts Plan to End Beach Fee
The Port Hueneme City Council has accepted a task force proposal to end a controversial beach maintenance fee that some property owners said amounted to a tax on their ocean views.
On Wednesday, the council unanimously agreed to merge the beach maintenance assessment district with a citywide park district. The proposal would lower taxes of property owners within the beach district by as much as $150 a year, but increase taxes on other residents by about $18 a year.
Last year, Port Hueneme raised $457,500 in revenues from the two special assessment districts to help maintain public parks and the beach. Of that, the park district generated $300,000 and the beach district $157,000.
“The Blue Ribbon Task Force felt there was a benefit citywide from Hueneme Beach, and that all citizens should participate†in paying for their upkeep, said Councilman Dorill B. Wright, chairman of the citizen task force.
“The net effect is a spreading, if you will, of part of the cost of maintaining the beach across the rest of the city,†Wright said.
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