Lighting, Landscape and Maintenance District (LLMD): 

A lighting, landscape and maintenance district (LLMD) is a financing vehicle utilized when the development of a neighborhood in the community is identified with a special benefit by certain improvements such as street lighting, landscape watering, and landscape maintenance. Due to this special benefit, landowners in the identified area are assessed to pay the cost of the construction and/or ongoing maintenance of such improvements.  

Each Landscape Maintenance District is created through formation proceedings (also known as a vote of the affected property owners) pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972.  This usually occurs at the time a residential or commercial project is first developed.  The Act allows a local agency to levy an annual assessment for the maintenance of the community improvements, based on special benefit directly or indirectly, to the property owners within the Landscape Maintenance District.  Annual assessments are paid as part of a line-item on individual property tax bills.

Upon incorporation the City of Menifee acquired the responsibility of a portion of one LLMD (District 89-1C) which included both street lighting and traffic signals. In January 2015, the City requested from the County of Riverside to become solely responsible for all LLMDs located exclusively within the City jurisdiction. This resulted in the City acquiring 24 individual LLMD active zones. These LLMDs had originally been established by Riverside County prior to the City’s incorporation and maintained responsibility for the maintenance of these zones until January 2015. Each zone is independent of each other, and each zone provides various levels of services to the residents within those zones depending on the original developer agreement. These funds are spent on street lighting, landscape watering, landscape maintenance and administrative overhead costs.