Water/Sewer Rate Hike, Urban Limit Line, and More
While we focused on the Acalanes Union High School District parcel tax measure this Spring (which was defeated), many other things have been happening around the County. In this newsletter we have updates on the County’s urban limit line, East Bay MUD’s proposed rate hikes, a library parcel tax in El Cerrito, and refinery closures. And please sign up for our upcoming events listed at the end.
Urban Limit Line Update
The Contra Costa County Urban Limit Line (ULL) establishes a boundary between urban development and protected open spaces and agricultural lands in the County’s unincorporated areas.
The ULL was first established in a 1990 election and periodically comes up for renewal. It will expire on December 31, 2026, unless voters agree to renew it in an election next year.
A description of the renewal process and proposed changes to the ULL maps are available at https://envisioncontracosta2040.org/urban-limit-line-renewal/. The first round of public comment ends on Monday, June 2nd at 5pm, so if this topic interests you, please dive in over the weekend!
At the CoCoTax May meeting, Patricia Bristow shared concerns about how changes to the ULL will impact Byron, an unincorporated community in East County south of Brentwood. Patricia gave examples of property owners who would lose control of their land and/or lose resale value if the County imposes the new map as proposed.
The County’s plan to tighten land use restrictions in Byron seems at odds with the prevailing trend toward loosening or overriding local zoning regulations. Sacramento policies are aimed at placing more apartments near BART stations, ignoring the fact that many people prefer to live in single family homes away from transit.
East Bay MUD Water/Wastewater Rate Hikes
EBMUD is proposing average rate increases of 6.5% for water and 8.5% for wastewater for each of the next two fiscal years. These increases would be implemented on July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026. A hearing will be held on June 10th. Ratepayers can make public comments at the meeting or send protest letters beforehand.
The proposed increases are on top of rate hikes in 2023 and 2024 that also exceeded the rate of inflation.
As you can see from the chart, water rates at EBMUD are much higher than those at two other large water districts in Southern California. EBMUD is also more expensive than nearby Contra Costa Water District.
Unlike the SoCal systems, EBMUD spends heavily on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In 2023, the utility employed eight individuals in its “Diversity Equity & Culture Administration” and “Diversity and Inclusion” departments with aggregate compensation of over $1.5 million.
EBMUD customers can make public comments in writing or on Zoom. Information about the rate hearing can be found here: https://www.ebmud.com/application/files/3917/4363/2488/EBMUD-Prop218-2025-FINAL-SINGLE_PAGE.pdf
El Cerrito Considers Parcel Tax for a New Library
Many thanks to El Cerrito resident Wally Nowinski for contributing this article. CoCoTax will take a position on this proposed tax at our July meeting.
El Cerrito is proposing a parcel tax to fund a new library at the El Cerrito Plaza BART station. Rather than building a standalone civic facility, the city plans to lease ground-floor space in a planned El Cerrito Plaza BART station housing development. The tax is structured as a parcel tax of 17 cents per square foot annually. For the average size El Cerrito house, this would be about $288 per year. For longtime homeowners with low Prop 13 assessments, the tax could raise total property tax bills by up to 10.7%. The total cost of the project, including interest and financing expenses, will exceed $75 million over 30 years, though backers and the city are presenting it as a "$21 million" library, ignoring the finance costs.
The city is advancing the measure as a citizen’s initiative, which allows it to pass with a simple majority (50%+1) instead of the typical two-thirds required for local taxes. This approach comes after a previous attempt in 2016 fell short of the two-thirds threshold. Signature gathering for the measure is expected to begin this summer.
Editor’s Note: Parcel tax proponents claim that El Cerrito needs a new library, in part, because its population has increased since construction of its current library facility. However, data obtained from the County library system by CoCoTax show that circulation of physical materials at the El Cerrito branch has declined during the last two fiscal years, and that annual library visits remain below pre-pandemic levels.
CA Energy Meltdown
We’d like to thank CoCoTax Executive Committee Mark Fernwood for contributing this article. Opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Association.
Car buyers have largely rejected switching to EV’s. Manufacturers and their dealers have huge backlogs of EV inventory. Unfortunately, over the years, the enviro politicians have created ever more regulations. The “California Air Resources Board” (CARB) has declared that only a “special” gas formula, called the “California Blend,” can be sold in CA. In addition, CA gas must be diluted with at least 10% ethanol alcohol. This reduces efficiency and storage life. To further complicate the situation there is a “Summer” blend and a “Winter” blend. CARB’s decisions and mandates do not require voter approval, or even legislative approval.
Ethanol alcohol is made from corn. It thus serves as a subsidy for farmers and raises food prices.
While any refiner can produce the “CA Blends,” this requires a shut down and reconfiguring their systems for each formulation. This increases costs significantly. It also tends to bar entry from out of state producers. Naturally, the transportation costs will further burden out of state production.
Sacramento politicians want fossil fuels to become prohibitively expensive to fight “Global Warming,” the warming that stopped in 1998 (Google: “Global Warming Pause.”) The alarmists call it the “Pause” as they claim it has to return! Consider that the ‘infallible’ computer models failed to predict the “pause.”
Refinery owners cite that CA’s adverse environmental regulations and taxes have made refinery operation unprofitable. This has so far caused a number of CA refineries to close and leave their vast build-outs behind.
Loss of CA production capacity:
Valero Benicia: 170K barrels per day (BPD) Planning to close
Benicia city manager addresses Valero's 'intent' to close refinery 9 min.
Phillips: 135K BPD Planning closure
Phillips 66 shutters Los Angeles refinery days after Newsom adds new regulations #shorts 2 min.
Chevron: 240K BPD Closed
Marathon LA: 365K BPD Planned Summer closure.
Upcoming CoCoTax Events
Here are our upcoming speakers:
June 27 – Oakland Recall Leader Seneca Scott on the Oakland Crisis and Its Implications for Other Cities and Counties. Sign up here.
July 25 – Update on School Finances and Parcel Taxes with Acalanes Union High School District Superintendent John Nickerson followed by Gus Mattammal, author of the forthcoming book "A is For Average: Why Our Public Schools Underperform, And How You Can Help.". Sign up here.
September 26 – Pacific Research Institute’s Steven Greenhut discusses his new book, The War on Suburbia.