Pittsburg council hears lighting and landscaping assessments Monday

The Pittsburg City Council takes public comment Monday night on the assessments that pay to light and landscape two districts covering much of the city.

The hearing starts at 7 p.m. on July 20 in the City Council Chamber at City Hall, 65 Civic Ave.

The council is being asked to confirm the engineer's reports and district diagrams and to order the levy of annual assessments for the Citywide 1988-1 and Oak Hills 1988-2 Landscaping and Lighting Assessment Districts for fiscal year 2026-27.

Both districts have existed since 1988. The money they raise is what the city uses to maintain the street lighting and the landscaping inside their boundaries. The council holds this hearing every year before it orders the improvements and sets the levy.

The legal footing is the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972, at California Streets and Highways Code section 22500 and following, which lets cities form assessment districts to install, build and maintain landscaping, lighting and park and recreational facilities.

There are two ways to be heard. Speak during the hearing, or send written comments in advance. Written comments should cite the district by name and go to Sharon Paz, administrative analyst II, at spaz@pittsburgca.gov, or by mail to the Pittsburg Public Works Department, 65 Civic Ave., Pittsburg, CA 94565.

One detail is worth knowing before Monday. Under the notice, anyone who later challenges the assessments in court may be limited to the issues raised at the hearing, or in written correspondence delivered to the council at or before it. Silence now narrows the options later.

The notice itself does not list the assessment rates for 2026-27. Those are in the engineer's reports the council is being asked to confirm.