COUNTY SUED OVER SPECIAL TAXES STEVENSON RANCH MAN CLAIMS MONEY NOT SPENT ON AREA.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

STEVENSON RANCH - A Stevenson Ranch resident sued Los Angeles County on Monday, saying the special taxes homeowners pay specifically for public facilities in their neighborhood were misused.

According to Anthony Moskal's lawsuit, the county spent money collected from more than 1,600 residents in Phase 2 of Stevenson Ranch on facilities beyond their area, including an elementary school their children will not attend.

``He (Moskal) believes they're spending $9 million to subsidize Newhall School District's elementary school, and they aren't even allowed to spend the money there,'' said Craig Collins, Moskal's attorney. ``The county's misusing $16 million-plus money. The residents are getting ripped off.''

Residents of Stevenson Ranch pay a special Mello-Roos tax in addition to their property taxes to build roads and other facilities. The tax district was formed by the developer.

County officials had not yet seen the lawsuit Monday afternoon. However, the county counsel argued that the county is permitted to spend money outside the district if the service or facilities benefit the homeowners in the district.

``There may have been some money spent outside of Area B, but the key of this is you can have facilities outside of the area that benefit the area,'' said Frank Scott, deputy county counsel. ``If they receive the benefit, that would not be a violation. The essential question is one of fairness - if they're paying money, they should be receiving the benefit.''

The school in question, Pico Canyon Elementary, will serve the Southern Oaks Community, or Phase 4, Phase 3, and homes south and southwest of Hemingway Avenue.

Phase 2 encompasses everything north of Hemingway Avenue. Those children attend Stevenson Ranch Elementary.

The special district was approved by Los Angeles County in 1989 when developer Dale Poe Corp. owned the land. The tax district, which was set up in three phases for different geographic areas, allowed bonds to be sold to raise money specifically for roads, sidewalks, sewers and schools.

Homeowners who live in the district pay off the bonds by paying $1,093 to $3,636 annually - in addition to their property taxes - for 25 years.

``What they've overlooked is that when these districts were formed, they promised they wouldn't spend the money outside of district,'' Collins said. The county Board of Supervisors passed a resolution in forming the district, determining that each phase would pay for the bonded indebtedness to finance facilities in its own area, he said.

But the lawsuit claims that the county violated that resolution by assessing taxes on Phase 2 and spending the money to pay for facilities in Phase 3.

On May 15, 2001, the Board of Supervisors authorized the issuance of $16.2 million in bonds secured by assessments continuing for 25 years against residents in Phase 2.

Moskal is requesting that the county immediately stop spending the $16 million outside of Phase 2, repay residents the portion of the money that they spent outside of the area, and spend the money in Phase 2 or use it to retire the May 2000 bond.