DISMISSAL OF LAWSUIT REQUESTED TAX SPENDING IN DISPUTE.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

STEVENSON RANCH - The county has asked a Superior Court judge to dismiss a Stevenson Ranch man's lawsuit that says Los Angeles County illegally spent special tax district money to build a new elementary school.

In a motion filed Thursday, the county counsel claims that resident Anthony Moskal's lawsuit has no legal basis.

Moskal sued, claiming state law requires that special Mello-Roos tax money from his neighborhood be spent on improvements specific to those residents. Before development began, Stevenson Ranch developers agreed to a tax plan on each phase of the project to fund public services such as roads and flood control.

The lawsuit claims that that the county spent money collected from more than 1,600 residents in Area B of the Stevenson Ranch tax district on facilities beyond that area, including Pico Canyon Elementary School, which Area B children will not attend.

``We believe that the special taxes levied against Improvement Area B are valid and fully comply with the Mello-Roos Act and are consistent with the 1989 resolution that formed the community facilities district in Stevenson Ranch,'' said Warren Wellen, senior deputy county counsel.

The county counsel also issued a report to the Board of Supervisors on how the special tax district money was spent in Stevenson Ranch. The board requested that report after Moskal sued.

Moskal's attorney said his client has a good case.

``The demurrer (motion to dismiss) shows some desperate arguments,'' attorney Craig Collins said. He will ask the court to deny the county's motion when it is heard May 7.

Stevenson Ranch homeowners live in a tax district approved in 1989 by the county and set up in three phases for different geographic areas.

Homeowners pay a special Mello-Roos tax - $1,093 to $3,636 annually for 25 years - in addition to their property taxes.

In 2001, the county Board of Supervisors approved issuing about $16 million in bonds to be paid back by special taxes levied against Area B - where Moskal lives - to help build the school.

Moskal is asking that the county stop spending the $16 million outside Area B, repay residents the portion of the money spent outside the area and to either spend the money for improvements to Area B or retire the May 2000 bond.

While the county is challenging the merits of the lawsuit, three other families in Stevenson Ranch have filed claims - prerequisites to filing lawsuits - with the county seeking refunds equaling the portion of the May 2001 Mello-Roos money spent outside of their area.

Louis and Helen Bovasso, Joy Carpenter and Marc Dumlao, and David Friedrich filed the claims and could either join Moskal's lawsuit or file a separate suit of their own.

``We intend to proceed on behalf of these three additional people and any other people in Stevenson Ranch that oppose the illegal tax,'' Moskal said.

Officials from the county as well as Stevenson Ranch's developer, Lennar Communities, have maintained that the county is permitted to spend money outside the district - or areas, in this case - if the service or facilities benefit the homeowners in the district. As an example, they point to a bridge that is open to the general public.