Published: Tuesday, October 31, 2000

Measure B

The proposed Santa Clara County Measure B, put forward by the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors, would provide for "the establishment and levy of a special tax to pay the cost of clean, safe creeks and natural flood protection plan in the combined flood control zone of the Santa Clara Valley Water District."

The measure, which would be a tax on each parcel of land within the district, would provide funds for a variety of projects on creeks including San Francisquito, which runs along the northern border of Palo Alto. The measure would provide funding for a planning study and design of an engineering plan to provide flood damage reduction for 3,000 parcels.

According to the County Counsel's office, a single family residential parcel that was a quarter-acre or less could pay $39 annually. A larger such parcel would be taxed at $39 plus $2 per acre for the area over .25-acre. All special tax rates could be increase in eay year beginning July 1, 2002, by up to the larger of a cost-of-living index increase or 3 percent.