Brentwood has dozens of landscape and lighting assessment districts, and unlike Mello-Roos, none of them triggers a standardized warning notice when a home is sold. California Civil Code section 1102.6b requires that notice for Mello-Roos special taxes, 1915 Act bond assessments and PACE. It does not reach assessments formed under the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972. So the charge is real, it is annual, and nothing automatically flags it.
Across 460+ East Bay closings over twenty years, this is the line item buyers find after closing rather than before.
What is a landscape and lighting assessment district?
It is a way for a city to charge the properties that benefit from specific landscaping and lighting for the cost of maintaining it.
Brentwood forms these under the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972, Part 2 of Division 15 of the California Streets and Highways Code, sections 22500 through 22679. The city's own engineer's reports name that authority directly.
The consolidated report for fiscal year 2024-25 summarizes sixty-five districts, with two more, districts 19-3 and 21-1, reported separately. So a Brentwood address can sit inside one of well over sixty of these.
What they pay for, in the city's own words, is the construction, operation, maintenance, servicing and replacement of landscaping and street lighting along arterial and local roadways, the Grant Street Trail and other trail improvements, parks and recreational improvements, and appurtenant facilities.
In other words: the entry monument, the parkway strip, the decorative lighting and the median that make a neighborhood look finished.
How is this different from Mello-Roos?
Different law, different legal character, different approval, and critically, different disclosure.
A Mello-Roos charge is a special tax formed under the Community Facilities Act of 1982 and approved by a two-thirds vote. An assessment district charge is an assessment, which under Proposition 218 must be proportional to the special benefit a parcel actually receives, must be supported by a detailed report from a registered professional engineer, and is approved by property owner ballots weighted by each owner's financial obligation.
Proposition 218 also requires the city to separate general benefit from special benefit and to pay for the general share itself, and it blocks the assessment entirely if ballots in opposition outweigh ballots in favor.
Brentwood has four Community Facilities Districts. It has more than sixty assessment districts. Buyers hear constantly about the first category and almost never about the second.
What do these actually cost?
They vary enormously, which is the reason to look yours up rather than assume.
District 21-1, the Deer Ridge Landscape Improvements district, assessed a total of $99,072 for fiscal year 2024-25 at $91.56 per equivalent dwelling unit, made up of a $66.78 construction component and a $24.78 maintenance component, spread across 1,056 single-family parcels and two non-residential parcels. It funds fourteen landscape sites including entry monuments, decorative lighting, fountains and parkway irrigation.
District 19-3, covering citywide and local maintenance services across seventeen zones of benefit, assessed $148,829 that year, at rates that differ by zone.
Other districts named in the city's reports include Brentwood Country Club, Hawthorne Landing, Pheasant Run, Diablo Estates, Garin Ranch, Brentwood Lakes, Deer Ridge Country Club and Vineyards. Per-unit rates in the reports range from double digits to several hundred dollars a year.
One warning that matters. More than one district can carry a familiar neighborhood name. There is a district 21-1 called Deer Ridge Landscape Improvements and a separate district 99-5 called Deer Ridge Country Club. Never conclude which district a home is in from the neighborhood's name. The assessment roll in the engineer's report is what governs, parcel by parcel.
Where does it show up, and how do I find mine?
It shows up on the Contra Costa County property tax bill. The city's report states that these assessments are paid in the same manner and at the same time as annual property taxes, and the county's own term for the section they appear in is special assessments.
Three ways to find yours, in order of reliability. Pull the actual tax bill for the parcel rather than an estimate, and read every line below the ad valorem taxes. Call the number the county prints next to each special assessment line, which is the agency that levies it. And ask the City of Brentwood which assessment districts include that assessor's parcel number.
Do all three inside your contingency period. An annual charge is not a deal breaker, but discovering one after close feels like being sold something you were not told about, even when nobody did anything wrong.
If you're buying or selling in Brentwood
If you're buying: ask for the current tax bill, not the tax estimate, and add every special assessment line into your monthly figure before you decide what you can afford. If the neighborhood has entry monuments, decorative lighting and immaculate medians, someone is paying for them, and after close that someone is you.
If you're selling: give your agent the actual bill up front. There is no standardized notice for these the way there is for Mello-Roos, and your transfer disclosure obligations still cover material facts you know about. Volunteering the number early costs you nothing. Having it surface late costs you leverage.
Frequently asked questions about Brentwood assessment districts
How many landscape and lighting assessment districts does Brentwood have?
The city's consolidated final engineer's report for fiscal year 2024-25 summarizes sixty-five districts, with districts 19-3 and 21-1 covered in separate reports. They are formed under the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972, Streets and Highways Code sections 22500 through 22679.
Is a landscape and lighting assessment the same as Mello-Roos?
No. Mello-Roos is a special tax under the Community Facilities Act of 1982 approved by two-thirds vote. A landscape and lighting charge is an assessment under the 1972 Act, must be proportional to the special benefit a parcel receives, requires a registered engineer's report, and is approved by property owner ballots weighted by financial obligation under Proposition 218.
Does the seller have to give me a notice about it?
Not the standardized one. California Civil Code section 1102.6b requires a notice of special tax or assessment for Mello-Roos special taxes, fixed lien assessments securing 1915 Act bonds, and PACE contractual assessments. Landscaping and Lighting Act assessments are not on that list. A seller's general transfer disclosure obligations for known material facts still apply, so ask directly and read the tax bill yourself.
How much is a Brentwood landscape and lighting assessment?
It depends entirely on the district. District 21-1, Deer Ridge Landscape Improvements, was $91.56 per equivalent dwelling unit for fiscal year 2024-25, totaling $99,072 across 1,056 single-family parcels and two non-residential parcels. Other districts in the city's reports run from double digits to several hundred dollars per unit annually.
How do I find out which district my Brentwood home is in?
Pull the actual county property tax bill for the parcel and read the special assessment lines, call the agency number the county prints beside each line, and ask the City of Brentwood which districts include that assessor's parcel number. Do not rely on the neighborhood name, because more than one district can share one.
The Bottom Line on Brentwood Assessment Districts
Brentwood has four Mello-Roos districts and more than sixty landscape and lighting assessment districts. The first category comes with a required notice. The second does not.
The fix is simple and it takes one document. Get the real tax bill before your contingencies expire and read every line on it.
Want to know what a specific Brentwood address is assessed?
Send me the address and I will pull the tax bill and tell you what every line on it is.
See homes for sale in Brentwood
Selling and want the assessments handled properly? Start with a valuation, or call or text 925-250-9611.
Sources
City of Brentwood Final Engineer's Reports for fiscal year 2024-25, published at brentwoodca.gov, for the sixty-five districts summarized in the consolidated report, the separate reports for districts 19-3 and 21-1, the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972 authority at Streets and Highways Code sections 22500 through 22679, the scope of improvements funded, the district 21-1 total of $99,072 and rate of $91.56 per equivalent dwelling unit split $66.78 construction and $24.78 maintenance across 1,056 single-family and two non-residential parcels, and the district 19-3 total of $148,829 across seventeen zones.
City of Brentwood for the four Community Facilities Districts.
California Constitution Article XIII D, section 4 for the proportional special benefit limit, the registered professional engineer's report requirement, the separation of general from special benefit, the weighted ballot procedure and the majority protest rule.
California Civil Code section 1102.6b for the notice requirement covering Mello-Roos special taxes, fixed lien assessments securing bonds under the Improvement Bond Act of 1915, and contractual assessment programs, and for the absence of Landscaping and Lighting Act assessments from that list.
Contra Costa County for the treatment of special assessments on the property tax bill and the agency phone numbers printed beside each line.
Assessment districts, rates and boundaries change every fiscal year. Confirm the current position for any specific parcel with the City of Brentwood and the county tax bill before relying on it.
Jaz Chand, Broker Associate | Homes With Accent
The Jaz Team at Merrill Signature Properties | DRE #01751823
Phone/Text: 925-250-9611 | Jaz@HomesWithAccent.com
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Assessment amounts and district boundaries are parcel-specific. Confirm everything with the City of Brentwood, the Contra Costa County Tax Collector and your own advisors.