Clayton's Trails, Street Trees and Fountain Run on Their Own Tax. The Early Count Says It Ends Next June.

Since 1997, a separate parcel tax has paid for Clayton's trails, roadway plantings and the fountain at the corner of Oakhurst and Clayton Road. Voters have renewed it every decade. In the County's first post-election update on November 6, Measure N, the renewal, had 52.91 percent yes. It needed two-thirds.

The same update showed Measure M, the City's proposed 1 percent general sales tax, losing 57.19 percent to 42.81 percent. The parcel tax behind Clayton's everyday greenery is set to expire on June 30, 2027, and the new general revenue the City asked for is not on track to pass. The County still labels these results unofficial, with certification targeted for December 3.

What the tax pays for, and what it doesn't

The tax funds Community Facilities District No. 2007-1, which the City calls its landscape maintenance district, or LMD. According to the City's Measure N FAQ, the district maintains:

• About 27 miles of public trails
• 515 acres of open space, including weed abatement
• 2,871 street trees
• About 2 million square feet of public roadway landscaping and irrigation
• The Clayton Fountain at Oakhurst Boulevard and Clayton Road

The district's 2019 annual report lists the roads its plantings run along: Atchinson Stage Road, Center Street, Clayton Road, Diablo Parkway, Marsh Creek Road, Oakhurst Drive and Peacock Creek Drive. On a drive through town, most of the greenery between the curb and the sound wall is district work.

The City's parks are a different budget. The FAQ states that The Grove, Clayton Community Park, Lydia Lane Park, Stranahan Park and North Valley Park are not maintained with this tax. That matters next month. The Clayton Business and Community Association's Holidays in The Grove is still scheduled for December 5 at 5 p.m. The lineup includes the Merrie Olde Carolers, the CVCHS Marching Band, Mt. Diablo Elementary second-graders, cider and donut holes from Clayton Community Church, and Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Gazebo for the tree lighting. CBCA volunteers are scheduled to put up downtown decorations on November 21. The park it takes place in is outside the district's budget.

A majority that still falls short

Measure N is a special tax, which means its money can only be spent on the district's listed services. Under the California rules summarized in the City's Measure M FAQ #3, that kind of tax needs two-thirds voter approval, while a general tax like Measure M needs only a simple majority. Here is how the three most recent Clayton measures compare:

Ten years ago, nearly four in five voters renewed this tax. In the first count this month, about half did. Measure N had 2,485 yes votes and 2,212 no votes. At that total, two-thirds would have taken roughly 3,132 yes votes, about 650 more than it had. In that update, 4,993 of Clayton's 8,580 registered voters had cast ballots, and all five precincts had reported.

Measure N also would have changed the rate. The current levy for fiscal year 2026-27 is $312.84 per residential parcel. Measure N proposed a starting maximum of $354.45 for 2027-28. That figure includes a one-time 10 percent increase layered on the usual inflation adjustment. After that, yearly increases would have been capped at the lower of CPI or 3 percent, with City Council approval required. The difference is about $42 a year per parcel. The ballot result doesn't show which part voters were weighing, the renewal itself or the increase.

Where the money goes now

The City's Measure N town-hall presentation includes the district's major actual costs for fiscal year 2025-26. The water bill stands out:

Water alone took about a fifth of the district's roughly $1.38 million in FY26 revenue. In that year's amended budget the district spent $51,373 more than it took in, and the presentation projects the fund ending FY27 with about $252,000. The same deck says district reserves "absorbed several years of costs exceeding revenues" and "have now been substantially reduced." Even with the tax in place, the district has been running close to empty.

If Measure N passed, the City's revenue table showed $1,512,000 coming in for FY28. If it failed, the table showed $0 for that year and every year through FY37. According to the FAQ, if the tax is not renewed it ends on schedule and does not continue automatically.

Why the general fund is a thin backup

In principle, the City Council can pay for trail and tree work out of the general fund. The FAQ says future councils will decide whether to put other legally available money toward these services, and how much. The general fund is already short. The City's revised FY 2026-27 budget projects an operating shortfall of about $324,000, and its ten-year forecast puts the annual gap near $1.18 million by FY 2036-37.

Measure M was the City's plan for new general revenue. It was projected to raise about $1 million a year, starting April 1, 2027. The district's FY27 amended budget is $1,386,000 in spending. So even if Measure M had passed, its full yearly yield would have been smaller than what the trails and street trees cost, and as a general tax it would not have been earmarked for them. In a September Diablo Gazette column, Mayor Jeff Wan wrote that without new revenue, "landscaping, beautification, and facility upkeep will be reduced or stopped," and that "if the City stops watering trees or maintaining landscaping, watering them years later will not bring dead trees" back. He also noted that the City has 26 employees, six of them maintenance workers covering parks, streets, facilities, landscaping and public spaces.

The town-hall deck states the limit plainly: "Without that dedicated funding, the City can not absorb any LMD service other than required fire mitigation." That line covers irrigation along Clayton Road, tree trimming, trail upkeep and the fountain.

The City has also said nothing changes right away. Its October FAQ says no service reduction, staffing action or spending change happens automatically after the election, and that no specific post-election reduction plan has been adopted. The trail crews and irrigation schedules this winter are still funded by the current year's $312.84 levy. Decisions about what happens after June 30, 2027 will be made at public budget meetings.

The dates between now and next June

1. November 10, 4 p.m. The County's next scheduled results update.
2. November 17 Regular City Council meeting.
3. December 1 and December 15 Regular City Council meetings.
4. December 3 The County's target date for certified final results.
5. December 5, 5 p.m. Holidays in The Grove, held in a park the district tax does not maintain.
6. June 30, 2027 The current district tax expires.

The FAQ says volunteer workdays, sponsorships and donations can supplement district services through discrete cleanup, planting or beautification projects. It also says nothing has been adopted to replace the year-round program. The East Bay Times results coverage and the County's official results page will carry the later counts. Whatever the final numbers are, the next set of decisions about Clayton's trails and street trees will be made at public City budget meetings.

This post is general information about a local ballot measure, not tax, legal or financial advice, so please confirm how a parcel tax applies to your property with a qualified professional. If you own in Clayton and want to know how the City's budget choices on trails and roadway upkeep might show up in your street's curb appeal, Holman Stone Real Estate is glad to walk through it with you. You can start with a free home valuation.