Drive Westlake Boulevard north from Thousand Oaks Boulevard and you pass the North Ranch monument sign, then the turns for Cresthaven Drive, Cascade Avenue and Cloverleaf Street. The center medians along that whole stretch are scheduled for a full rebuild. The City of Thousand Oaks plans to remove the pines and other trees it has designated, starting in November 2026 and finishing by February 2027. Curb, irrigation and planting work follows from February 2027 through fall 2027.
The money comes from one particular source. The City's adopted capital budget says the project "will be funded through LLAD Zone 30." The City's annual engineer's report gives Zone 30 its own label, beginning with the words "North Ranch Areas." So the new medians are being paid for by a line item many North Ranch owners already see on their Ventura County property tax bills.
A Zone That Pays Only for Itself
Thousand Oaks funds medians, street trees, parkways and similar public landscaping through its Lighting and Landscaping Assessment District, or LLAD. The City says property owners inside the district are charged as part of their annual property taxes collected by Ventura County. Nearly every property pays for street lighting, but only about 40 percent pay for landscaping.
The landscaping side is split into 39 maintenance zones. According to the City, "the funds collected from property owners in a zone can only be used to benefit that same zone." The project's budget page makes the same point about this job. It says the Westlake Boulevard work "will provide a direct benefit to residents who are paying into the zone."
Zone 30 covers more than one boulevard. The FY 2026-27 Engineer's Report lists the landscaped areas the zone maintains, including these:
| Corridor | Zone 30 coverage |
|---|---|
| Westlake Boulevard | Center medians and both parkways, from the 101 Freeway to 500 feet north of 2170 Westlake Boulevard at the Lang Ranch border |
| Thousand Oaks Boulevard | Center median from Duesenberg to the Los Angeles County line |
| Lakeview Canyon | Medians and both parkways from Thousand Oaks Boulevard north to the last school exit |
| Kanan Road | Center medians and both parkways from Westlake Boulevard to Lindero Canyon |
| Lindero Canyon Road | Center medians, west parkway and berm from Kanan Road to the Los Angeles County line |
The same report says Zone 30 also pays for weed abatement in the zone's open space, sidewalk and curb repair, designated street trees, and the split rail fencing along its parkways. In practice, Zone 30 is the budget behind most of the roadside greenery between the 101 and the Lang Ranch line.
What the Zone Charges
Rates for each zone are set every June for the coming fiscal year. For fiscal year 2026-27, Zone 30's proposed landscape levy is $245.02 per equivalent benefit unit, or EBU. The zone covers 3,520 assessed parcels and 4,407.97 EBUs in total. Because the rate is set per benefit unit, what any one parcel pays depends on how many EBUs it carries. For comparison, the City says the average Thousand Oaks household pays $361.98 a year for landscape maintenance across all zones.
The City says the LLAD charge appears on the county tax bill as the line labeled "T.O. Lights & IMPRVMTS," and you can look up your own bill through the Ventura County online tax portal.
The FY 2026-27 table for Zone 30 also shows a "Capital Improvement Collection / (Transfer)" of $114,937.45. That is the zone collecting toward capital work like median rebuilds, on top of its routine mowing and trimming.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If you have questions about how your own parcel is assessed, check them against your tax bill and with the right professional.
Thousand Oaks Boulevard Went First
Westlake Boulevard is the second Zone 30 median project in two years. The first was the center median on Thousand Oaks Boulevard between Duesenberg Drive and the Los Angeles County line near Via Merida, listed as CI 5653. The City started design in spring 2024 and began construction in summer 2025. The Engineer's Report says the work was finished in spring 2026.
The City described the old medians in the same terms on both projects. Its Thousand Oaks Boulevard project page cited dead and dying ornamental turf and trees not suited to the climate, and that project planted 37 oaks. Construction began July 7, 2025, with crews working 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. Anyone who drives Thousand Oaks Boulevard toward the county line has already seen the Zone 30 template. Westlake Boulevard gets the same treatment at a larger scale.
What Comes Out and What Goes In
The City's project FAQ explains the tree removals plainly: "Each tree was evaluated by a third-party arborist, and it was determined that the pine trees were inappropriate for the median." The removals also make room to regrade the median to meet state requirements on landscaping and water quality, as the City describes them.
The replacement plan puts 71 new oak trees and about 9,000 shrubs of various sizes into the Westlake Boulevard medians. The City says the design draws on lessons from demonstration sites in its Forestry Master Plan and uses high-efficiency irrigation with drought-resistant, California-friendly plants. The capital budget traces the project back to that plan, which the City adopted in 2017, in its second edition, and which set street-tree and understory planting palettes "that focused on water conservation, sustainability, and community input."
The construction scope in the City's bid notice goes well beyond planting. It covers removing and replacing median curb, gutter and hardscape, adjusting catch basin grades, new pavement markings, a complete replacement of the irrigation system, and a plant establishment period. The work area also includes the median island at Valley Springs Drive.
The Budget, and the Bill After It
The adopted FY 2025-27 Capital Improvement Program budgets the project at $3,950,000. That total includes $3,470,000 for construction and $480,000 for design and environmental work, all from the AD 79-2 Landscape fund. The City released the construction bid on September 4, 2026, with responses due October 14. The City says construction contracts are awarded by the City Council.
For Zone 30, the more lasting number may be the ongoing cost after the build. The capital budget's operations note reads as follows.
"Water usage should decrease as plant material matures. Other operational impacts may include an increase in costs to the City's landscape maintenance contract because new plant material will require more frequent maintenance. All costs will be paid for out of LLAD Zone 30."
In that passage, the City's adopted budget document expects the water bill to fall as the plants mature and the maintenance bill to possibly rise, with both paid by the same zone.
The State Clock Behind the Schedule
The City's FAQ says the project is meant to meet state mandates, federal conservation guidelines, the Forestry Master Plan and the City's Climate and Environmental Action Plan. One state deadline falls right inside the construction window. Under Assembly Bill 1572, now Water Code section 10608.14, California bans irrigating nonfunctional mowed grass on commercial, institutional and industrial properties with treated drinking water. The State Water Resources Control Board lists January 1, 2027 as the date when properties owned by local governments outside disadvantaged communities must stop watering nonfunctional turf with potable water. The Board defines nonfunctional turf as mowed grass outside recreational or community use areas. The turf in a boulevard median fits that definition.
Here is how the dates line up on the City's posted schedule:
- September 4, 2026: construction bid released, with responses due October 14.
- November 2026: removal of dying, unhealthy and designated trees scheduled to begin.
- January 1, 2027: state deadline for local-government properties to stop potable irrigation of nonfunctional turf.
- February 2027: tree removal scheduled to finish and civil, landscape and irrigation construction to begin.
- Fall 2027: construction expected to be complete.
The Westlake Blvd Landscape Improvements project page has a sign-up form for email updates. Questions go to Engineering Assistant Mario Mazed at [email protected] or (805) 449-2477. For public tree requests anywhere in the city, the Municipal Service Center takes calls at 805-449-2499.
North Ranch's roadside landscaping is funded by its own zone, and the medians along Westlake Boulevard are part of the first impression of every home beyond them. If you're curious how the new Westlake Boulevard medians and your Zone 30 assessment fit into the value of your property, Tina Lucarelli is glad to walk through it with you. Request a Private Consultation & Complimentary Home Valuation.
