Preliminary Results Released From Whitehawk Ranch Special Election

WHITEHAWK — Registered voters in the Whitehawk Ranch Community Services District participated in a special election on April 14. The all-mail ballot featured Measure A, which sought approval for a parcel tax increase. Plumas County officials placed the measure on the ballot at the district board’s request in October 2025. Ballots needed to arrive by 8 PM on election day or bear a postmark of April 14.

Plumas County has released preliminary results from the Whitehawk Ranch special election. Measure A received 40 yes votes and 17 no votes in the initial count (roughly 70% yes). Only 51% of registered voters in the district have had their ballots counted so far. According to the Plumas County elections office, some additional correctly postmarked ballots have arrived since the first count on April 14. The second day of processing is scheduled for April 22, after which officials expect to release final results. The proposal requires a two-thirds majority for passage.

Plumas County will continue to accept properly postmarked ballots. California law requires county officials to complete the official canvass and certify the results by May 14.

Measure A proposed a 37-percent increase of $231 annually for each residential parcel and $462 for each commercial parcel. The change would replace the existing $617.50-per-parcel assessment adopted in 2015. New rates would reach $848.50 for residential parcels and $1,079.50 for commercial parcels in the 2026-2027 tax year. Subsequent annual increases of 2.5 percent would apply.

Funds raised by the tax would support ongoing maintenance, repairs, operations, and upgrades to district properties and services. The ballot language specified the swimming pool, spa, tennis and pickleball courts, gazebo, community center, exercise and maintenance building, bocce ball court, and horseshoe area, pond, equestrian center, parking area, burn pile, RV storage area, and approximately 100 acres of hiking trails and open space. Defensible space maintenance on the trails would also receive support.

Plumas County Counsel Joshua Brechtel prepared an impartial analysis of the measure. He stated that the Whitehawk Ranch Community Services District may only use the tax funds for the purposes stated in Measure A: “ongoing maintenance, repairs, and upgrades” for district properties and services. District officials noted in a question-and-answer document that the increase would help address needs for the assets. The tax applies to all property owners in the district boundaries and appears on Plumas County tax bills.