Supervisors set Community Facilities District formation hearing for Meadowood

A hearing on the creation of a Community Facilities District for Pardee Homes’ Meadowood development will take place, May 9, at the San Diego County Administration Center.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0, March 28, to set the hearing date while also finding that the assessment district’s creation is within the scope of the project’s Environmental Impact Report.

“A Community Facilities District is a great way to ensure this planned community is well maintained into the future including public trails, a public park, and stormwater drainage and treatment facilities,” Supervisor Bill Horn said.

In January 2012, the county supervisors approved the 384-acre Meadowood development, which will include 397 single-family homes, 447 multi-family dwelling units, 13 acres for an elementary school which will be built by the Bonsall Unified School District, four acres of park land, 128 acres of biological open space, 47 acres of agricultural open space, 5.9 miles of trails and a wastewater treatment plant.

The 1-percent property tax will not be sufficient to cover the county, San Diego County Flood Control District or North County Fire Protection District services which will be needed to serve Meadowood. The county and Pardee Homes have been working to create a Community Facilities District which would include a special tax to pay for services not funded by the regular property tax. The revenue would be distributed through a Joint Community Facilities Agreement which stipulates the collection process as well as the distribution process.

The Community Facilities District would allow for the collection of three special taxes: one for county services, one for flood control services - of which the county supervisors also serve as the board but is administered by the county's Department of Public Works, and as such it is a separate legal district - and one for fire and emergency medical services. The initial tax for county services would be $466 per single-family residential unit and $349 per multi-family residential unit. The base tax to fund flood control services would be $295 per single-family unit and $221 per multi-family unit.

The Community Facilities District is divided into seven zones totaling 73.59 acres, and the tax per undeveloped acre varies by zone. The highest rate is for an 8.12-acre zone with an initial assessment of $13,592 per acre for county services and $8,595 per acre for flood control services. The lowest rate of $3,167 per acre for county services and $2,003 per acre for flood control needs applies to a 29.57-acre zone.

The zones correspond to residential planning areas and comprise separate phases of the planned final map. The structure of zones allows the special taxes applicable to each zone to be recalibrated in the event of a reduction in the number of units or the taxable acreage at the time the final map is recorded.

There would be no levy for fire protection and emergency medical services on the undeveloped property. Each single-family unit would initially be assessed $287 for the fire and emergency medical services tax while each multi-family dwelling unit would be assessed $186.

The initial tax amount is for fiscal year 2018-2019. The taxes would be increased by 2 percent annually to cover the increased cost of services.

The property will also be part of Zone A of the San Diego County Street Lighting District and property owners will pay that annual assessment, which is currently $13.50 per benefit unit.

In 2007 the county supervisors adopted Board Policy I-136 which outlines how potential Community Facilities District projects will be evaluated, ensures that the CFDs are created for the public good and stipulates disclosure requirements which notify prospective property owners of the assessment. Policy I-136 also defines credit requirements to protect bondholders from default for CFDs which issue bonds for reimbursement of constructed infrastructure, although Meadowood will fund services only and will not use long-term bonds. The first CFD in unincorporated San Diego County was established for a Harmony Grove development, and in 2014 a CFD for the Horse Creek Ridge project near Meadowood became the unincorporated county’s second CFD.

The first step required to form a CFD is a petition from the developer, which has been received along with the proposed boundary map. The March 28 adoption of the intent to form a CFD is the next step followed by the noticed public hearing and adoption of a resolution forming the CFD. At the May 9 hearing, the county supervisors will consider not only the establishment of the Meadowood CFD but also the proposed rate and method of apportionment of the collection of the special tax, the Joint Community Facilities Agreement with the North County Fire Protection District and the San Diego County Flood Control District, and other elements of the CFD.

Because the proposed CFD area is currently uninhabited and Pardee is the sole property owner, a consent and waiver will allow for a waiver of the normal election procedure to form the CFD and the ballot to form the CFD can be returned immediately upon the adoption of the resolution forming the assessment district.

In 2014 San Diego County's Local Agency Formation Commission detached the Meadowood land from the San Diego County Regional Fire Authority boundaries and annexed the 384 acres into the North County Fire Protection District. The Local Agency Formation Commission transfer provided the North County Fire Protection District with 7 percent of the 1-percent basic property tax assessment which was based on previous property tax exchange agreements. That funding will not cover the full cost of delivering fire protection and emergency medical service to Meadowood, so additional revenue to cover the fire district’s cost to serve the area will be obtained through the CFD.

The Joint Community Facilities Agreement will require formal approval by the North County Fire Protection District, which is scheduled to consider the agreement April 24, and the San Diego County Flood Control District, which plans an April 25 board hearing.