There has been, in the past five years, a major policy shift among Manteca’s leadership when it comes to growth.
The new bottom line is simple.
Elected leaders want growth to absolutely pay for everything it legally can.
At the same time, the council has decided they won’t give developers their state-required blessing to access State Community Infrastructure Program (SCIP) bonding without something in exchange.
SCIP pays for subdivision improvements such as streets, sidewalks, sewer-water-storm lines, and such.
While the city under state law must approve a developer’s participation, the city is not on the hook if the bonds are not repaid.
Instead, is shows up as a 30-year community facility district tax (CFD) lien against individual property owners in the subdivision.
In other words, the homeowner is paying the cost.
Given upfront infrastructure can easily run between $15 million and $40 million, developers are eager not to have to secure and finance the work through traditional means.
The city uses the developers’ desire for SCIP to secure their commitment of the development to a recently formed citywide CFD for police and fire personnel as well as future and ongoing street maintenance in the neighborhood where the fees are collected.
Unlike SCIP repayments that end after 30 years, the police-fire-street CFD is in perpetuity.
It is in addition to Manteca’s CFDs that cover specific neighborhoods for park and landscaping maintenance. Those CFDs formed in the past 20 years also include street lighting and in some cases neighborhood storm system upkeep.
Given the relative newness of the police-fire-street CFD, not enough homes have yet been built to enable the city to spend on additional personnel with a required reserve fund.
That said, it could happen within a decade.
Based on Bulletin tracking, there have been close to 1,000 homes built under the citywide CFD with the odds high of another 3,000 over the next five years.
Improved property tax split
The city didn’t stop there.
San Joaquin County was willing to negotiate a more robust 60-40 split on land annexed to the city.
This is a little simplistic, but the County collects roughly 22 cents of every basic dollar in property tax in non-city areas of the county.
Previously, when land was annexed to the city, it received 20 percent of the 22 cents of assessed property tax dollars.
It did not come close to covering the property tax sharing of the city’s general fund on a per house basis.
The increase means between the high property tax split the city’s reserve plus the per household local sales tax generation of new development, the new households are covering their share of the property/sales tax general revenue funds needed to run the city.
The county doesn’t come up short by any means.
An acre that may have had one house, if any, ends up with six based on current market value.
That helps strengthen county services for everything from the courts system, jail, and sheriff’s department to various human services.
Those services also benefit municipal residents.
The best example so
far of Manteca’s new
attitude toward growth
The City Council when they meet at 6 p.m. tonight will decide whether to a annex 123 acres immediately north of Union Ranch east of Union Road to a point even with the northern boundary of Del Webb at Woodbridge.
In doing so it will include zoning and a development agreement that will be the City of Manteca platinum standard.
There is a laundry list of additional fees beyond what the city requires for things such as major street projects, government facilities, parks, fire facility fees and basic items such as water and sewer connections.
The additional fees come to $11.1 million or $24,550 for each of the 455 homes proposed:
*$5,460,000 or $12,000 per home to help the city purchase land for a community park in north Manteca. That is on top of the community park growth fee.
*$1,501,500 or $3,300 per home for city infrastructure improvements that can be used at the city’s discretion.
*$1,501,500 or $3,300 per home to help build Manteca’s new police station. That is in top of the government facilities growth fee.
*$1,137,500 or $2,500 per home to help buy a new fire engine. That is on top of the fire facilities and equipment growth fee.
*$910,00 or $2,000 per home to help create affordable housing stock for Manteca.
*$159,250 or $350 per home for installation of chargers on city campuses for a city electric vehicle fleet.
*$500,500 or $1,100 per home to offset costs for various solid waste programs. The total is roughly the cost of a new solid waste collection truck.
It should be noted the city’s new solid waste fee increases reflects the cost of additional and replacement trucks. That means the $500,500 is for solid waste operations above and beyond what is needed for the 455 new homes
The CFD fees come to $1,800 for each home.
They will generate $818,000 when the subdivision is built out.
That includes annually:
*$274,000 for public safety roughly the cost of either an additional police officer or firefighter.
*$315,000 for street maintenance to cover ongoing needs as well as best practices such as periodic chip seals and resurfacing/repaying on a set schedule within the neighborhood.
*$229,000 for street light costs, landscape and similar maintenance.
In addition, the developer will be making all improvements to Union Road, before the first house can be sold.
The developer has also agreed to resurface Union Road from south of their project to the Commons at Union driveway.
The project will also be required to connect with Brunswick Road.
Brunswick Road, where the Delta College farm is located, dead-ends after starting at East Frontage Road just South of Perry & Son and north of the Lathrop Road and Interstate 99 interchange.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
