Homeowners in the Central Lathrop area won’t be paying quite as high of a special tax rate as initially forecasted. 

After approving the formation of a pair of new community facilities districts covering land that is part of the Central Lathrop Specific Plan – chiefly, the majority of the property that was once owned by Richland Planned Communities around Lathrop High School – last year, the Lathrop City Council took the step on Monday to reduce the tax rate for those parcels before any development had taken place. 

Using the services of a rate consultant, the city was able to determine that the interest that would need to be paid on the bonds for both of the CFDs that were approved last year was lower than initially expected, and at the request of the landowner brought the matter back to the council for its consideration. 

The land, which is owned by Saybrook, is broken up into five areas, and as part of the developer’s agreement with the city new bonds were issued to cover the property that was previously tied to a series of bonds that were issued in 2006 – essentially servicing the outstanding debt, which has been incurring interest ever since the bonds were defaulted on when the developer pulled out of the deal. 

By acquiring nearly all of the property that was initially affected by the original bonds and agreeing to a restructuring that frees other property from the constraints of the previous bonds, Saybrook holds nearly all of the voting rights for the CFDs – which passed a public vote unanimously back in November. 

The restructuring of the bonds is expected to be finalized in late February as long all of the conditions are met, and the completion of the transaction will formally open up an area to development once again. 

Saybrook has been acquiring the property that comprises a large portion of the Central Lathrop area for several years and has made a number of improvements that were either not completed or abandoned when the previous developer pulled out – including the sewer lift station that serves Lathrop High School and the development that will occur around it. 

The council voted unanimously to approve the developer’s recommendation. 

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.