The City of Lathrop took steps earlier this month to ensure that future residents pay for the impact that their home purchase has on the wider community. 

The Lathrop City Council voted to approve the creation of a new community facilities district in River Islands that the city believes will mitigate the impact of new growth in the community. 

The proposal is based off of the residents of a 2013 fiscal analysis study that forecasted that the River Islands master planned community would create a shortfall for the city’s general fund – with the influx of new residents, the cost of services required to support them would outstrip the city’s finances over time. 

As a result of that study, the first CFD for River Islands was put into place.

But thanks to revised property tax agreement that was reached between the County of San Joaquin and the City of Lathrop that was agreed to earlier this year, a new CFD will need to be put into place to reflect those changes and the potential impacts that may come from it. 

While the property tax revenue sharing agreement will not result in any immediate impact to property tax revenue, the staff report prepared for the council read, the potential exists for more property tax to be generated in the future than previously thought – potentially making up for the shortfall that the 2013 study pointed out. 

In the event that would happen, the City would have the ability to adjust the assessment to reflect that, according to the staff report. Similar situations have occurred for other neighboring municipalities and government agencies that found itself with more than was previously expected after a special tax was passed – allowing them to pay off the bonds sooner and potentially return money back to the pockets of ratepayers. 

Based on the language of the new tax sharing agreement, River Islands is now included in what is being called the West Lathrop Specific Plan, and rather than the 90/10 split that Lathrop previously got with the County of San Joaquin – with the county getting the majority – there will now be a 60/40 split with the county getting the slightly larger share. 

The money generated by the CFD is authorized to be used for police protection services, maintenance of open space, maintenance of roads and roadways, storm protection, landscaping for public areas, water and sewer infrastructure, updates to the Bradshaw’s Crossing bridge, public landscaping and recreational features, and roadway and related improvements. 

The new CFD will not result in any changes to existing rates being paid by current Rivers Islands residents and will only apply to new homeowners to help cover the cost of impact the development has on the community at large. 

For additional information, or to see the documentation of the CFD that was approved by the council, visit the City of Lathrop’s website at www.ci.lathrop.ca.us. 

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