Mello-Roos & the Great Park

WTTCHMN

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The Great Park series outlined how special Mello-Roos taxes pay for the development of the park, highlighting the fact that many of the residents don?t understand that their tax dollars go towards developing the park, or that the city council had placed bonds on their neighborhoods to finance the development.

Great Park resident Eugenio Zheng stepped to the mic during public comments.

?When we bought a house, nobody told me my taxes were actually paying for Great Park facilities. I thought all we were paying was for the schools, for the best amenities exclusively used by residents,? Zheng said. ?The Great Park won?t affect the city financially or the rest of the community, but we?re taking 100% responsibility.?

?We?re just like a cow being milked.?
https://voiceofoc.org/2020/05/city-...-multiple-public-letters-at-taxpayer-expense/
 
According to city records on the establishment of the special taxes, homes in the development could pay anywhere from $2,000 to just over $21,000 in additional taxes per year. The $2,000 statistic is for a property less than 800 square feet.

The disclaimer announcing the special taxes is a 10-page document that shows perspective homeowners the cost to their home and a basic overview of the cost range in their neighborhood. It also states that the maximum tax can increase by 2% annually for the first 40 years after the special bonds were issued, and can then grow by 3% every year after that.

In the Great Park, the taxes are designed to automatically increase by that 2% annually according to city records.

There is no sunset date for the additional taxes.

Irvine City Councilman Anthony Kuo said that while the special taxes in new infrastructure aren?t uncommon, the fact that they?re levied permanently is different due to past decisions of the council.
https://voiceofoc.org/2020/03/the-g...meowners-are-paying-for-the-citys-big-dreams/
 
This is probably why I got the stink eye from the parents at one of the parks in the GP neighborhood.  They seemed to want to ask me if I lived there.  In fact I felt kinda guilty using their park and not paying any MR for it.  That tree house sure is pretty.
 
zubs said:
This is probably why I got the stink eye from the parents at one of the parks in the GP neighborhood.  They seemed to want to ask me if I lived there.  In fact I felt kinda guilty using their park and not paying any MR for it.  That tree house sure is pretty.

GP residents are not paying for exclusive use of those parks, just the proximity to it.  They knew what they were signing up for. 
 
Poor Eugenio.

I agree. The notion that it was all going to be private without gates is... uninformed.
 
Yes, most other MRs in Irvine expire... the GP ones are "special".

They should have at least built a lake or two... I miss those.
 
Some homes have $21k in MR per year?  I thought the most expensive MR was around $11k-$12k per year.

So I buy a $1.7M new home with $21k MR, I'm paying around $3,300/mo in property tax (with mello) before my mortgage... eek.
 
Somebody posted the MR for Altair before, hits $20k.
https://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,11860.msg269359.html#msg269359

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irvinehomeowner said:
Mety said:
What happened to the water park?

Was in the plans... not sure now with Covidpocalypse.

wait. when i signed for a place in great park. i was i under the impression that the mellos roos is 70 years.  It?s prettt damn long. but it?s not eternal. 
 
City should have stipulated in contracts guaranteed discounts / perks for GP owners for services: discounted amphitheater tickets, one free entrance per year for waterpark, free skate rentals for ice skating etc....
 
iacrenter said:
City should have stipulated in contracts guaranteed discounts / perks for GP owners for services: discounted amphitheater tickets, one free entrance per year for waterpark, free skate rentals for ice skating etc....

Ha!  Free skate rentals for only $21K in MR each year (and increasing 2% annually)!  What a deal!  I hope those GP home prices were factored down to accommodate these high MRs. 
 
paydawg said:
iacrenter said:
City should have stipulated in contracts guaranteed discounts / perks for GP owners for services: discounted amphitheater tickets, one free entrance per year for waterpark, free skate rentals for ice skating etc....

Ha!  Free skate rentals for only $21K in MR each year (and increasing 2% annually)!  What a deal!  I hope those GP home prices were factored down to accommodate these high MRs. 

Obviously any discounts would pale in comparison to actual MR but it would be politically astute. Politicians look like they are giving GP residents more for their money, developers can market "exclusive benefits", and buyers can delude themselves into thinking they got something besides a higher tax bill each year  :)
 
Is the MR tax really permanent on homes in Altair? According to my calculation, the annual tax rate (MR and HOA included) for those 5000+ sqft homes is 2.5%. That's going to a big financial burden.
 
talkirvine said:
Is the MR tax really permanent on homes in Altair? According to my calculation, the annual tax rate (MR and HOA included) for those 5000+ sqft homes is 2.5%. That's going to a big financial burden.

If you're calculating 2.5% as of this year, then it's going to be higher than that every year, since the MR component can indefinitely increase 2% annually.  Yes, it's a crazy burden.
 
DBtoOC said:
talkirvine said:
Is the MR tax really permanent on homes in Altair? According to my calculation, the annual tax rate (MR and HOA included) for those 5000+ sqft homes is 2.5%. That's going to a big financial burden.

If you're calculating 2.5% as of this year, then it's going to be higher than that every year, since the MR component can indefinitely increase 2% annually.  Yes, it's a crazy burden.

There is a fair amount of high end cars roll around this neighborhood, Lamborghini, Bentley, Aston Martin,,,,etc. I assume they have no problems pay this tax. Just like in Shady Canyon. It?s sure keeping the HAVE, confine and co-mingle in that hood. It?s not what you know, but it?s who you know.
 
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