Sept 22nd, 2008 SDUHSD Letter to Residents of CFD 94-2

Things are moving right along in building a dialog between concerned residents, the school district (SDUHSD) and the FONC group (“Friends of North County”).

The new supertintendent, Ken Noah, is a refreshing addition. Instead of circling the wagons after flaming arrows were rained down on the district, he’s moving to transparency and openness. It’s a great thing to have more of this out in the open, as that will both help homeowners in La Costa Valley and the other neighborhoods which have been paying into the Mello-Roos assessment, and it will also help the district.

Mr. Noah’s letter was mailed to every taxpaper in CDF 94-2, so if, for some reason, you’ve been paying your assessment and didn’t get your copy, contact the school district right away.

In the meantime, hopefully the October 3rd meeting with Mr. Hoah and the Honorable Judge DeDiglia will help us all have a better understanding of the facts, as well as the motivations of the FONC group, the school district, and other concerned homeowners.

Be sure to put the date October 3rd into your calendar. Contact the district for exact details about the place and time. Also, contact members of the La Costa Valley Homeowners Association Board and the middle school steering committee to make sure they know your concerns and interest.

Take this poll. Do you plan to be at the meeting, or will you let others speak for you?

Economic Stimulus Rebate for La Costa Valley? (Poll)

Okay, this is all hypothetical.

However, think about it. What would you do with an extra $5,000 and $800 per year?

If, for some reason, the SDUHSD followed the original terms of the Mello-Roos Bond, yet sold the vacant property in La Costa Valley, they’d be obligated to pay the bond back. (Okay, you lawyers and finance types that know how to read bond-speak can sift through this and confirm or deny)

http://lacostavalley.wordpress.com/2006/06/27/sduhsd-has-been-planning-ahead-in-case-they-sold-the-middle-school-property/

At about $5.8 million for the bond value, that would work out to about $5,000 for each household and the end of the Mello-Roos annual assessment.

Again, there’s a lot of if’s, but what do you think?

 

Check back to this site in a little while to see what other La Costa Valley homeowners would like to see happen.

Emergency special HOA meeting called! – May 6th

The La Costa Valley HOA is having a special HOA meeting on Tuesday May 6th at 7pm, at the Coastline Community Church on Calle Barcelona.

The topic of the meeting is the vacant property next to the church, and how much we will be involved in its future. Specifically, the meeting is regarding La Costa Valley Master Assoc.’s authority-limitations and capabilities regarding School District property.

• Can La Costa Valley Homeowners have a say in the use of the property?
  • Will this be as citizens of the City of Carlsbad?
  • Will this be through the LCV Homeowner’s Association?
  • Will our voices be heard as parents of middle-age school children?

It’s very important that homeowners get involved now however they feel about the school district’s property.

Please tell your La Costa Valley friends and neighbors about the meeting, because we did not get much advance notice.

There’s the possibility that this special HOA Board meeting may not be valid for any voting purposes.

• According to the HOA by-laws, we need to be told about upcoming meetings well in advance. Notice for HOA special meetings must be within 20 days after a board president calls a special a meeting or after the board receives a petition asking for one, and must be no sooner than 35 days and no later than 90 days after that decision or petition. See section 4.6 in the by-laws on the official La Costa Valley HOA website (you will need Adobe PDF).
• The notice will be in the paper newsletter, but at best that will only arrive one or two days before the meeting, certainly not enough time for busy La Costa Valley HOA homeowners to change their schedules.

If you can not come to the meeting, contact the professional management company for the LCV HOA at the following contact numbers:
http://www.lacostavalleyhoa.com/important_phone_numbers/index.html

School District settles middle school issue, will rebate LCV homeowners

[Okay, the following was our little April Fool's day joke. Glad so many of you liked it and have a sense of humor, well most of you. Sorry if you're disappointed that Schwarzenegger won't be moving to La Costa Valley. We know this is a serious issue.]

In a surprising announcement, the High School District today reached settlement with homeowners who have been paying into Mello-Roos CFD 94-2. In addition, a parcel of land within the La Costa Valley (LCV) development which had been pegged for a middle school will be transferred to the LCV Homeowner’s Association.

“We simply made a math error,” said Peg Linch, School District Superintendent, in a prepared statement. She continued, “We had anticipated that middle-school enrollments would increase based on the many young children in La Costa Valley, along with irrational exuberance about continued population increase. Our consultants had assured us that life was so good in that area that families would get busy and have more children than average. Instead, those projections were optimistic.”

An advocacy group, sometimes going under the name FONC-Friends of North County,  SOLD-Save Our Lawyers and Developers, and other times referred to as SOBs-Save our Backyards , claimed credit for the transaction.

A member of FONC/SOLD/SOB, who preferred to continue remaining anonymous, disclosed “we were able to reach an agreeable formula which took into account the many painful, self-serving hours we have spent on this single issue, in preparing and presenting meetings, creating graphics, keeping up with email, and other vital tasks.”

The total settlement of $55.9 million is made up of $7.6 million for accumulated Mello-Roos payments with interest, plus $48.3 million for the agreed-on value of the middle school property. The amount will be used to fund development of the land, provide rebates to LCV homeowners, satisfy the financial claims of the FONC/SOLD group, and hold a pain-relieving party at an unspecified location.

LCV Homeowners are expected to receive their rebates of approximately $1.3 million before the end of 2008, working out to almost $1,200 for each household. This will be paid out over the remaining term of the Mell-Roos assessment, so each homeowner will receive a check for $0.28 each month, less $3.00 for postage handling, resulting in each homeowner being required to pay $2.72 each month. Another $1.3 million will be transferred to the LCV Homeowners’ Association for maintenance of the property and related reserves. The balance of the settlement, $53.4 million, will be transferred to the FONC/SOLD group for unspecified purposes.

An LCV homeowner who was interviewed shortly following the news release shared his sentiments. “Well, we never expected to get a nickel and everybody knew there would be no middle school, so at least it’s settled and behind us. Plus, now I’m getting $1,200 and won’t need to pay that $800 per year. So, it’s a win-win.”

Although plans for the vacant property have not been formally announced, unspecified sources have estimated that the settlement amount provided to the HOA might be enough to allow development of a mixed-use day and night moto-cross track, dog park, pet kennel, and compost-processing center.

See also: City of Carlsbad challenges settlement and State of California Overturns Decision by City of Carlsbad

Make sure you pay your Mello-Roos

Those of you who may not like the Mello-Roos assessment may decide to do your civil protest thing and not pay it. Watch out! The CFD can force you into foreclosure a lot faster than typical property taxes. The CFD trustees don’t even have much choice about it.

Fortunately, La Costa Valley homeowners have been better than some other neighboring communities at paying their $800 per year.

Here are part of the minutes from a June 26, 2006 SDUHSD meeting.

Link to SDHUSD Special Meeting Minutes

<i>Delinquency Rates

While the number of permits issued and the incremental special tax revenue have slowed, delinquencies have continued to rise to levels not seen since the early 2000’s.

Historical Delinquency Rates

The aggregate 2006/07 delinquency rate is 1.7%. While no CFD is currently required to foreclose on homeowners due to delinquency, of concern are two CFDs which are experiencing higher than anticipated delinquency rates. Encinitas Ranch (CFD 94-3) and the communities of CFD 95-2 (Encinitas area) have delinquency rates of 2.3% and 3.5% respectively. Should the delinquency rate exceed 5% in these CFDs, the CFD will be required to take foreclosure action regardless of the amount or time of delinquency.

Staff has contacted MuniFinancial, and reminder/demand letters have been sent to the delinquent homeowners to address this concern.

</i>

SDUHSD has been planning ahead in case they sold the middle school property

In a special meeting of the SDUHSD board of directors, among other matters, they discussed what would happen to their bond obligations if they sold the La Costa Valley middle school property for private use (not developing a school on the site.)

http://www.sduhsd.net/pdfs/Minutes,%20Public%20Facilities%20Authority%20Mtg,%206-27-06.pdf

The board briefly discussed the “Extraordinary Pre-Payment” provision in the event of the sale of the La Costa Valley sitefor private use. Mr. Sohaili explained that the Authoritywould be obligated to use a portion of sales proceed to redeem bonds in the amount of the original purchase price($5.8 million) plus a portion for “private use” as defined by anIRS formula.