PETITION FOR CFD 2004-3
CITY OF IMPERIAL COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT 2004-3
INITIATIVE PETITION
To Repeal or Reduce Mello-Roos (CFD) Taxes in Community Facilities District No. 2004-3
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO CIRCULATE INITIATIVE PETITION
Notice is hereby given by the persons whose names appear hereon of their intention to circulate a petition within the City of Imperial Community Facilities District 2004-3 for the purpose of repealing or reducing Mello-Roos special taxes within Community Facilities District No. 2004-3, effective upon full payment of outstanding obligations and waiving penalties and interest on certain delinquencies. A statement of the reasons for the proposed action is as follows:
The CFD 2004-3 Mello-Roos special tax imposes continuing financial burdens on property owners. Currently an unfair burden is being placed on homeowners to the advantage of developers. This initiative seeks to increase proportional tax burden on undeveloped land to incentivize the installation of new improvements and to reduce tax burden on existing homeowners. To ensure fair treatment of current property owners, this initiative would also waive penalties and interest for any delinquency not attributable to them.
FULL TEXT OF THE MEASURE FOLLOWS
INITIATIVE MEASURE
To be submitted directly to the voters
AN INITIATIVE MEASURE TO REPEAL OR REDUCE MELLO-ROOS COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT (CFD) TAXES WITHIN CITY OF IMPERIAL COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT NO. 2004-3 UPON SATISFACTION OF OUTSTANDING OBLIGATIONS
SECTION 1. TITLE.
This measure shall be known and may be cited as the Imperial CFD 2004-3 Mello-Roos Tax Repeal, Reduction, and Redemption Act of 2026.
SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
The People of the City of Imperial within Community Facilities District 2004-3 Improvement Area 1 find and declare:
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Community Facilities District No. 2004-3 (“CFD 2004-3”) was allegedly established under the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 to finance certain public facilities.
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However, CFD 2004-3 has not financed all promised public facilities.
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CFD 2004-3 has engaged in unlawful and discriminatory practices by perpetuating a secret agreement to refrain from assessing any tax on the single entity which allegedly approved the assessments and, instead, has imposed and continues to impose the assessments on those who did not approve the assessments.
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CFD 2004-3 imposed penalties and interest on individuals not responsible for delinquencies, while exempting those who caused them.
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CFD 2004-3 imposes special taxes on property owners within the district, creating a financial burden on residents and property owners which is currently planned to continue for the next 12 years or more.
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It is the intent of this initiative to repeal or reduce all special taxes levied under CFD 2004-3 for all current homeowners. Therefore, this initiative is intended to instruct that all assessments levied through this current fiscal year be used to pay off all outstanding bonds and to repeal any assessment which exceeds that amount.
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To ensure fairness to current property owners, CFD 2004-3 shall repeal all penalties and interest on delinquencies not originally caused by the current property owners.
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To eliminate special preference for land developers (which for the most recent fiscal year (2024/2025) which was set at $0.00 for undeveloped land in CFD 2004-3), the rate shall be increased to the maximum rate of $11,152 per acre for undeveloped land commencing on July 1, the first day of the full fiscal year occurring after the certification of the vote in the next statewide election.
SECTION 3. REPEAL OF SPECIAL TAXES.
(a) The City Council of the City of Imperial, acting as the legislative body of CFD 2004-3, shall cause to be applied all assessments for facilities in CFD 2004-3 to pay off all outstanding bonds for CFD 2004-3.
(b) Effective the earliest date of any fiscal year in which all outstanding bonded indebtedness of CFD 2004-3 could have been paid in full with the collection of outstanding principal assessments, all authority of the City of Imperial and CFD 2004-3 to levy or collect special taxes within CFD 2004-3 shall be repealed and terminated.
(c) The City Council shall, upon certification that all obligations have been paid through any fiscal year, adopt a resolution repealing the CFD 2004-3 special tax levy in its entirety.
SECTION 4. WAIVER OF PENALTIES AND INTEREST.
(a) All penalties, fees, and interest on delinquent CFD 2004-3 special taxes shall be retroactively be repealed and voided if the delinquency was not originally caused by the property owner of record.
(b) The City Council, acting as the legislative body of CFD 2004-3, shall establish a procedure for a property owner to demonstrate that a delinquency was attributable to a prior owner.
(c) To rectify prior improper practices, if in any fiscal year funds received by CFD 2004-3 for current assessments and for penalties, fees, or interest on delinquencies exceed its bonded indebtedness, CFD 2004-3 shall first pay, in full, its bonded indebtedness, then refund any remaining funds to those property owners who were owners of property at the beginning of such fiscal year in proportion to all revenue collected by CFD 2004-3 from or related to each property by the end of the same fiscal year.
SECTION 5. IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) The City Council, acting as the legislative body of CFD 2004-3, shall take all actions necessary to implement this measure, including but not limited to notifying the County of Imperial Tax Collector, bond trustees, and any other relevant parties.
(b) The provisions of this measure shall supersede any prior City and/or CFD 2004-3 resolution, ordinance, or act establishing or authorizing the levy of special taxes within CFD 2004-3.
SECTION 6. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this measure is held invalid, the remainder shall not be affected and shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This measure shall become effective immediately upon certification of the election results.