The imposition of an additional property tax on residents of a new development in Heber City moved one step closer to a vote this week. The Heber City Council on Tuesday held a public hearing dominated by skepticism from elected officials, city staff and public commenters alike. D.R. Horton, the developer of The Highlands, a community of 811 homes, townhomes and apartments near the Utah Valley University Wasatch campus, asked to establish three public infrastructure districts, or PIDs. The development is estimated to be completed by the spring of 2028. The public infrastructure districts would allow the developer to impose a special property tax on owners of the 576 homes and townhomes within The Highlands. The tax revenue would be used to cover more than $22 million of the total $40 million cost of installing public infrastructure, including roads, water, sewer and electrical. The Highlands homeowners would pay about $500 in taxes for every $100,000 of their home value each year, on top of other property taxes, for an estimated 31 years. That’s how long it would take for the bonds to be paid off. If the PIDs were not established, the developer said it would need to add $40,000 to the purchase price of its homes and townhomes across the board. City councilors were unconvinced by D.R. Horton’s initial proposal last month. The developer promised cost savings for homeowners if the PIDs were established but did not have solid numbers to back up its claim. D.R. Horton provided those numbers on Tuesday. The developer estimates that if the PIDs were established, townhome owners would save nearly $1,400 per year, and homeowners would save over $830 per year because of shifts in the purchase price, plus loan and down payments. If the PIDs are approved, Heber City would benefit by retaining 5 to 10% of the tax proceeds generated. The City Council floated ideas for using the funds on the Heber Valley Arts Center planned near the development or improving an existing public trail along U.S. 40 or The Highlands’ public park. Utah Senate District 20 candidate Annette McRae made a public comment acknowledging that the benefits to the city are “appetizing” but distract from issues with PIDs. She referred to the PIDs as “trading a smaller, upfront cost for a much longer, long-term debt burden paid entirely by the buyer rather than the developer.” She added that she would like to see a more concrete breakdown of specifically how the developer would use the money raised by the PIDs. City engineer Russ Funk chimed in that he does not like PIDs because they allow developers to build at a lower cost while selling housing at market rate. He appreciated that D.R. Horton had promised a $40,000 purchase price reduction but asked that Heber City enforce it in an agreement to ensure D.R. Horton cannot go back on its word. But that may not be possible, according to City Attorney Jeremy Cook. “I think it’d be really hard to try to draft any language where you could enforce a reduction in home prices,” he said. “I just don’t know how you could draft that and make it reasonable.” City Councilor Mike Johnston did not believe such enforcement was necessary. “We have to give some credit to citizens, that they’re smart and understand what they’re buying. Every purchase of a property is an at-will transaction that the government should not get involved in,” he said. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the public infrastructure districts on July 21. The post Heber City Council is one step closer to voting on public infrastructure districts appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less