Rolla council hears petition for Highlands Community Improvement District; approves Phase 1 final plat

Rolla City Council opened a public hearing on a petition to form the Highlands Community Improvement District and later approved the final plat for Highlands Phase 1.

The petition, presented by Michael McMahon of Husch Blackwell — counsel for the developer McBride — asks the city to permit a CID that would fund about $3,400,000 of roughly $10.7 million in public-infrastructure costs for the Highlands subdivision, including sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water service, streets and sidewalks. “We’re proposing the formation of a SID in order to fund a portion of the public infrastructure costs of the Highlands subdivision,” McMahon told the council during the public hearing.

The CID as proposed would levy special assessments on lots inside the Highland subdivision; McMahon and city staff described those assessments as fixed annual amounts that would range by lot size from $500 to $800 per year. Under the petition, the district could exist for up to 27 years or until a promissory note issued for the $3.4 million is paid off. McMahon said planned financing assumes a 7% interest rate and that, with…