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 amortization and interest, the total amount paid on the financed portion would be about $5.9 million.

City staff said assessments would be added to property tax bills for homeowners and disclosed in sales documents and HOA materials so prospective buyers are informed before purchase. McMahon added the assessment would not be levied on a lot until a certificate of occupancy is issued, and the buildout is expected to take roughly eight to ten years; that staged buildout reduces the number of lots assessed in early years, the developer’s counsel said. The petition says the CID would be a separate political subdivision under state law; the petition also lists a board of directors that would include the mayor and four developer representatives.

Why it matters: the CID would shift some public-infrastructure financing from the developer and general city funds onto future lot purchasers inside the Highlands subdivision. Councilors asked detailed questions about the timing of assessments, who holds the promissory note, and whether assessments transfer with a sale; McMahon said the developer or an affiliate would initially hold the note but could sell it to outside financing. He also confirmed the homeowners association will maintain common areas (about 35 acres), and that the CID’s assessments apply only to the subdivision’s 587 lots, not to other Rolla property owners.

Council action: the council gave final approval to the Highlands Phase 1 final plat in a roll call vote (tally recorded as 7 yes, 0 no). The final plat covers roughly 23 acres of the 145-acre Highlands development and includes 87 lots, two common-area lots, sizeable common open space and a portion of Heatherfield Drive. Planning staff said the phase’s improvement plans (utilities, lift station, force mains, streets and stormwater features) had been reviewed and approved and that the plat is substantially in conformance with the previously approved preliminary PUD and preliminary plat. The council motion to approve the final plat passed; the clerk recorded seven ayes.

The council also heard the formal reading of an ordinance approving the petition to create the Highlands Community Improvement District (the ordinance cites Sections 60.714.01 through 60.715.71 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri). The public hearing was opened and then closed with no members of the public speaking during the hearing. A vote on the CID ordinance is referenced in the meeting packet and read aloud during the session; the transcript records the reading but does not include a recorded roll-call outcome for that ordinance in the public hearing segment.

What’s next: if the council formally adopts the CID ordinance in a subsequent recorded vote, the city clerk will report the district’s creation to the Missouri Department of Economic Development and the State Auditor as required by state law. Developers and city staff will proceed with engineering, final improvement work and the staged issuance of assessments as lots receive certificates of occupancy.

Ending: councilors who questioned the petition emphasized disclosure to homebuyers and the time-limited nature of the assessments; staff and counsel repeatedly noted assessments are tied to lot buildout and to the promissory-note amortization schedule rather than being an immediate, citywide tax.