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Big Bear Fire Authority directs staff to draft proposed Community Facilities District after months of debate
Summary
After an extended discussion about options and potential impacts, the board voted to direct staff to prepare a proposed Community Facilities District (CFD, commonly called Mello-Roos) based on existing analyses and bring the proposal back for board consideration at a future meeting.
The Big Bear Fire Authority on Aug. 12 voted to direct staff to prepare a proposed Community Facilities District (CFD), a form of special tax commonly used in California (often called Mello-Roos), and to return a draft for the board’s review.
Directors debated the proposal for more than an hour. Proponents said a CFD is a long-term funding tool to help pay for additional staffing, apparatus and facilities the district may need over decades. Opponents and some realtors warned that levying an ongoing special tax on new development could deter investment or be perceived as inequitable if residential lots are included.
Staff and consultants told the board the district’s standard-of-cover review — a data-driven analysis of call volumes, station locations, staffing and response times — is expected in November or December and would inform exact CFD needs and amounts. Still, some directors said staff and the ad hoc committee had already developed cost estimates and that delaying would risk missing development opportunities.
The motion the board…
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