Council approves tax‑exempt bonds to help Neighborhood HealthCare buy Escondido medical building

Escondido city staff and Neighborhood HealthCare representatives told the City Council that a resolution authorizing tax‑exempt revenue obligations would help Neighborhood HealthCare buy and upgrade a medical building at 488 East Valley Parkway.

City staff explained that under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) the council must hold a public hearing before a local legislative body may approve tax‑exempt bonds for a nonprofit. "TEFRA is the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982," the staff presentation said, and staff confirmed the hearing was publicly noticed in the Times Advocate on Oct. 23.

The staff presentation said the California Enterprise Development Authority (CETA), a joint powers authority and California nonprofit public benefit corporation of which Escondido is a member, would issue the bonds. The resolution before the council, Resolution 2025‑146, would authorize tax‑exempt bonds to Neighborhood HealthCare in an aggregate amount not to exceed $32,000,000 to finance acquisition of the property, construction and furnishing, and medical equipment. "I want to be clear on what adopting this resolution would not do. It would not place any legal or financial burden on the city," staff told the council.

A Neighborhood HealthCare executive, identified in the record as the organization’s chief executive, described plans to expand services in the presently vacant units at the East Valley Parkway site to include pediatric care and behavioral health, and said the organization intends to retain some existing private medical tenants on the ground floor. The speaker said Neighborhood HealthCare currently serves roughly 52,000 patients in Escondido and intends the purchase to create a campus of complementary services that could include a PACE (Program of All‑Inclusive Care for the Elderly) center at another site.

A resident asked whether any current Neighborhood HealthCare locations would close once the new facility is fully operational; the Neighborhood HealthCare representative said one small Grand Street practice would likely be closed and its services moved to the new building. Councilmembers praised Neighborhood HealthCare’s mobile dental unit, behavioral health services and other community programs during the public discussion.

A councilmember moved to adopt Resolution 2025‑146; another councilmember seconded. Chair confirmed there were no additional public comments and announced the motion passed on a 5‑0 vote.

The resolution language and the staff presentation both stress that the city will not underwrite the bonds, will not be financially liable for them, and that any separate land‑use or building‑permit actions required after a purchase would follow the city’s usual permitting process and—if council approval is required—would return to the council for a separate decision.