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Hillsborough LID experience offers Redmond a playbook: developer pre‑assessments, balloon payment and lengthy administration
Summary
Hillsborough officials described a decade‑long LID used to accelerate $325 million in transportation infrastructure for a large urban expansion, including pre‑assessment agreements with developers, a $14.3M balloon payment to the county and administrative practices to shield end‑homebuyers from surprise bills.
Hillsborough officials told Redmond council that their South Hillsborough LID was designed to accelerate infrastructure for a major urban growth expansion — roughly 8,000 homes and about 20,000 future residents — by using developer pre‑assessments and carefully staged financing.
Greg Snyder (transportation planning supervisor) said the LID’s primary purpose was to create a cash call needed to make large, front‑loaded payments that the county required to advance engineering and construction. He identified a $14,300,000 balloon payment to Washington County as a central obligation the LID enabled. Michelle Waring (assistant finance director) explained the city negotiated pre‑assessment agreements with the three large developers involved, recorded those agreements with the county, and disclosed pending liens so developers would pay estimated amounts at home closings and end‑users would not receive unexpected assessments.
John Campbell (principal financial analyst) described the administrative work required during a long pre‑assessment phase: apportionment as parcels subdivide, assignment tracking for title and ownership changes, and reconciliation to ensure unpaid pre‑assessments remain with developers/builders rather than final homeowners. Hillsborough delayed final debt issuance and the final levying of assessments until projects neared completion; planning began around 2016 and the city issued debt and finalized the LID in 2023, the presenters said.
Presenters stressed safeguards they used to reduce city exposure: requiring developers to carry pre‑assessment obligations during build‑out, conducting land‑value analysis to ensure assessments would not exceed parcel value, and creating communication and notice systems for developers and buyers. They also noted tradeoffs: the LID concentrated risk on a small number of large actors early in the build‑out, requiring careful negotiation and tracking so the city would not assume unforeseen liabilities.
Redmond staff asked for updated construction cost estimates and valuation details before any local application of similar techniques. Hillsborough’s presentation provided concrete examples — developer pre‑assessments recorded at the county, a major balloon payment to a regional partner, and multi‑year administration using software and assignment processes — that Redmond staff said they will consider as they plan near‑term infrastructure and housing timelines.
