Resident urges delay of Waldron Road infrastructure district over permits and assessments

At a public hearing May 7, Michelle Edwards, owner of 177 Blair Road and a resident adjacent to the proposed district boundary, asked the La Verne Board of Mayor and Aldermen to defer consideration of Resolution 2026‑13, which would establish the Waldron Road Infrastructure Development District.

Edwards said she understood developers Meritage Homes and MI Homes seek to use the district to finance infrastructure with tax‑exempt municipal bonds and to recover costs by charging homebuyers what she described in the hearing as "an annual assessment of up to $1,750 per year for 30 years." She asked whether that description was accurate and said the city lending its authority to such financing "carries real weight and real consequences."

Edwards asked whether the necessary permits have been issued for the construction already visible along Waldron Road, specifically citing the ARAP permit from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and whether independent environmental studies of impacts to adjacent private landowners (including underground springs, creeks and hydrology) had been completed and made available publicly. She also asked about a new pump station proposed immediately adjacent to her property line and requested conditions that would require independent construction oversight and quality accountability for the developer, citing an ongoing News Channel 5 investigation she said concerns Meritage Homes' construction practices.

Edwards formally asked the board to defer a vote on establishing the district until an independent environmental review has been completed and made available for affected landowners to review. The board closed the public hearing after her remarks; no action on the resolution was recorded at the conclusion of public comment.