City council forms CFD for Alex Kendry expansion, approves special-tax measures

The Montclair City Council voted unanimously on June 2 to form Community Facilities District (CFD) number 2025-2, a financing district intended to fund maintenance of public improvements and a portion of public-safety costs for the Alex Kendry expansion, a 137-unit residential project at Monte Vista Avenue and Arrow Highway.

Staff presentation and local context

Economic development director Mikey Fuendis told the council the CFD formation follows the procedure described in staff materials as the “Meler’s Community Facilities Act,” and said property owners affiliated with the project’s developer had petitioned the city to form the district. The proposed CFD would cover maintenance services such as street sweeping, sidewalk and curb maintenance, storm-drain and street-light upkeep, and a public-safety component to help cover police and fire protection costs. Fuendis said the estimated annual cost to be covered by the CFD is about $56,162 and that the special tax would begin in fiscal year 2025–26 with a maximum annual increase of 6% and a minimum increase of 2% per year.

Why it matters

CFDs (often called Mello-Roos districts in California) allow local agencies to finance infrastructure and maintenance through a special tax on properties within a defined boundary. For this project, staff said the special tax would translate to an estimated additional monthly charge to tenants ranging from roughly $19 to $40 depending on unit size, with the top-end example cited at about $40 per month.

Council action and vote

After the staff presentation and a public-hearing period during which no protests were received and the county certified there were no registered voters in the CFD territory, Council Member Lopez moved and Council Member Mendez seconded motions to adopt the package of resolutions to establish the CFD, call a special election to levy the special tax, and declare the election results. All motions passed on electronic roll call by a 5-0 vote. City staff then conducted the first reading of ordinance 25-1012, which would authorize the levy of the special tax for CFD 2025-2; council set a second-reading and adoption hearing for July 21, 2025, at 7 p.m.

Details and next steps

Staff presented a per-unit breakdown used to estimate the special-tax impact on tenants and noted the district would include a formula-based special tax (not based on property value) with maximum rates stated in the CFD documents. Because the county registration showed no voters inside the CFD boundary, the statute’s voting provisions rely on the property-owner votes as described in the staff report. The council’s votes to establish the CFD and to call the election were procedural steps to allow the special-tax proposition to be placed before the property-owner electorate and, if approved, collected on the property tax roll.

The council’s action tonight initiates the district formation process and schedules the ordinance’s second reading on July 21; if the ordinance is adopted following the second reading, the special-tax levy would begin in fiscal year 2025–26 as described by staff.