Lakeview Metropolitan District

On May 24, 2023, Governor Polis signed House Bill 23-1105 into law, which, among other actions, created the Metropolitan District Homeowner’s Rights Task Force (“Task Force”). The Task Force will review, among other matters, tax levying authority and practices, foreclosure practices, communications with homeowners and governance policies. All members of the Task Force will be appointed by November 1, 2023. A requirement of the new law is that we notify you of the creation and existence of the Task Force prior to its first meeting. If you have any questions about the Task Force, please reach out to the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies or visit their website at https://dora.colorado.gov.

Colorado has been getting above average rain this spring/summer, which is great news. More rain means less watering! However, that does not mean the District’s sprinklers will be off during those rains. The irrigation systems are equipped with Smart Sensors that detect precipitation. Once the rain accumulation hits a preset depth, the system will turn to an automatic 2-day rain delay. This means that the irrigation system could be running while it’s raining until the preset depth is triggered on the sensor.

How do I report broken sprinkler heads? Please email the District email at info@lakeviewmd.live with location of head and photo if possible.

How do I report irrigation emergencies? Call 970-669-3611

Metropolitan Districts are a local unit of government created to fund public infrastructure for new development with debt repaid by taxes and/or fees levied only within the new district’s boundaries without burdening the existing taxpayers of that City or County. Public infrastructure can include streets, water, sewer, storm drainage, parks, and other similar improvements.

A mill levy is a property tax. It is applied to a property based on its assessed value. The rate of the tax is expressed in mills and is equal to one dollar per $1,000 dollars of assessed value.

District taxes function in the same manner as other property taxes in Colorado with a mill levy applied to Assessed Value of property as determined by the County Assessor and collected by the County Treasurer. For residential property, that calculation is:

Actual Value x Assessment Ratio x Mill Levy = Annual Tax Obligation

For a $400,000 home in a District with a 50 mill levy using the 2020 Assessment Ratio for residential property, the tax bill for the District would be:

$400,000 x 7.15% x 0.050 =$1,430/year

The actual mill levy for a District is comprised of a debt service levy and an operations levy and would be determined based on the provisions of the Service Plan, the total valuation of taxable property in the District, the District’s debt obligations and the District’s operational needs. Most Service Plans contain mill levy limitations to ensure that taxpayers obligations are limited regardless of the debt obligations outstanding.

If you’d like to calculate your tax obligation, visit the Larimer County Assessor Site Here or download the Property Tax Calculator located below.

For the most up-to-date tax information, please refer to the Larimar County Assessor's site.

If you are in need of an Accessible Version of the Metropolitan District Property Tax Calculator, please submit a request via the "Contact Us" page. 

Operating expenses: These are the day-to-day costs necessary to operate and maintain the District, including public improvements owned by the District.  These expenses may include, but are not limited to: district management fees; legal, accounting, engineering, and consulting services; insurance premiums; utilities; landscape maintenance; snow removal; repairs and routine maintenance of public improvements; election expenses; audit and reporting costs; property tax and fee collection costs; meeting expenses, and other general administrative expenses to operate the District.  

Infrastructure or Capital Costs:  Capital costs are associated with the District’s acquisition, design, construction, installation, and financing of public facilities and infrastructure.  Pursuant to the Colorado Special District Act and the District’s Service Plan, the District has the authority to provide the following public facilities and infrastructure: streets, sanitary sewage collection and transmission improvements, water improvements, traffic and safety protection facilities and services, park and recreation improvements,  

Reimbursements or repayments related to Developer: The District’s Service Plan anticipated that the initial funding for capital costs and operating expenses would be provided by the Developer in the form of advances to the District.  The District has entered into capital reimbursement agreement and an operation and maintenance reimbursement agreement with the Developer to evidence the Developer’s obligation to fund capital costs and operating expenses and the District’s obligation to repay the advances received.  The District may repay the Developer for advances received from bond proceeds (for capital advances), property tax revenues generated from mill levies imposed on property in the District, system development fees, or other legally available district revenues, subject to any limitations set forth in the District’s service plan, the District’s electoral authorization, bond resolution and related bond documents, and Colorado law.  

New development is driven by market demand within the framework of a City or County’s land use regulations. Typically, these regulations start from a broad comprehensive land-use plan including input from elected officials, staff and citizens. As a new development proceeds through a land-use approval, the City or County approves the details of the specific development and required infrastructure to ensure they meet the goals of the comprehensive plan.

For items such as neighborhood medians, landscaping, and irrigation systems (for example, weeds or a broken sprinkler in a street median), all areas within the Lakeview community that either: have been previously landscaped and are currently being maintained, or are currently in the process of being landscaped, are presently the responsibility of either Boyd Lake Holdings, LLC (developer of Lakeview) or Richmond American Homes (builder of the 27 currently platted lots within Lakeview). 

Although the Lakeview Metropolitan District (“District”) has already been deeded ownership of Outlots H, I, and J, as platted in the Boyd Lake North 7th Subdivision Plat (attached hereto), the landscape improvements within these Outlots have not yet been accepted by the District for ongoing maintenance responsibilities. 

Additionally, these responsibilities are expected to transition over time as development progresses. Specifically, within the next approximately 30 days, the District anticipates conducting a walkthrough of Outlots I and J with representatives of Richmond American Homes and their landscape installation contractor to evaluate acceptance of the landscape improvements into the District’s maintenance program. 

In the spring of 2027, the District expects to conduct a similar walkthrough of Outlot H and the adjacent Boyd Lake Avenue right-of-way (between White Bark Place and Lakeshore Drive) with Boyd Lake Holdings, LLC and its landscape installation contractor to evaluate acceptance of those improvements into the District. 

As developers move through land-use approvals they work with the City or County to determine which infrastructure improvements will be funded by the City or County and which will be the obligation of the developer. At the same time, the City/County may create a special district on the development to fund some portion of the infrastructure that the developer is obligated to build. Typically, the portion of the infrastructure that the district will fund is determined by what can be repaid through a limited tax authorized in that district with the balance to be funded by the developer. Essentially, there are 2 steps to the allocation of the infrastructure funding:

1. City decides what they will fund, what the developer will be obligated to fund and what limited tax they will authorize in the district.
2. The district provides funding from bond investors to pay for a portion of the developer-obligated infrastructure based on the expected repayment from the limited tax.

Current District expenditures relate to the operation and maintenance of existing infrastructure within the District, as well as the District’s general administrative and operating expenses. These expenditures are funded through property tax revenues generated by the District’s operations and maintenance mill levy, together with developer advances as may be necessary. 
Future public infrastructure improvements will be undertaken as development progresses, subject to market conditions, and will initially be funded through advances from the developer to the District. 

As development occurs and the District’s assessed valuation increases, the District may issue bonds to reimburse the developer for advances previously made to fund capital improvement projects. Any bonds issued by the District would be repaid from revenues generated by the District’s debt service mill levy imposed on property within the District.

The District will issue bonds only to the extent that projected revenues from the debt service mill levy are sufficient to support repayment obligations. Additionally, the District’s Service Plan establishes caps on the total mill levies that may be imposed for both operations and maintenance expenses and debt service obligations.  

Developers operate as for-profit businesses with a broad market of options for investing time and capital in exchange for market returns relative to risk. Providing district funding for a portion of the infrastructure results in some combination of:

Projects get built that wouldn’t otherwise be feasible

Homes cost less

Infrastructure can be properly sized

Amenities like parks, playgrounds, trails, recreations centers can be added

Less burden allocated to City and existing taxpayers

Horizontal infrastructure is required before vertical development can proceed and repayment for that infrastructure funding is typically dependent on the timing and value of the anticipated vertical development. Therefore, the funding of new infrastructure requires an assessment of this development risk and a corresponding market return. For the infrastructure not funded by the City, the developer and the district’s bond investors may each take a portion of this risk for a market return. Because the repayment source for the district’s debt is a limited tax, this development risk is not borne by the taxpayer whose annual obligations are limited regardless of the timing or value of the anticipated development. In this way, districts provide access to a large, efficient, tax-exempt capital market for infrastructure without transferring the development risk to the taxpayer.

No, because (a) state law permits only public improvements to be financed, and (b) federal tax law (which applies to tax exempt district bonds) also permits only public improvements be financed.

The Colorado Open Records Act (“CORA”), sections 24-72-201 to 206, C.R.S., requires that individuals desiring a special district’s public records contact the district’s official custodian to acquire the requested information. § 24-72-204(1), C.R.S. Please click the link below to fill out and submit your CORA request.

Below you’ll find links to external Special District Education resources. We’re also happy to assist you with any questions you may have. You can contact us by visiting the Contact page in the header navigator bar, or clicking Here.

Special District Education Coalition