"Perpetual operation and maintenance." That is how a City of Chula Vista levy report describes what CFD 13-M pays for in Otay Ranch Village 2: landscaping, storm-water facilities, walls, fencing, trails, pedestrian bridges and lighting. Many buyers in Otay Ranch, Eastlake, Millenia and Rolling Hills Ranch have heard that Mello-Roos "goes away when the bonds are paid off." That's true for one kind of district. It isn't true for the other kind, and citywide, the other kind collects almost twice as much money.
This shows up during a transaction. Under California Civil Code §1102.6b, the seller has to make a good-faith effort to get the special-tax notice from the local agency and give it to the buyer. The notice can list the current annual tax, the maximum annual tax, the yearly percentage the maximum can rise, and the last date the tax can be levied. If you know what kind of district you're looking at, those lines tell you what you're signing up for.
Two taxes share one name
The city has formed 31 Community Facilities Districts since fiscal year 1998-99. They cover Otay Ranch, Sunbow II, San Miguel Ranch, Eastlake, Rolling Hills Ranch, Millenia, Western Chula Vista, El Dorado Ridge, Citrus Bay, Moss Street and a few commercial areas. According to the city's July 14, 2026 levy staff report, each district serves one of two purposes.
- Infrastructure CFDs, marked "-I," repay limited-liability bonds that paid for roads, utilities and other improvements. The repayment schedule is fixed when the bonds are issued.
- Maintenance CFDs, marked "-M," pay for ongoing upkeep of open space, parks, medians and other public facilities. They're part of the city's annual operating budget.
For fiscal year 2026-27, the city budgeted $11,385,551.75 for infrastructure debt service and administration. Maintenance services and reserves came to $21,847,144.04. Both are paid entirely from special-tax levies and reserves. So the maintenance side is about 1.9 times the size of the bond side. The part of Mello-Roos people expect to end is the smaller part.
The bond side has an end date, and it just got cheaper
The infrastructure districts are the part of the common belief that holds up. In August 2025, the Chula Vista Municipal Financing Authority priced $15.9 million in revenue bonds to refinance its 2015A special tax refunding bonds. The refinance covered four districts in eastern Chula Vista: CFD 07-I, CFD 12-I, CFD 13-I and CFD 2001-1 Improvement Area B.
The city's announcement puts the effective all-in interest rate at 3.03 percent, down from the 4.8 percent average on the 2015A bonds. The new bonds mature in 11 years and run through 2036. The city says all the savings go to property owners in those districts through lower special tax bills.
The bonds' maturity date and the last year the tax can be levied are separate dates, though. A 2024 city bond disclosure says the final maturity of the CFD 07-I bonds is September 1, 2033, while the special taxes in CFD 07-I may not be levied after fiscal year 2043-44. The same document lists other final levy years: fiscal year 2039-40 for CFD 08-I and 2037-38 for CFD 2001-2. Even so, these infrastructure taxes have a legal end year in writing. The "last date the tax may be levied" line on the notice is where a specific property's end year appears.
The maintenance side is written to continue
City levy exhibits describe CFD 11-M in Rolling Hills Ranch the same way as 13-M. It funds the "perpetual operation, monitoring and maintenance" of preserve lots and storm-water facilities. Paying off a bond doesn't end these taxes, because they aren't paying off a bond. They pay for trails that need clearing and medians that need water every year.
The maximum also grows over time, and the growth rate depends on the district. A 2014 city report summarized each district's rate and method of apportionment:
| Maintenance districts | How the maximum tax adjusts each year |
|---|---|
| 97-1, 97-2, 98-1, 98-2, 98-3, 99-2 | The lesser of San Diego-area CPI or California per capita personal income growth, up or down |
| 07-M, 08-M, 09-M, 11-M, 12-M | San Diego-area CPI |
| 13-M, Otay Ranch Village 2 | The greater of San Diego-area CPI or 4% |
The 13-M rule stands out. Its ceiling rises at least 4 percent a year no matter how low inflation runs, and it has been in effect since fiscal year 2007-2008. At 4 percent a year, a number doubles in roughly 18 years.
The bill sits below the ceiling, and the gap can be wide
Every year, the city calculates two figures for each district. The maximum special tax is last year's maximum times the district's inflation factor. The collectible rate is what the city actually levies. It can equal the maximum but can't exceed it, and it depends on the budget, reserve requirements, fund balances, interest income and savings from prior years.
Older city exhibits show how far apart the two can be. These figures are historical and only illustrate the mechanism. They aren't today's rates. For fiscal year 2014/15, CFD 11-M showed a maximum of $403.28 per dwelling unit, while the prior year's actual rate was $75.20. In the same exhibits, CFD 13-M had a maximum of $0.602 per square foot against a prior-year actual of $0.141.
So the current bill on a listing tells you this year's cost. The maximum line tells you how high the tax is allowed to go, and with an escalator attached, that ceiling keeps rising whether or not the bill does.
A newer district, priced by the square foot of the home
Districts are still being formed. In September 2025, the City Council took up the formation of CFD 2024-2 for a Moss Street project of 97 three-story court townhomes and 44 three-story row townhomes. The project map places it near Village 3, a former quarry site, and the Otay River Valley. According to the city presentation, the developer asked for the district to finance development impact fees, and the assigned annual special taxes depend on building size:
| Building area | Assigned annual special tax |
|---|---|
| Under 1,201 sq. ft. | $3,280 |
| 1,201 to 1,475 sq. ft. | $3,345 |
| 1,476 to 1,675 sq. ft. | $4,128 |
| 1,676 to 1,825 sq. ft. | $4,362 |
| 1,826 to 1,925 sq. ft. | $4,585 |
| Over 1,925 sq. ft. | $4,763 |
The FY2026-27 levy materials list CFD 2024-2 Moss Street, CFD 2024-1 Citrus Bay and CFD 16M El Dorado Ridge among the districts subject to levy. Two smaller townhomes can sell for close to the same price and still carry assigned taxes about $850 apart a year.
The September prices, with the line item attached
The Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS publishes ZIP-level local market updates. Here are the September 2026 figures for Chula Vista, current as of October 5, 2026:
| ZIP, September 2026 | Detached median | Detached closings | Attached median | Attached closings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91913 Eastlake | $1,100,000 | 17 | $731,900 | 17 |
| 91914 Northeast | $1,162,500 | 7 | $585,000 | 1 |
| 91915 Southeast | $1,017,500 | 8 | $679,950 | 10 |
| 91910 North | $929,500 | 13 | $492,500 | 8 |
| 91911 South | $845,000 | 13 | $635,000 | 8 |
These samples are small, and the association itself warns that percentage changes can look extreme for that reason. 91913's detached median rose 20 percent year over year in September 2026, but that's based on 17 sales. The year-to-date detached median through September 2026 is $1,018,000, up 3.1 percent, which is a steadier picture. Eastlake detached sellers also received 103.8 percent of original list price in September 2026, compared with 99.3 percent a year earlier.
In September 2026, the detached median in 91913 was $170,500 above 91910 and $255,000 above 91911. That's the gap you see on the portals. The special taxes add a second gap that isn't in any median. San Diego County's tax roll for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 lists total assessments for each district. Dividing each total by its parcel count gives these rough averages:
- CFD 13-M, Otay Ranch Village 2: $3,485,692 across 2,023 parcels, about $1,723 each
- CFD 18-M, Village 3: $2,281,102.66 across 1,035 parcels, about $2,204 each
- CFD 14M-2, Millenia: $489,535.78 across 352 parcels, about $1,391 each
- CFD 11-M, Rolling Hills Ranch: $240,755.68 across 424 parcels, about $568 each
These are simple averages over every listed parcel. They aren't the tax on any particular home. They also cover only the maintenance districts, and many of those same neighborhoods sit in infrastructure districts too, such as CFD 07-I in Village 11 and CFD 12-I in Village 7. Even so, an average around $1,700 a year works out to roughly $144 a month. City levy exhibits describe districts like 13-M and 11-M as funding "perpetual" maintenance, so this part of the bill has no bond to pay off.
Reading the notice line by line
When the §1102.6b notice comes from a private entity, each disclosed item answers one of the questions above.
- Levying entity. The district number, including the "-I" or "-M" suffix, shows whether the tax is repaying bonds or paying for upkeep.
- Current annual tax. This is what's being collected now, which can sit well below the ceiling.
- Maximum annual tax and its yearly increase. This is the ceiling and how fast it can rise. Under 13-M's rule, it rises at least 4 percent a year.
- Last date the tax may be levied. For infrastructure districts, this is a specific fiscal year, and it can come years after the bonds mature. For maintenance districts, check this line carefully against the "perpetual" language in the city's own reports.
The statute says that once the disclosure is delivered, the seller and agent have no additional duty to provide information under that section. It also doesn't require them to discover a tax or district nobody knew about. So the notice is the main document to read.
Questions buyers ask
Did the 2025 refinance lower every eastern Chula Vista tax bill?
No. The savings apply to CFD 07-I, CFD 12-I, CFD 13-I and CFD 2001-1 Improvement Area B, which are all infrastructure districts. Maintenance districts weren't part of it.
Does buying west of I-805 mean no special taxes?
Not necessarily. The city's list of districts includes one formed in Western Chula Vista, plus newer districts like Moss Street and Citrus Bay. Whether a home has special taxes depends on the parcel, not on which side of the city it's in.
Can the city simply raise my maintenance tax?
The city says the levy will not exceed the rates authorized by each district's ordinance. In practice, the bill can move anywhere between the current collectible amount and that maximum, and the maximum itself grows by the district's escalator.
If you're comparing an Otay Ranch home with one in 91910 or 91911, Patricia Casanova can walk you through the special-tax notice on any property, line by line, so you know which charges end and which continue. Consulta en español disponible.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
