On Tuesday, the City Council heard the first reading of the ordinance that would create the Alameda Landing Municipal Services District. If the Council approves the ordinance as currently written and the current property owners approve it, Alameda Landing homeowners would pay thousands of dollars a year in supplemental property taxes

The ordinance would base residents’ tax rates in part on the size and type of homes they buy. Under the new ordinance commercial property owners would pay up to $1.54 per square foot.

The city would use the money from the tax to maintain improvements that include landscaping, bus shelters and stops, the district’s sanitary sewer and storm drainage systems, as well as streets and roadways, sidewalks and public signage. The tax would also pay for police and fire services. Alameda Landing’s neighbors who live in Bayport across Willie Stargell Avenue have been part of the Bayport Municipal Services District since its creation in November 2003 and currently pay extra for such services.

Current plans call for 275 new homes at Alameda Landing. These would include 91 single-family houses, 79 two-story condominiums, 56 townhomes, 26 apartments and a 23-unit apartment building.

In a recent press release Irvine, Calif. developer TRI Pointe Homes announced that it had acquired 141 lots at Alameda Landing in December 2013. The company stated that 74 lots would contain condominium and townhome units and 67 lots would have two- and three-story single-family detached homes. "Sizes will range from 1,000 square feet to 3,700 square feet, with prices anticipated to start in the mid $900,000s," TRI Pointe stated.

The ordinance is scheduled for a second reading at the Council’s Tuesday, Feb. 18, meeting. Councilmembers will vote on the ordinance at that time. It would take effect with the establishment of the special district 30 days later on March 20. The tax would take effect at the beginning of the 2014-2015 fiscal year on July 1.