What is the Community Infrastructure District (“CID”)?

The history of the CID – As real estate development continues to expand in Idaho, the impact caused by such expansion requires the necessary construction of public infrastructure to accommodate such growth. In 2008, the Idaho legislature enacted the Idaho Community Infrastructure District Act (“Act”). The purpose of the Act was to create a new mechanism for financing public improvements for public agencies and developers alike. The Act, styled after similar legislation in New Mexico and Florida, addressed a critical issue of how to cost-effectively pay for new public improvement charges. The Law authorizes the issuance and repayment of bonds with a mechanism that encumbers or encumbers the land benefited by the new public improvements. This provides much-needed community development that would otherwise be unfeasible due to the significant costs imposed by extensive public improvement charges. Currently, a Community Infrastructure District (“CID”) is permitted in an incorporated city or county if it is within the City’s comprehensive planning area and the city consents to the formation of the CID. The Act allows the issuance of general obligation bonds, special assessment bonds, or revenue bonds, or any combination thereof. The projected annual assessment, tax, or revenue stream ensures repayment of the bonds.

Eligible Public Improvements Available for CID Financing

  • water improvements
  • Sewer improvements
  • Flood Control Projects
  • Roads
  • public parking structures
  • Landscaping and Lakes
  • Lighting and Traffic Control
  • parks
  • recreational facilities
  • Public Safety Facilities
  • financing costs
  • Real Estate Interests
  • Development Impact Fees

A strong CID should be established with the following broad goals in mind:

The real estate developer’s financial objectives should be met whenever reasonably possible, as your project and clients will pay the borrowing costs of CID financing as long as it does not present any undue credit risk;

The real estate developer should use an experienced consultant to help them understand all the options available when going through the CID process;

On larger development projects, CID financing should be structured to allow for multiple bond issues at different times and improvement areas should be employed to minimize the financial obligation on unimproved or underdeveloped properties; The particular characteristics or restrictions of the development project must be understood in such a way that the relevant risk associated with the development of the project and its ability to repay the debt of the bonds is clear. Examples of this are environmental restrictions, infrastructure restrictions, and private financing caps;

The legal and engineering aspect of the construction and/or acquisition of the improvements must be understood if tax-exempt bond financing is used. More specifically, specific construction-related guidelines and procedures must be detailed when a real estate developer is constructing the public improvements and requests repayment of CID bond proceeds;

The estimated annual cost and maximum annual cost of CID financing for the terminal by all owners involved in the development process must be fully understood and properly disclosed; Y

The appraised value of the project must be done correctly in accordance with sound bond underwriting and appraisal practices because CID’s bonds are ultimately secured by the value of the project. Appraisal instructions must be clearly defined from a CID bond credit perspective. For example, if bonds are issued on an appraised value that assumes the project has unimproved lots with no performance guarantees at the appraisal date, then the appraiser has overstated the value of the lien-to-value ratio.

For more information on how to properly set a CID, please contact http://DPFG.com

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