News - Local - South County

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008

Willow Road funding up for debate: With $12 million still needed for new Nipomo interchange, county supervisors seek public opinion on covering the expense

With $12 million still needed, county supervisors seek public opinion on covering the expense

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County supervisors said Tuesday they want the public’s input on how to find the $12 million still needed to build the proposed Willow Road freeway interchange in Nipomo.

Supervisors unanimously approved the go-ahead for the county to hold public workshops and conduct a survey to better gauge the public’s interest in how to cover the funding needed.

The project, which has been included in county planning documents since the 1980s, would extend Willow Road east from Pomeroy Road to Thompson Avenue, including an interchange at Highway 101 and a frontage road from Sandydale Drive to Willow Road.

It’s intended to ease traffic along Tefft Street, the only road that crosses Highway 101 in Nipomo.

Traffic there frequently gets bottlenecked during rush hours.

The county has about $30 million currently set aside for the $42 million project.

Construction is scheduled to begin in late summer of 2010, said Dale Ramey, the county’s project manager.

Options for covering the needed $12 million include road-improvement fees that would be levied on developers, and a community facilities district that would tax certain property owners.

Other options include a direct property tax based on a home or building’s value, a fixed parcel tax, or an assessment district where property owners could pay a tax up front or over time.

County officials have laid out six financing options.

The exact boundaries of those who would pay into the project haven’t been determined yet.

But they’d include areas of Nipomo close to Willow Road, according to county officials.

Developer road improvement fees in the financing options range go up to $15,000 per dwelling.

Options that would affect homeowners more directly range from a $1,200 total annual special tax per home for up to 30 years or an annual property tax increase of $53.30 per $100,000 in assessed value.

New taxes for homeowners would require voter or property owner approval, depending on how the levy is charged.

The county also has $6 million in reserve money that it could use to fund part of the gap as a loan.

Supervisor Katcho Achadjian, whose district includes Nipomo, says it’s important to win public support.

Achadjian said he would attend the public meetings with county staff, which will report back to the board in February.

“We have to keep an open mind to all these ideas,” Achadjian said.

Jerry Bunin, legislative affairs director for the Home Builders Association of the Central Coast, said he hopes that new construction and current property owners would share the cost.

Bunin said it will be hard for the county to get Nipomo residents to buy into a tax increase unless officials explain thoroughly the existing problems and future benefits.

The county has already begun acquiring properties in the Willow Road project’s right-of-way and done some design work on the project.