Title
An ordinance amending the City Code by revising Chapter 11, adding new Article XI titled "Public Improvement Districts (PIDs)" for the purpose of establishing PID notice and disclosure requirements for developers and homebuilders to provide information to persons seeking to purchase real property and/or homes within PIDs, adopting a "Public Improvement District (PID) Notice and Disclosure Manual For Developers & Homebuilders" or may also be cited as "PID MANUAL" for the purpose of providing forms and additional details regarding the requirements adopted in the Code; and revising Chapter 13 - Signs, Article IV "Specifications; Standards; Use" regarding the permissibility of signs in the PID.
Body
The City currently has four Public Improvement Districts (PIDs): Heartland Town Center; Iron Horse; Polo Ridge No. 2; and Solterra. D.R. Horton is the lone homebuilder in Heartland and there are just three homebuilders in Iron Horse. While the number of homebuilders in Polo Ridge is not yet known, Solterra will have at least 13 different homebuilders.
As the number of homebuilders selling homes within PIDs increases, City staff recommends adoption of an ordinance that will require homebuilders to adequately provide advanced notice to prospective homebuyers that the home they're considering is located within a PID and is subject to an annual property assessment in addition to ordinary property taxes.
Homebuyer disclosure requirements in contracts between developers and homebuilders are inadequate and merely cite State law, which states that homebuilders shall deliver notice "before the execution of a binding contract of purchase and sale, either separately or as an addendum or paragraph of a purchase contract." This means that the first time a prospective homebuyer might learn about the property assessment is when they sign a contract, or at time of closing. An example of a homebuilder notice requirement is highlighted in the attached Homebuilder Acknowledgement ...
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