By Philip Haldiman
Twitter: @PhilipHaldiman

Peoria City Council approved a resolution allowing for bond elections to pay for a number infrastructure items to develop the future Vistancia North and Mystic at Lake Pleasant Heights housing communities in north Peoria.

Vistancia North bond is $50 million and Mystic bond is $65 million, both using a $2.65/ $100 assessed value tax rate.

Peoria CFO Sonia Andrews said these community facilities district elections will only asses property owners in those districts, and the tax will only be imposed on residents in those districts. Currently the property owners in each of those districts are the developers and home builders.

The election is scheduled for Oct. 13.

RELATED: Know how you are being taxed: Peoria council approves 2 new community facilities districts

“The ballot will not go to all residents in Peoria,” she said.

No homes have been sold yet so there are no residents, but future home buyers will sign a disclosure statement acknowledging they have been made aware of the CFD debt and tax obligation.

Community facilities districts are mechanisms that allow master communities to fund infrastructure such as roads and streetlights.

Parts of the massive 7,100-acre Vistancia community might not have been built if not for funding from CFDs.

And the Vistancia North and Mystic at Lake Pleasant Heights CFDs were recently created and approved by the Peoria City Council, paving the way for new infrastructure to support nearly 6,000 homes.

Funds collected through the Vistancia North CFD will go to water and wastewater infrastructure for residents. This will include the Vistancia Boulevard lift station, the Lone Mountain waterline, Saddleback water reservoir, an expansion of the Jomax treatment plant and other reservoirs and pump stations.

Funds collected through the Mystic at Lake Pleasant Heights CFD will go to the El Mirage and Westland sewer/waterlines, the Westland water campus, Lone Mountain waterline, El Mirage and Westland roads, as well as other water and sewer infrastructure.

Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697, phaldiman@newszap.com, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria
@PhilipHaldiman

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Meet Philip
Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.

Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.

Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater. 

Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.

Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.