Marina Station's Special Tax Has Two Halves, and Only One of Them Ends

This fall, Monterey County mailed the first property tax bills that carry Marina Station's new special tax. The tax comes from City of Marina Community Facilities District No. 2026-1, which the City Council confirmed for fiscal 2026-27 on July 7, 2026. For a single-family home in the community's highest tax zone, the charge for this fiscal year is $4,572.12. The first installment of a Monterey County secured tax bill was due November 1 and becomes delinquent after December 10.

The figure is easy to label as "Mello-Roos" and treat as a mortgage-style add-on that eventually goes away. Marina Station's tax works differently. The city's documents show that most of each home's charge pays for neighborhood upkeep. That part has no end date, and its formula allows it to rise but never fall.

What the line on the bill is made of

The Marina Station charge has two parts. The Facilities Special Tax repays bonds for infrastructure in Phases 1 and 2. The Services Special Tax pays for maintaining streets, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, streetlights and storm drains. Here are the fiscal 2026-27 rates for each developed single-family home, by tax zone:

In every zone, the Services portion is the larger one. The city's formation resolution says the Facilities tax "shall not be levied after Fiscal Year 2066-67," and that the Services tax "shall be levied in perpetuity as long as the Services are being provided." The bond half lasts four decades. The maintenance half stays with the home.

At current builder pricing, that charge sits on top of homes at these levels:

• Cottages: listed from the $900,000s
• Bungalows: from $1,168,361
• Villas: from $1,289,988

In October 2026, one 1,907-square-foot Bungalow was offered at $1,261,251. The builder's pages list prices and square footage. Neither price list shows the special tax.

The rates rose before the first bill went out

Marina Station's special election was held March 3, 2026. The ballot set starting rates of $1,122 to $1,895 per home for Facilities and $1,639 to $2,563 per home for Services. By the time the first levy was confirmed in July, the top Facilities rate was $1,932.90, exactly 2% above $1,895. The top Services rate was $2,639.22, about 3% above $2,563.

The two parts escalate differently. The Facilities tax rises 2% each year through fiscal 2066-67. The Services tax follows the Construction Cost Index for the San Francisco region published by Engineering News-Record, capped at 4% a year. In a year when that index falls, "the Escalation Factor shall be zero and no decrease in the Maximum Special Taxes shall be calculated."

So the open-ended half of the tax can only hold steady or rise. Here is how Zone 1's Services tax would grow if it hit the 4% ceiling every year:

1. Fiscal 2026-27: $2,639.22
2. Ten years of 4% increases: about $3,907
3. Roughly eighteen years of 4% increases: about double the starting figure

That path is the maximum the formula allows, not a forecast. Actual increases follow the cost index and may come in lower. The upper bound grows every year, and nothing in the formula brings it back down.

Why the city built it this way

The city's reasons are in its own findings. When the council formed the district, it found the services "necessary to meet the increased demand that will be placed upon local agencies and public infrastructure as a result of new development." New streets, storm drains and streetlights add maintenance costs for the city. Marina Station's district pays those costs from the homes that sit on those streets.

The plan is large. Marina Station covers about 320 acres of Armstrong Ranch on either side of Del Monte Avenue at Marina's northern edge, with capacity for 1,360 homes. The builder describes 887 single-family and 473 multifamily units, including 272 below-market-rate homes under an Affordable Housing Agreement with the city. Build-out is expected to take eight phases over about 10 to 12 years. KSBW reported the project's long path: first approval in 2005, a court challenge in 2008, and final approval by a 4–1 council vote in August 2022.

Right now, only a small group of homes pays the tax. In fiscal 2026-27, the district levies 31 developed single-family homes: 6 in Zone 1, 13 in Zone 2 and 12 in Zone 3. About 170 more final-map lots appear on the roll with a $0 levy this year. The election also authorized up to $7.6 million in bonds, with each series running a maximum of 40 years. As more homes are completed and added to the roll, the tax will appear on more bills in the neighborhood.

The Dunes shows how much the number can vary within one city

The Dunes on Monterey Bay, Marina's other large new-home community, makes a useful comparison. For fiscal 2025-26, the city set The Dunes CFD No. 2015-1 levy at $541.70 per parcel. The Dunes district uses a similar escalator, the lesser of 4% or the construction cost index, and that index rose 0.00% for fiscal 2025-26.

That works out to about $45 a month, compared with $236 to $381 a month at Marina Station. Two new homes in the same city can come with very different permanent costs. Price per square foot and list price don't show that difference.

Some Dunes parcels also sit in a second district, CFD No. 2024-1, known as "The Dunes West Side Services." Its rates are assigned parcel by parcel, so the county tax roll is the place to find the figure for any one address. The way to compare homes is by parcel, not by neighborhood name.

Where to find the exact figure for a specific home

Every special tax on a Marina parcel shows up in three public places:

• The city's levy documents. Each year the City of Marina adopts a levy resolution with per-unit rates for each district. The Marina Station fiscal 2026-27 levy is in Resolution No. 2026-92.
• The parcel's tax bill. The Monterey County bill search looks up a bill by assessment or fee parcel number. According to the Treasurer-Tax Collector's FAQ, questions about a direct charge go to the agency listed on the front of the bill, because the Tax Collector collects the amount but does not set it.
• The Notice of Special Tax. Under Government Code section 53340.2, the local agency designates an office to answer questions about current and future special tax amounts. That office must provide a requested notice within five working days, for a fee of no more than $15. The statute's sample notice describes the maximum tax, how it can increase and how long it lasts. It also gives the buyer a short window to cancel by written notice: three days after the notice is delivered in person, or five days after it is mailed. For resales, Civil Code section 1102.6b covers seller disclosure of a continuing Mello-Roos lien.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Before acting on these rules, check how they apply to your purchase with a real estate attorney, tax professional or lender.

Quick answers

When is the first Marina Station installment due? Each year, Monterey County's first installment is due November 1 and becomes delinquent December 10, so for this bill the payment window is already open. The second is due February 1 and becomes delinquent April 10. If a delinquency date falls on a weekend, it moves to 5 p.m. the next business day.

Does any part of the tax end? The Facilities portion ends after fiscal 2066-67. The Services portion continues as long as the city provides the services.

What does the Services money pay for? Administration and maintenance of the district's streets, sidewalks, curbs and gutters, streetlights and storm drains.

If you're comparing a Marina Station home with an older Marina home or a home at The Dunes, the team at J.R. Rouse Properties Group can help you line up the full annual cost of each, special tax included, before you make an offer. Schedule a free consultation and bring the addresses you're considering.