If you’re looking at a new Canterra home, the city’s proposed special taxes deserve a separate look before you turn a quoted rate into an annual budget. The proposal involves two districts: one for maintenance, with a second tax designed to stay dormant, and another for law enforcement.
The figures in the staff reports are maximums. They aren’t confirmed annual bills.
This is general information and not legal advice.
Which homes and districts are involved?
The proposals cover the 67 single-family lots in Canterra’s Tract Map No. 38888.
The City of Jurupa Valley approved that map on January 15, 2026. It divides approximately 6.92 acres into residential lots, three open space or recreation lots, one detention basin, and associated private streets and alleys. The tract lies north of Whitney Drive, south of Jurupa Road, west of Camino Real, and east of Kirby Drive.
Community Facilities District No. 2025-003 addresses maintenance. Community Facilities District No. PS 2024-013 addresses law enforcement services for the same development. Below, they’re the maintenance district and public safety district.
That distinction matters when you ask for documents. The maintenance proposal contains Special Tax A and Special Tax B, while the public safety proposal has its own special tax. The broader Mello-Roos guide provides background alongside these tract-specific documents.
What was the council asked to approve?
On October 15, 2026, the council was asked to form both districts and call special landowner elections on the taxes and appropriations limits.
The city’s October 15 council agenda lists the hearings as items 14.D and 14.E. The accompanying staff reports recommend formation. They describe a process in which, after an election, the council may declare the results and introduce an ordinance authorizing the levy.
As of October 30, 2026, the formation and election outcomes remain not confirmed in the documents read because the October 15 minutes were not read.
The November 5 council agenda schedules Ordinance No. 2026-14 for the maintenance district and Ordinance No. 2026-15 for the public safety district for “second reading and adoption.” That agenda also lists approval of the October 15 minutes.
Keep those records distinct. A staff recommendation explains what the council was asked to do; the later agenda identifies scheduled action.
What do the two maintenance taxes cover?
Special Tax A covers specified public improvements, while Special Tax B covers certain improvements within the tract.
The city’s Public Hearing D staff report includes the CFD Report, the Rate and Method of Apportionment, and draft Resolution No. 2026-118. The Rate and Method of Apportionment, shortened to RMA, sets out how the tax works.
Tax A services include streetlights on Camino Real, landscape maintenance on its west side within the city right-of-way, basins or easements, and stormwater basin maintenance. The documents also refer to BMPs, meaning stormwater best management practices.
Tax B addresses private streetlights, landscaping, underground infiltration facilities, storm drains, and BMPs within the tract.
The maintenance district is intended to fund maintenance services and incidental expenses. Its formation does not commit the city to a financial contribution. Staff anticipates no General Fund impact, with city administration costs reimbursed through special tax revenues.
When could the dormant maintenance tax start?
Special Tax B would remain dormant unless the city determines that the property owners association has failed to perform the specified services to city-approved standards and applicable contracts.
The RMA also requires a step before collection: the city must notify the association of the maintenance deficiency and allow sufficient time to cure it. The city determines that period.
Dormant doesn’t mean removed from the proposal. It means the RMA places conditions on levying that tax.
You can also ask for association maintenance documents alongside the district paperwork. The HOA disclosure guide offers related reading without replacing the Canterra RMA’s specific conditions.
What are the listed maximums and anticipated first levies?
For a single-family dwelling, the fiscal year 2026-27 base-year maximums are $189 for maintenance Tax A, $760 for maintenance Tax B, and $363 for the separate public safety tax.
They are listed separately below, without combining them into a bill.
| District and tax | Base-year maximum per single-family dwelling |
|---|---|
| Maintenance district, Special Tax A | $189 |
| Maintenance district, Special Tax B, dormant under the stated conditions | $760 |
| Public safety district special tax | $363 |
The staff reports anticipate the first Tax A levy and first public safety levy in fiscal year 2027-28. They do not provide the amounts actually levied each year.
At 67 homes and the base-year maximum, staff estimates annual Tax A revenue of $12,663. The separate public safety estimate is $24,321.
The city’s Public Hearing E staff report describes law enforcement costs that include contracted services, equipment, vehicles, supplies, salaries and benefits for city staff directly providing police protection, and city overhead.
Those service descriptions explain the proposed uses of the public safety tax. They don’t turn its maximum into a confirmed charge.
Can the maximums rise, or can you pay them off?
The proposed maximums increase annually beginning July 1, 2027, and neither district’s RMA allows prepayment.
Both use the March-to-March change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area. The annual adjustment is at least $2 for every $100 and at most $6 for every $100 of the previous year’s maximum.
That changes the ceiling. It doesn’t establish the amount levied in a particular year.
Both RMAs provide for annual taxation in perpetuity unless the city terminates it earlier. You therefore shouldn’t read a base-year maximum as a fixed lifetime amount or assume a payoff option exists.
The maintenance RMA also limits how another parcel’s delinquency can affect a residential parcel. It cannot increase that parcel’s tax by more than a tenth above what would have been levied without the delinquency. That is a separate rule from the annual adjustment to maximum rates.
What documents can you ask for before buying?
You can ask the seller or builder for the recorded notice of special tax and each district’s RMA, then ask for the applicable annual levy information.
Use the full district numbers in the request. Ask separately about maintenance Tax A, dormant Tax B, and the public safety tax. The city’s agenda portal posts the council documents, including the reports linked above.
For maintenance billing, the RMA says collection follows the timing and manner of ordinary ad valorem property taxes, with the same delinquency penalties and lien priority. It also provides a written appeal process through the Administrator.
A maintenance taxpayer claiming an error must be current and file no later than April 10 of the fiscal year of the levy. Taxes remain payable during the appeal; the RMA provides no refunds of taxes already paid and makes the Administrator’s decision final and binding.
A supplemental property tax bill is a different bill from the special tax; the supplemental property tax bill guide explains that separate topic.
I reviewed the projected payment for a new Canterra home with a buyer who had included the mortgage, regular property tax and association dues. The special taxes were listed separately and changed the monthly amount he expected to carry. We went back through the disclosures with him so the decision was based on the complete tax obligation.
The short version
Canterra’s proposals involve separate maintenance and law enforcement districts, and the maintenance district includes a conditional, dormant Tax B.
Keep the base-year maximums separate from actual levies. Ask for both RMAs, the recorded notice of special tax, and annual levy information.
The dated status matters too: as of October 30, the October 15 minutes were not read, and the November 5 agenda schedules second readings and adoption of the levy ordinances.
For a separate home value question, use the home value tool.
Common questions
Are the Canterra special tax amounts confirmed annual bills?
No. The staff reports list fiscal year 2026-27 base-year maximums. The amounts actually levied each year are not in the documents read.
When would the dormant maintenance tax apply?
Special Tax B would remain dormant unless the city determines that the property owners association has failed to meet the required maintenance standards and contracts. The city must first give the association notice and time to cure the deficiency.
Can these special taxes be prepaid?
Both districts' rate and method of apportionment documents prohibit prepayment and provide for annual taxation in perpetuity unless the city terminates it earlier.
What was the council status as of October 30, 2026?
The council was asked on October 15 to form both districts and call landowner elections. The November 5 agenda schedules second readings and adoption of the levy ordinances. The October 15 minutes were not read, so the formation and election outcomes are not confirmed in the documents read.
